Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2003 Employing Interactive Multimedia Instruction in Military Science Education at the U.S. Military Academy

In line with Army Transformation, the United States Military Academy at West Point is revolutionizing the way that tomorrow’s leaders learn and are taught. Central to this initiative is the employment of emerging technologies to supplement traditional classroom instruction. This includes Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) to reinforce learning and to evaluate cadet proficiency. The overall goal is to expose cadets to courseware that fully engages them, both cognitively and emotionally. This is being realized through a distance learning (DL) proof of principle incorporating intermediate desktop simulation. The web-based IMI affords cadets access to high-quality course materials independent of the classroom environment and its rigid time constraints. Cadets can readily negotiate the courseware, focusing where they feel most in need of reinforcement. This paper illustrates the challenges of experimentation in this context. An examination of the hypotheses that support a study of IMI effectiveness in educating cadets on the tasks that support land navigation is conducted. Finally, results and analyses are discussed. Specifically, IMI is assessed as effective in the knowledge transference of the tasks that support tactical map reading and land navigation. Additionally, the Academy has continued to expand its use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and government-off-the-shelf (GOTS) software in military science courses. These products have been employed as practical exercise vehicles, providing an environment in which cadets can develop and refine skills an