Assessment 1 – EDIT313

Blogs, Wikis and Beyond: Social Computing Tools

Date 02 Aug 20

Narelle Neave
220212811
 Table of contents

Page

1. 2.1 2

2. 2.2 4

3. 2.3 7

4. 2.4 8

5. References 10

6. Part 1 assignment 1 – screen shots 13

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2.1

The unrelenting acceleration of technical progress, the resurgence of global power,

rivalry, and increasing political pressure to reduce military budgets have all led to the

perception that cognitive agility and creativity are key to ensuring that Western armed

forces remain effective in the mid-21st century (Owen, 2018). For those not familiar

with the education system in the military, it may seem archaic and generic on most

levels, but training over sixty-thousand personnel requires organisation in a course-

based system that allows education for the many, that are trained or taught by the few.

An evolving challenge for the Australian military is the implementation of eLearning,

which incorporates these innovations through a learning management system (LMS)

that supports the collaborative creation of information through interaction with authentic

activities.

The Royal Australian Navy has begun to transition from a conventional

organisational learning model to a non-traditional, self-reliant curriculum framework

where customised, applicable and interactive learning programs that are not location-

dependent can be incorporated at a point where they are required (Bishop, 2017). For

enterprises with bureaucratic and authoritarian governance and education systems,

eLearning presents opportunities for standardisation of content, distribution and course

management while challenging conventional teacher-student relationships (Newton &

Ellis, 2005). Traditional military models are evolving to online training courses to take

advantage of the inherent self-reliance of the military members and have brought a

handful of training courses to the online training environment (Bishop, 2018).

Today’s members of the Australian Navy work not just for the money but also to

continually learn and grow professionally. But with an expensive brick-and-mortar

traditional classroom, learning is significantly constrained by the accessibility and

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location of courses and programs offered, the speed of each course, the expense and,

inevitably, the effectiveness of each course, since it hinders the sailor's operational

effectiveness (Zambito, 2018). With eLearning, however, material is always accessible

from anywhere, at any time, right at your disposal. Such on-demand learning gives

greater access to topics and courses that are of value to personnel, far beyond those that

will immediately benefit them professionally (Zambito, 2018).

Losing workers costs money – this does not even include expenses that are more

difficult to quantify, such as reduced productivity. Yet eLearning can avoid such losses

(Zambito, 2018). Providing easily accessible online training to Naval personnel

throughout their career, and enabling them to access professional development readily,

greatly influences members wanting to stay in the Defence Force. Traditional learning

is, put simply, a one-size-fits-all approach, while eLearning serves all, as its material

can be viewed, interpreted, explored and shared as each learner does so to their

advantage.

Among the most quantifiable advantages of eLearning is its superior efficiency. Besides

the beneficial effect of eLearning on the profitability of a company by improved

efficiency and productivity, it also enables the production and maintenance of the

training material itself. Training technologies such as eLearning and mobile learning

will allow the Navy to adapt more quickly to change (Zambito, 2018).

2.2 

The ADF’s training officials are studying how the Service’s increased dependence on

distance learning during the novel coronavirus pandemic may become a permanent part

of leader education. In the Navy, a pause in training has occurred and continues to do so

due to a Learning Management System (LMS) that is restrictive and cannot support a

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transition to DL. Basic recruit training has continued under the strict adherence to a

COVID safe plan; however, advanced training, professional development courses and

additional qualification training have halted.

The Professional Military Education (PME) of the Australian Navy is not broken but

has to be reinvigorated. There are long intervals between advancement courses since

engagement in the arms profession is sporadic and incidental (Shipp, 2016).

Professional development is the nature of PME and a system of career lifelong learning.

Residential courses have been a common method of training and education since the

first colleges formed in the 11th century. Interaction with peers and educators, as well as

the more important aspect of an environment that allows for healthy debate, is what

makes face-to-face communication both effective and popular. Networking and cohort

development is a very necessary part of the student experience in every residential

course (Department of Defence [DOD], 2019). Nevertheless, PME needs to be offered

in between the conduct of these residential courses.

Participatory, dynamic and student-centred learning, such as blended, hybrid, micro-

learning, self-study and flipped courses, which contain both virtual and face-to-face

components, are becoming more prominent for alternative learning styles. This method

of learning and delivery successfully combines the potential of students to engage with

various mediums, merge work and study, while allowing for networking, building

relationships, and vital interaction with face-to-face delivery methods (DOD, 2019).

The distribution of PME through DL is important to ensure that Navy men and women

are lifetime learners. Basic PME must provide a wide variety of topics that are

important to all rates and warfare communities. This should catalyse a primary PME

course. The learning goals that need to be identified should include a framework for the

future experience of PME for a sailor.  This is a crucial step for inculcating the ideas,

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views and behaviour required by the arms profession and for developing critical

thinking and technological awareness skills within service systems (DOD, 2019). The

learning outcomes identified to be delivered via DL are:

1. Professional military ethics,

2. Acquire basic command and control functions in the Australian Navy,

3. Junior leadership attributes,

4. Explore Joint Operations,

5. Outline current Australian Defence Force operations,

6. Discuss future innovations and the capability development process, and

7. Outline ADF roles, structures and responsibilities.

The quality of online learning is of vital significance and online learning must be as

effective as conventional classroom instruction. Whether used in tandem with, or on its

own, residential preparation approaches, online learning will make a significant

contribution to the expansion and improvement of Navy education efforts (Mahoney-

Norris & Ackerman, 2012).

Introducing Web 2.0 technologies requires experimentation, collaboration and shared

experiences. An LMS, such as Blackboard Learn, possesses all the right features for

military use. Blackboard Learn is a modern, intuitive, fully responsive interface that

delivers a simple, powerful teaching and learning experience. The LMS provides secure,

scalable teaching strategies for timely, mission-critical training and lifetime learning

experiences to ready Navy sailors and officers for success. Blackboard Learn interfaces

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across different modalities to ensure that instructors, trainers and learners can connect

anywhere, anytime and on any device (Blackboard, 2020).

Blackboard has been proven in a government agency where national security is of great

importance. Blackboard has expanded its relationship with the United States Army,

providing Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate solutions to improve the

education of more than 350,000 military personnel (Towner, 2019). Blackboard Learn

would support the ADFs continuous learning approach.

Many LMS solutions would be a suitable solution to enable the Australian Navy to

transform into a contemporary training giant. Some might say, better than Blackboard

Learn; however, its use in the United States military has proven it to be an LMS that

offers security, with the appropriate controls in place to protect Australian government

data from access, abuse and disclosure.

2.3.

The Basic PME course will be accessed through Navy eLearning using the LMS

Blackboard Learn. Enrolment in the online PME course is the same as any other course

in Navy eLearning. Learners’ progress through the course will be bookmarked, enabling

students to return to the point in the course where they logged off. Blackboard will

automatically update a learners’ electronic training jacket to document course

completion. Graduates of the online program will receive Basic PME certification.

Active Officers, Reserve Officers, and Senior enlisted sailors are eligible to apply for

the online program. Students will typically complete the program in under twelve

months. Class sizes will consist of thirty students, the course will consist of online

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discussion boards, group projects, individual essays, and other assignments. The

program will be organised into four educational blocks and all blocks must be

completed in one session. Every block is made up of multiple lessons. The lesson is a

simple unit of learning which consists of readings and other instructional resources that

facilitate the accomplishment of the objectives of the course. The success of the course

is measured through writing forum involvement and activity requirements. Individual

student expectations are arbitrary in nature, dependent on the required study and

intended to ensure that the objectives of the course are accomplished (U.S. Army, n.d.).

Emphasis on collaboration is reflected in the course structure. The objective of the basic

PME course is to enhance student experiences through an integrated, evidence-based

and interactive dialogue in virtual plenary sessions and simultaneous small-group digital

discussions.

All learning will use a variety of evaluation measures intended to ensure that the

student has reached the necessary degree of competence in the program. Assessment

strategies will be established for either of two reasons: to contribute to the learning

process by providing feedback on performance (formative), or to assess competence

against established learning outcomes on completion of the training cycle, generally

articulated in terms of results in the workplace (summative) (Mulhall, 2015, p. 173).

Formative and summative evaluations may be established in either order jointly;

however, the development of a summative assessment first focuses primarily on the

assessment of workplace performance. Using a variety of assessment methods can

help confirm that the student has attained the necessary degree of proficiency

(Rothwell, Benscoter, King & King, 2016).

2.4.

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The use of Blackboard will benefit both teaching staff and students. Potential

advantages include expanded availability, rapid feedback, enhanced two-way

communications, monitoring and developing skills such as organisation, time

management and communication (Heirdsfield, Walker, Tambyah & Beutel, 2011). In

respect to accessibility, consumers can access Blackboard Learn digitally at any time

and anywhere (DeNeui & Dodge, 2006), such that students can access and download

course content and other material as well as submit assignments electronically as soon

as they are completed. Past research demonstrates that it is the enhanced accessibility

that most appeals to graduates (Heirdsfield et al., 2011). The use of Blackboard Learn

for the delivery of the Basic PME course online enables a standardised design,

innovation and execution over a career-long spectrum. Blackboard Learn will allow the

Australian Navy to provide high-quality, accurate DL PME to the entire force of sailors

and office, and would encourage the Navy to build critically thinking, creative and

resilient leaders by offering the right training to the right individual at the right moment.

Supplying students with more opportunities and encouraging them to adapt their

learning to suit their professional needs creates more innovative leaders and problem

solvers to fulfil the needs of today's diverse multicultural world (Torango, 2017).

Factors that may be seen as obstacles to the usage of Blackboard Learn as a digital

eLearning objective are: curriculum structure, inadequate pedagogical style,

transparency and intent of the goal, school management policy, educational

philosophies, leaner complexity, effect of national and international policies, shortage of

learning space, restricted use of education technology, and insufficient support (Regmi

& Jones, 2020). Furthermore, a lack of computer expertise may be seen as a significant

obstacle to restricting sailors from adopting machine-based learning approaches rather

than a lack of enthusiasm for modern technology (Regmi & Jones, 2020).

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Learning is very much a collaborative activity where engagement and cooperation

between learners and tutors, including feedback and peer encouragement, will be

a significant mechanism that promotes intellectual discourse among peers and

facilitators (Regmi & Jones, 2020). Appropriate implementation of systemic strategies

is essential to the progress of the Basic PME course by DL. Basic PME LOs mentioned

above can enhance the level of expertise and efficiency of learners by making PME

learning opportunities available to learners or facilitators, irrespective of their

geographical location and timescale (Regmi & Jones, 2020).

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 References

Bishop, G. (2018). Military Social Perspectives in an Online Learning Environment

[ProQuest Dissertations Publishing]. http://search.proquest.com/docview/2018357763/

Blackboard. (2020). Transforming Training & Development with LMS Technology.

Retrieved from https://www.blackboard.com/industries/government/online-learning

Department of Defence, (2019). The Australian Joint Professional Military Education

Continuum. Canberra, ACT. Author

DeNeui, D., & Dodge, T. (2006). Asynchronous learning networks and student

outcomes: The utility of online learning components in hybrid courses. Journal of

Instructional Psychology, 33(4), 256-259.

Heirdsfield, A., Walker, S., Tambyah, M., & Beutel, D. (2011). Blackboard as an online

learning environment: What do teacher education students and staff think? Australian

Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 36(7), 1–16.

https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2011v36n7.4

Mahoney-Norris, K., & Ackerman, J. (2012). PME and online education in the Air

Force: raising the game. Joint Force Quarterly, (67).

Mulhall, S. (2015). Evaluating HRD programs. In R. Carbery & C. Cross (Eds),

Human Resource Development: A concise introduction (pp. 171-196). Palgrave

Macmillion: Basingstoke

Owen, D. (2018). Approaching a fork in the road: Professional education and military

learning. Retrieved from https://warontherocks.com/2018/07/

approaching-a-fork-in-the-road-professional-education-and-military-learning/

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Regmi, K., & Jones, L. (2020). A systematic review of the factors – enablers and

barriers – affecting e-learning in health sciences education. BMC Medical Education

20(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02007-6

Rothwell, W., Benscoter, G., King, M., & King, S. (2015). Conducting a Needs

Assessment. In Mastering the Instructional Design Process (pp. 17-40). Hoboken,

NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119176589.ch2

Shipp, J. (2016). Idea pitch – Online short courses for professional military

education. Retrieved from https://groundedcuriosity.com/idea-pitch-online-short-

courses-for-professional-military-education/#.XyYMtS0r1TY

Torango, J. (2017). New AU eSchool transforms officer distance learning PME.

Retrieved from https://www.maxwell.af.mil/News/Display/Article/

1200668/new-au-eschool-transforms-officer-distance-learning-pme/

Towner, A. (2019). US Army expands blackboard partnership. Retrieved from

https://www.halldale.com/articles/15482-us-army-expands-blackboard-partnership

U.S. Army. (n.d). International Fellows Program. Retrieved from

https://www.armywarcollege.edu/programs/InternationalFellows/StudentExperience.

cfm?cv=1

Zambito, V. (2018). Top 5 benefits of eLearning. Retrieved from

https://elearningindustry.com/benefits-of-elearning-top-5

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