Introduction

And I'm back! It seems you can't get rid of me, folks. But for good reason! I have news to share about some of the work the SA Team - well, what Wally (the man is a super hero) accomplished with regards to a specific Leadership course. After god knows how much back-and-forth discussion and thoughts on the subject, a new product has been born: the ever adapting Leadership Reports course. Keep in mind, though the changes to the course are live, if you see a glaring error or something that could fixed, please let the SA Team know and we'll get on fixing it as soon as possible.

Below, I will briefly break down the changes introduced in this new iteration of the course. And if I missed anything, I know the Voice will send the Inquisitors after me.

Course Notes

Firstly, let's cover the course in broad scope. When you click on the above link and view the course, you will notice that the course notes on the website are short and sweet. But fear not! If you notice in the course notes, a specific word (here) will take you to this very wiki page. As mentioned above, the entire page was written by Wally, and edited by Korroth, Atra, and myself.

You will quickly notice that the course notes are extensive, providing numerous suggestions and alternatives to make report writing as simple and streamlined a process as possible. Wally went so far as to provide numerous methods with which to proof report-writing, standardized formats for everything from titles to report organization, and numerous coding details that will likely save you from broken image links or off-centre images in the future. Changes may occur to the page beyond edits in the future, though likely nothing major, and nothing without consultation of multiple individuals.

The good thing about content like this being on the wiki is that it's accessible even beyond Shadow Academy use, and I guarantee it's useful in any report writing situation, including this one.

Course Exam

The exam has also been updated to reflect the new course material. Previously, the exam was only 6 questions, but that has been pushed up to 16. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, the majority of questions are (we think) fairly straightforward, guiding the reader and exam-taker to knowledge we consider absolutely essential to understanding and learning about Leadership Reports. And secondly, the additional questions cover most of the course material in a concise manner, rather than focusing on specific aspects of extensive amounts of course material.

Now, I also wanted to address Question 16 of the exam before anyone else asks. We're asking you to create a report based on the criteria highlighted in the course material. The questions reads:

• This final question will put into practice everything you have read thus far. Your task is to create or provide a previously written report that meets the criteria listed in the course material. As stated, the submission of previously written reports is acceptable, but they must be modified according to the course material in order to receive full marks.

So to answer anyone's question that hasn't already taken the exam, yes, you can use previously written reports. However, don't expect to be able to copy-and-paste a report directly into the answer box and receive full marks. Please still take the time to go over the content, improve you report, and present a final product to the grader that shows you read the course material and learned something from it. That's all we ask!

Praetor's Tip

Now I'm not going to make this a regular thing, as I don't get regular reports. However, after talking with James about an issue I had last night regarding course exams, I felt like I should share my experience in case anyone has the same issue in the future.

So last night as I was drafting this update, I took a quick peak at the Leadership Reports course. When I went to go take the exam, I still had the old version of the exam coming up. Confused, I did some wizardry and checked the back-end. Everything seemed in order. And yet, when I looked at the exam a second, and then a third time, it was still there! The old version, that is.

And the reason for this is super simple. James quickly explained:

• "My guess would be that you started the exam at some point before you added the questions. When a user starts an exam for the first time, the site creates sort of an 'answer sheet' based on the questions that are active at that point in time. This allows you to save answers and come back later. When you later return to the exam, you will continue from that saved answer sheet rather than any new questions. Clicking delete on https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/shadow_academy/exams should allow you to delete the attempt in progress, which will ensure you get a 'fresh' exam when you restart."

Once again, a round of applause for the ever-amazing James, answering my noob-like questions. It happens to us all, and never be embarrassed to ask questions to the right person. It's usually a part of our job description!

Conclusion

When the Shadow Academy develops and maintains courses with an out-of-character value, it is always done so with the best interest of the club members at heart. Specifically, the leadership courses are designed to meet the needs of the membership who are seeking to pass the hurdle from participant to producer, from member to leader. More course updates are on the way for the other courses as well, but Farrin is saving that goodness for his next report.

I suppose I'll end by saying that even if you're not in a leadership position somewhere in the club, there are tonnes of ways to be a great leader. Lead by example and encourage others to do the same. Reach out to new members of your own accord and help them navigate the massive sea of information. Hell, reach out to old members and do the same, if need be. Simply keeping the lines of communication open between folks can go leaps and bounds in terms of tangible results. For every member you reach out to, perhaps that's another five competitions a month that they will complete, or another five exams!

Until next time, folks, keep your eyes peeled for Farrin's next report.