GCALS New Account Setup Guide
WHAT IS GCALS?
The Georgia Corrections Advanced Learning System (GCALS) is an online training option designed to provide staff with the opportunity to receive training conveniently without having to travel. This results in a significant reduction in travel costs and time. Additionally, GCALS will allow GDC staff the convenience of receiving training based on their work and personal schedules.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Course information is presented as text, audio, and video along with occasional interactive knowledge checks to assist employees with remembering and understanding important ideas and concepts. You will receive credit for having completed a course when you have achieved a score of 70% correct or higher (in most courses) on the end of course quiz and have also spent the minimum amount of time required on course materials. High liability courses such as CPR require 80% correct to pass.
HOW CAN I BE SUCCESSFUL WITH ONLINE LEARNING?
Online learning can be challenging, but you can make it easier by doing the following things:
• Block out enough time to focus exclusively on the training. Do not attempt to multi-task, or work on other applications while the presentation is running. If the computer processor is overwhelmed, you may lose connection and you will not get credit for further progress in the course.
• Make sure you have a good internet connection. If your connection is broken, you will have to start over at the last point you still had connection.
• Block out as many hours as the course is worth in training hours. For example, if you are taking an online course that earns you one hour of training credit, you should block out at least an hour to complete the training.
• Constantly starting, stopping, and resuming the course later could result in your having to repeat the training if you don’t obtain a passing score.
• Take notes. You will have the option to pause or review the training materials before the final quiz but taking notes will help you remember key points. You may use your notes or other materials during the quiz.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T PASS OR FINISH THE COURSE?
GCALS in-service courses are repeated bi-annually with the fiscal year (Jan 1 - Jun 30, and Jul 1 - Dec 31). If you signed up for a course in January, you would have until June 30 to complete the course. If you do not complete the requirements by then, you simply need to register for the course again after July 1. You will then have until Dec 31 to finish. You will not be able to complete any courses after the end date for that offering. You can retake the course at any time during that FY offering.
Once you pass a course you will not need to take that class again until the next year.
CURRENT CLASS OFFERINGS
There are many In-service and PSO courses currently online. More courses are in development and will be added when they are finished. If your department or unit has a need to have any training added to GCALS, please contact the Office of Professional Development so that we can discuss your ideas and content.
PRE-SERVICE ORIENTATION COURSES
We have numerous PSO courses for new GDC employees. These courses are all designated with PSO at the beginning. You will find them in the Course Catalog under "Pre-Service Orientation".
NOTE: PSO courses are only for those employees who are going through pre-service orientation, PSO courses will not qualify for credit for In-Service training hours.
You can access the GCALS online training via the Georgia Public Safety Training Center’s GCALS server: http://gcals.gdc.ga.gov
You must use Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to access the online training if possible.
Internet Explorer is NO LONGER SUPPORTED.
CREATING AN ACCOUNT IN GCALS:
1. Open your web browser to http://gcals.gdc.ga.gov
2. If you already have a GCALS account, you can enter your Student ID and password. (There are options there if you have forgotten either or both of those). If you need to set up a new account, click the “Setup Account” option.
3. On the next screen, choose “By Email” or “By SSN” to see if you are already in their system.
Please use the SSN option.
4. If your information is in the system, you will be asked to answer a security question that you used when you first created your account. If you are not in the system, you will need to fill in the required information. Please know that your social security number is NOT shared with any outside entity. Also, GCALS runs on the GPSTC system, and they do require your SSN as it is the only unique identifier common among the numerous state, local, and private law enforcement agencies across Georgia.
NOTE: Do NOT use your Work Email address as your Personal Email. This system tracks your training as an individual, even if you change jobs or agencies. Please provide both your personal email and your current work email.
5. After you have filled in the information, click “Submit” and if everything was entered correctly you should see an “Account Setup Done” screen.
6. Click on “Login” either on the left side or at the top.
7. On the next screen, you will need to create three security questions and answers. You might want to save these somewhere safe if you need them later to recover a forgotten password.
8. You should now see this screen.
9. You will need to set your Agency Affiliation:
Make sure that the Agency Affiliation field is completed with the correct Facility or physical Site address that you are assigned to.
Please note the exceptions below:
Regional Offices:
· North Regional Office – select: Metro Re-Entry Facility
· Southeast Regional Office – select: Georgia State Prison
· Southwest Regional Office – select: Lee State Prison
Facilities that should select SOSTC:
· Fleet Management
· Care & Custody (all 3 sites)
· Offender Administration @ Jackson
· Arnall Building
· Tech Contractors:
o Enter "Tech Cont" in the GDC Employee ID field
Health Care Contractors select:
· Wellpath, Department of Correctional Healthcare
Education Contractors select:
· GDC - Education Contractor
Mental Health Contractors select:
· MHM/Centurion Correctional
Also, if you are a certified officer you need to include your O-Key number as that is needed to send your training records to POST.
NOTE: Your "O-Key" starts with the letter "O", - NOT the number "Zero".
If you are not an officer, then you can leave that field blank. If you have a GDC Employee ID, then you should add that also. Click “Update Profile” at the bottom of the screen to submit your information.
10. After you have submitted your request, the GDC Training Administrator or staff member at your location will need to approve your request.
You will not be able to register for training until your request has been approved.
You will receive an email when you have been approved. It might take a day or two for your request your request to be approved. You may need to contact your Training Administrator at your facility and ask to be approved.
11. Once you have received your approval, you can register for training. Click on “Register” at the top of the screen and choose “Course Catalog.”
12. Click on the name of the course for which you want to register.
13. On the next screen, click the “Register” option at the bottom right.
14. You will now see a Process Registration screen. Make sure your information is correct and choose “Process Application” at the bottom. If you get a pop-up message about an O-key number and you are not an officer, just click “Go Ahead”.
15. You should receive an email within a few minutes letting you know that you have been accepted into the course.
16. You can now click on the “Your Online Classes” option to see a list of courses for which you have registered.
You can now click on “Access Online Training” to be taken to your course. You will then be redirected to this web site: http://gcalsclassroom.gdc.ga.gov
18. Use the same login credentials that you created earlier.
19. Once you are logged in, you will see a list of your courses. Click the title of the course to begin.
20. When you are viewing your courses, you must work from top to bottom. You must always complete the
Code of Ethics section at the beginning of each course.
21. Different courses might have different activities and/or exercises that you must complete successfully to pass the course.
22. Most will have a quiz or “Knowledge Check” near the end. You must achieve a score of 70% or 80% to pass, depending on the course.
23. If you need to take a break, the system will remember your progress, so you won’t have to start the course over again, as long as you return before the end of the Fiscal Year offering.
24. If you do not pass or complete the course by the end of the FY offering, the course will end. You will then need to re-register for the following FY offering. All progress on uncompleted courses will be lost at that point. So, it is in your best interest to complete any registered courses before June 30, or December 31.
You will not be allowed to complete any courses for annual credit
after December 31
25. When you successfully pass a course, you will be prompted to complete a survey. Once completed, your transcript will be updated in the GCALS system usually within 24 hours.
Only courses that lead to Certification will receive a certificate.
You can view and print your transcript by clicking on TRANSCRIPTS > My Transcript
So, as a recap, you will
• Create your account, register for courses, and access your transcript at this site: http://gcals.gdc.ga.gov
• Once registered, you will take the courses and view your progress at this site: http://gcalsclassroom.gdc.ga.gov
If you are having any issues, please fill out a support ticket here: https://gcalshelp.gdc.ga.gov
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