Case Study: Army Learning in the 21st Century Dianna Hamby Post university

U.S. Army Established June, 14, 1775 with the American Revolution Enlistment total today: 541,291 Diversity: Men and Women Ages 17 to 60 All diversities and ethnic backgrounds All types of education levels and income backgrounds

Technologies Redesigned Learning Spaces – Classrooms are designed into small table groups (4-5 students per group) in order to create small discussions or collaborated learning. Students in the army are able to discuss alternate ideas of their own skills. Blended Learning – Students have the capability to do online assignments and take quizzes about the material prior to shorter sessions to allow students to do “real world” activities.

Positive Aspects of Technology Future Change of Technology Positive Impact With the Changes Blended Learning Shorter training time in the classroom for soldiers to continue to work in the field. Shorter course length Lower budget forecasting for housing, meals, and classroom space. New software advancement Create “real world” scenarios for better training. Use of mobile technology and laptop equipment for training Faster enlistment processing – rid the use of paperwork and telephone calls.

Negative Aspects of Technology Future Change of Technology Negative Impact With the Changes Shrinking military budget Training center consolidation for active duty and reserves with both have different methods and military regulations. More technology in the classroom Too many students on the network at one time and slower computer processing for testing or learning sites.

Summary of Current Technology Student-centered learning Mobile technology Critical skills activities Gaming for self-paced learning

Demographics Summary More immigration requires the need for bilingual teachers Adults enrolling in college for the first time to learn new job skills Higher high school graduation rates, but lower graduation rates for ethnic groups. Student changes to non-traditional, part time, and working full time

Economic Situation Decrease in public funding for minority higher education Smaller tax collection rates due to recession and housing market failure Slow recession recovery

Consequences of Poor Economy School cutbacks: Deferring maintenance repairs Cutting teachers Larger classrooms Cutting extracurricular activities Eliminating teacher development

Hanushek – Stanford University and Woessmann – University of Munich Study Study of 76 countries - PISA exam Results of the average exam scores showed an annual growth per capita GDP improved. The countries used as examples: Singapore, China, and South Korea

Army Learning Concept 2015 Purpose: Create soldiers and leaders who are adaptive and capable of meeting the challenges of the changing military Create faster learning environments with the latest technology for soldiers to learn to maintain an edge over adversaries Help soldiers become experts, self-motivated learners that are capable of critical thinking skills to ask the appropriate questions

Opportunities in the Current Environment Relevant real world training More timely training Portability of training Improved quality, relevance, and effectiveness of face-to-face experiences Extension of learning beyond the classroom and into lifelong career

Challenges in the Current Environment Persistent conflict around the world that doesn’t allow soldiers to attend regular classroom training Constant change to cutting edge technology before allowable training time is available Changing complexity and adaptability of adversaries Lack of military budget to support soldier training travel to classes in other locations

“Call to Action” Continue the Army education community that was started by MG Dempsey to help improve military training and learning Work with Congress to gain more funding to use for educational technology, as well as, funds for a more portable learning capability] Commit to working with civilian educators to improve elementary and high school education and meld this into the army learning system

References Alexander, B. (2014, July 24). Gaming the future of higher education. The Academic Commons. Azziz, R. (2014, February 26). A Looming Challenge in Higher Education: Our Changing Student. Huffington Post. Bidwell, A. (2015, May 13). Improving Basic Education Can Boost U.S. Economy by $27 Trillion Blended Learning in an Adult Literacy Classroom – ETEC 510. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Blended_Learning_ in_an_Adult_Literacy_Classroom Continental Army ***. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.landofthe brave.info/continental-army.htm. Frey, T. (n.d.). Situational Futuring and 44 Mind-Stretching Scenarios to Learn How to Use it. Retrieved from http://www.futuristspeaker. com/2014/06/4227.

References Helm, G. (2013). Life of the Civil War Soldier in Camp. Hallowed Ground Magazine. Retrieved from http://civilwar.org/hallowed-ground- magazine/winter-2013/life-of-the-civil-war-soldier-camp.html Hull, J. (2010). Cutting to the bone: How the economic crisis affects schools. Center for Public Education. Johnson, L., Adams, B., Estrada, V., & Freeman, A. (2015). The NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education. The New Media Consortium June 14th: The Birthday of the U.S. Army. (2015, May 7). Retrieved from: http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/birth.html Miller, H. (n.d.). Rethinking the Classroom – Research. Retrieved from http://www.hermanmiller.com/research/solution-essays/ rethinking-the-classroom.html Riedel, C. (2014, February 3). 10 Major Technology Trends in Education. The Journal.

References Sobrero, P.M. (2004). The Steps for Futuring. Journal of Extension. 42(3) Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/2004/june/comm2.php Stafford, R. J. & Thornhill II. W. M. (2012, April). The Army Learning Model: Changing The Way Sustainers Train. Army Sustainment. 44(2). The Learning Concept 2015. (TRADOC Pam 525-8-2). (2011). Retrieved from Training & Doctrine Command (US Army) website: http://www.tradoc.army.mil/pubs/pams/tp525-8-2.pdf The United States of Education: The Changing demographics of the United States and their schools. (2012). Retrieved from Center for Public Education. United States Armed Forces – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2015, from http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/united_ states_armed_forces. Villa, P. (2013, July 30). Friedrich von Steuben: A closer look at the ‘father of the NCO Corps. NCO Journal.