Computer-Based Instruction in the Department of Defense: Enhancing Application of the Technology

Abstract

The dramatic change in power, portability and affordability of small computers during the last five years has been a two-edged sword in its impact on military training. There have been compelling reasons to anticipate that these rapid advances in computational state of the art would unlock the latent potential of computer-based instruction (CBI) and finally realize the breakthroughs in training and education approaches that have been just over the horizon for the last two decades. It is true that the availability of flexible and powerful processing in small packages has materially expanded the scope of what can be accomplished with computer-based, computer-managed, computer-assisted, and intelligent computer-assisted instruction (however defined). The steady decreases in cost which have accompanied these increases in capability have also greatly broadened the classes of application for which CBI is feasible to the typical user. It is thus somewhat surprising that the applications of CBI have not grown concomitantly with the attractiveness of the technology.