I like the idea, just not the reason for it
early in the thread, the idea of inserting videos and animation was to allow a soldier to follow the video in the execution of his duties. Sounds like a great idea if we were training the local Jiffy Lube attendent. The problem is we are not.
We need soldiers, regardless of thier job in the army to be capable of solving problems and adapting to unique situations. That is what will save lives in combat and ensure we are meeting the national interests in the current operations we are facing.
Much like emersive language training, the way to do that is to force problem solving and actual thought in everything that we do. Instead of giving a video of what to DO, i would insert a video or animation of HOW it works, and then show what could go wrong. that would actually educate the soldier and allow him to then solve the problems and THINK. Skills that he will need once that vehicle is rolling.
It is nice to think of making life easier in the motorpool, but that same mechanic will need to have that same skill under a moonlite night in some dark desert where the light from his KINDLE screen will attract attention from the nearest enemy force. lets not forget why we are training them in the first place.
multi-media doctrine etal
FM 3-24
FM 3-07
I would imagine that FM 5-0 will also have an interactive multi-media supporting product...
The Army Campaign Plan when it was first operationalized...
Point is that this is fairly common any more... there is a contract on the street to retroactively develop similar products for existing doctrine... this isn't a thing of the future, except for the ideas regarding motorpool use... now that has real potential... I was shocked to hear that maintenance was still being run on ULLs... I was around when it was introduced early in my career and I'm retired:eek:
I'm not sure it's quantifiable
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Schmedlap
I wonder if we've done an accurate cost-benefit analysis of that.
However, I'm totally convinced of its value...:cool:
Face-to-Face gooood, dL not as gooood... but is it so bad
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OfTheTroops
Distance learning doesnt shrink the time box either.
I'd never claim that it does... it shifts the burden to the student... who undoubtedly has precious little time whether deployed or otherwise
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OfTheTroops
There is talk of making core classes all DL. This seems to place all the burden on the student and little on the institution. In essence they will be able to do more with less.
See above... no doubt... still there is a physics to this... if you have an inventory of low 90% faces to fill 100% operational spaces... and if you have some critical none operational jobs you really need a green face to fill... regardless of value of long stretches to build relationships and debate the universal relevance of one's experiences versus another... time in resident courses is a luxury that we probably don't have
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OfTheTroops
And as drill said if you aint cheatin you aint tryin (just look at correspondence courses). 5 years down the road will this officer be as good as an officer who went to a resident course maybe. One thing that will certainly be lost is the peer relationships and networking that occurs at long residencies and there is a certain value to that. I can see both sides here. I am taking an online masters program and while i dont feel the core education is lost there does seem to be a great lost from the face to face and the non verbal. In fact, SWJ is a great deal like the education received from a DL course. The bureaucracy needs to stop pawning their kids off on the neighbors or grandparents etc. Yes education is an individual responsibility but individuals dont pay the price.
I'd only disagree to say that most on this venue communicate in complete thoughts (save perhaps myself) and a degree of decorum is practiced... I can't imagine anyone claiming dL is better, only that we can make it better and mitigate the loss of the face-to-face interaction... a final thought... Last night, I watched my daughter carry on a four way text conversation with four of her teammates that she had just left at the gym... I think there is a level of comfort in this generation of young soldiers that far outpaces ours