Distance learning - Leadership Notes

Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, April-June, 2002 by Thomas Daley

A visit to the Military Intelligence (Ml) Distance Learning Office (DLO) website at www.di.army.mil shows the many courses and lessons available to civilian and military visitors. There is a wide range of subject matter offering something for everyone. This article provides an overview of use of the site and some of the most popular interactive courseware.

Development of the Courseware

We develop Ml Distance Learning courseware both to inform and to teach. Studies have shown that the more a student can interact with the lesson, the more effective the learning experience will be. As the amount of interaction increases, so does the retention of the material.

It is a fairly easy process to deliver a slide presentation over the web, but creating interactive courseware presents a different set of challenges. The obvious challenge is the technical aspect-but how do you know that the student is learning the right task? Having the student actually execute the task successfully confirms that he understands the learning objectives. "Learning by doing" is an important part of classroom instruction, and it also plays a very big role in the development and delivery of Ml Distance Learning products.

The philosophy of the DLO is to present courseware that is available anytime and anywhere for the intended audience. Some of our material is targeted for a general audience while other training is specific to a military occupational specialty (MOS). We offer a variety of courses, and strive to have the student learn by doing whenever that is appropriate. The best place to start with any self-directed lesson is with the tutorial or the help menu. Learning by "doing," especially when one is trying to apply knowledge of a regulation or task, is hard to do without a basic understanding of what is expected. Some of our best sellers include the Intelligence Cycle, Operational Security, Intelligence Oversight, the HTML Portal, and the Digital Tactical Operation Center.

What Is a Plug-In?

A "plug-in" is a file that you must install on your computer to allow some programs to work correctly. It is usually fora very specific program, and you may have to install more than one just to be able to view parts of a website. One of the more common plug-ins allows you to view "Flash" files. Because of the type of material we present to the student, several of our lessons require the user to load the plug-ins before starting the lesson. Links to the plug-ins are on our site, as are the system requirements for each lesson. The good news with plug-ins is that you only have to load them once.

Most Popular Courses

The Intelligence Cycle. This course offers a guided tour of the Intelligence Cycle according to FM 34-1, Intelligence Operations. It is an excellent primer for the soldier wanting to understand one of the most critical processes used by the intelligence professional. The user will need the Macromedia Shock wave plug-in to view this lesson, and the link to that plug-in is right there in the link to the lesson.

Operational Security (OPSEC).

Good OPSEC is a concern for everyone, and it is an annual training requirement for soldiers and civilians. This course presents seven vignettes that have the student perform OPSEC checks on a building, while in garrison, and a company area in a tactical environment While the facilities are fairly secure, according to AR 530-1, Operational Security, you have to do better than just fairly well. You use your mouse to realistically "walk" in and out of virtual facilities to perform the OPSEC checks. With this course, you are actually "learning by doing." Before you walk through the virtual facilities, you must load the Viscape and Toolbook Neuron plug-ins. We recommend you keep track of your progress and take the performance assessment at the end.

Intelligence Oversight. This course supports the training requirement to apply Army Regulation 381-1 0, Intelligence Oversight, in our daily duties. It is another great example of putting the student into a "realistic" situation to learn the course material. Student have seven different assignments and must apply their knowledge of the regulation to make the correct decision for each situation. The DLO based the scenarios on real-world situations with text-book solutions, and the courseware offers kudos for the right decision and consequences for bad decision-making. You actually learn the scope of the regulation while solving the problems. After answering the questions with each scenario, take the comprehensive performance assessment at the end to see how well you understand AR 381-10. This lesson requires the Toolbook Neuron plug-in, but if you loaded itto take the OPSEC lesson, you do not need to load it again.

The HTML Portal. We designed this portal to take full advantage of the many HTML tutorial sites already posted on the web and constructed and posted it to the DLO website to enhance the web knowledge of our Ml instructors. One can literally learn how to code in HTML, design a site, and learn advanced web programming from this portal. Since this site directs users out to the web, plugins are not necessary to visit the portal.