Videos in the Classroom

Reflection & Planning

This week caused me to seriously consider how I can incorporate videos into the courses I teach. I have not given much thought about how to do this until now since I am limited to the type of tools I can use on my agency’s network. This made me think outside the box and look at possible ways learners can view or use videos at home in order to reinforce a lesson’s learning objectives. What I found was a plethora of videos that already exist and are related to the intelligence planning courses I instruct. I was overwhelmed at how many videos are available, so I decided to focus my attention on a wargaming lesson I teach to full performance intelligence planners. The lesson explains the nuances of a wargame and ends with learners actually conducting a wargame. The overall goal of the lesson and exercise is for learners to understand how intelligence supports the overall plan, but learners usually miss the point and focus on how to win the wargame. I found a short video and article from the RAND Corporation (RAND) that learners can read and view the night before the lesson. The video and article are based on a similar scenario I use in the wargame exercise, and both provide the outcomes of a series of wargames conducted by RAND. I believe knowing the outcomes of the wargames will allow learners to focus on developing a concept of intelligence operations and understand how intelligence supports the plan.

Ask

I would really appreciate your sharing your own experiences in developing learner-driven training. I feel the courses I teach are very teacher-centered, and I find it challenging to make my courses more learner-centered. The time, tools, learning objectives, and even course content are very prescriptive. With my agency moving from the traditional classroom to virtual learning, I want learners to actively participate in their own learning regardless of the high or low-tech I can incorporate into my courseware.

Provide

The class meetings you hold are very informative and a great way to network. Since I missed the second meeting, I had to review the slides and video on my own to better understand Weeks 3 and 4 learning objectives and assignments. I was unable to glean what the requirements were by just reading the Blackboard assignment instructions. I appreciate that these aren't mandatory but you provide a recording and slides if we cannot attend.