Gro Frølund

A growing proportion of today’s educational activity, civilian as well as military, takes place in virtual learning environments. A corollary of this growth is the emerging concern that the educational value of information and communication technology (ICT) is under-used by educators. There are also professional concerns that ICT may even undermine the effectiveness of teaching in some instances. A recent report notes that our educational institutions are ill-prepared pedagogically for making the most of technology. It asserts that simply adding twenty first century technologies to twentieth century teaching practices will “dilute the effectiveness of teaching”. Since our military institutions are currently adopting new technologies extensively, this issue is a pressing one. We need a deeper understanding of how e-learning affects learners in a military context. For this reason, the present study has used a series of qualitative interviews to map the learning experiences of officers from the Royal Danish Defence College. A number of questions animate the study. Firstly, can we identify certain factors that have created increased learning benefit when we come to evaluate the strategies, methods, and media employed in our teaching? Moreover, what are the salient features of the way officers – in this instance, Danish officers – perceive their own learning cultures and styles? In turn, how should this affect our course design? The study reveals that learners’ engagement levels, and the likelihood of them harbouring frustrations, often relate to their course’s capacity to offer forms of collaboration. The data suggests that these learners deem collaboration to be part of a military ethos. Hence, unless the didactics underpinning our virtual learning environments align with cultural traits of this kind, they are likely to induce frustration rather than engagement. In view of these results, the paper will make recommendations on course design and pedagogical development

The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities collaboration offers in the virtual learning environments of the armed forces. I will argue that for reasons of culture and structure in the armed forces, the opportunities created by collaborative learning activities in e-learning and blended learning are especially fruitful here.Collaboration is a pervasive, foundational form of activity in our armies, air forces and navies. It expresses itself in cultural traits such as never leaving a soldier behind, taking your share and being someone you can count on, to name a few. Moreover, most armed forces activities are structured forms of collaboration; staff work, tactical planning, active duty and so forth are all day-to-day examples. Collaborative activities in virtual learning spaces tap into that culture.However, and perhaps confusingly, a study I conducted last year at the Royal Danish Defence College (RDDC) revealed that resistance to online courses with collaborative activities is common.Through learning theory, motivational theory and practical examples, this paper will explore how we can succeed in tapping into the existing culture of collaboration. A deeper understanding of this issue will lead to improved online learning course design as well as increased long-term learning for our cadets and officers.