The Navy is planning to invest $37 million during the next five
years to update service “learning environments,” according
to Rear Adm. David Brewer, deputy chief of naval education and training
(CNET). This money will be spent on fiber-optic wiring for classrooms,
faster computers and advanced distributed learning programs, he
told an industry briefing in Orlando, Fla.
With more than 21,000 employees, CNET is one of the largest commands
in the U.S. Navy, Brewer explained. “Every sailor in the Navy
is a graduate of CNET. For this reason, we have to transfer more
knowledge faster to more sailors,” he said. By using the electronic
classroom to train everyone from mechanics to pilots, the Navy will
net about $59.2 million in savings, he estimated. Man-hour savings
are projected to total about 733 hours for a training process that
graduated 1,200 more sailors last year than the year before, said
Brewer. By using more computerized learning technology, this could
account for a 20 percent reduction in training time, he stated.
This training shift has been facilitated by increased reliance
on computer-generated simulation, he continued. “We have had
to change from a behavioral to a cognitive approach [when it comes
to instruction],” Brewer said. “Sailors today already
have the necessary visual cues when it comes to dealing with computer
technology that we didn’t have in the past. Young men and
women are coming into the Navy with a high degree of computer expertise.”
To increase learning opportunities, the service is presently constructing
the Navy Learning Network on the Web, at www.navylearning.navy.mil.
“This way we can bring education, on demand, to sailors anywhere
in the world,” Brewer said.
In the future, training schools will employ holography, Brewer
believes. “Desks will become obsolete,” he said. By
2010, Brewer continued, he expects learning and access to knowledge
to be more available and CNET to be more decentralized than it is
today.
To encourage sailors to further their education, the Navy, through
the Navy College Program, has started awarding four hours of college
credit to every sailor who completes boot camp, Brewer announced.
The credits are in physical education and first aid.