eLearning - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 36) yourtaxesatwork “An Army audit agency report determined that the Army saved approximately $86 million in education cost avoidance over three fiscal years by using Army eLearning,” says Stan Davis, Army e-learning project officer. The United States Army is engaged on many fronts. While the War on Terror receives news coverage daily, the ongoing pursuit for efficiencies and cost savings for personnel, recruiting and retention, and force readiness is sometimes buried in the headlines. HOW IT’S SET UP The Army’s Distributed Learning System (DLS) places emphasis on enabling soldier readiness by providing on-demand training. DLS, the infrastructure that delivers distributed learning (DL), is breaking old training paradigms by providing training to the soldier anywhere at anytime. Using state-of-the-art technology, DLS streamlines training processes; automates training management functions; delivers training using electronic means; and enables military and civilian personnel, training developers, training managers, unit commanders and training non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to access training using the Web. The newest component of DLS is the Army e-learning program, which provides free training for every active Army, National Guard, reservist, ROTC cadet and Department of the Army civilian with access to more than 2,600 commercial Web-based information technology, foreign language, business, leadership and personal development courses. Remote locations (including those in-theater in Iraq and Afghanistan) are supported with separate CD libraries as necessary. When requested by the Army contracting officer representative, individual soldiers are authorized courseware on CDs. The emphasis upon training availability is paramount to the success of Army e-learning endeavors. The other four DLS components are: digital training facilities (DTF), located at 115 installations worldwide with video tele-training, computers, faxes, printers and high-speed Internet connections; deployed digital training campuses (DDTCs), which are mobile, networked systems of computers, servers and ancillary equipment to transfer information from satellites, generally utilized in remote or foreign soil locations when DTFs are not accessible; the Army learning management system (ALMS), which delivers training, manages training information, provides collaboration, scheduling and career planning opportunities; and an enterprise management center (EMC), which provides connectivity and technical support to all DFT managers and users, and houses the ALMS. MANAGING THE TRAINING Although not a formal portion of DLS, an integral part of the Army education system is the Army Training Requirements and Resources System (ATRRS). It is the Army management information system of record for managing student input to training. Army e-learning links directly to ATRRS. Soldiers are able to access e-learning only after ATRRS registration is concluded. ATRRS automatically updates soldier training transcripts whenever any training is completed, which includes e-learning courses, ensuring that training and education records (of completions) remain with a soldier throughout his or her career. The online system integrates manpower requirements for individual training with 3 4 1 2 36 December 2008/January 2009 Elearning!
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.