Rules of Engagement: Considering Good Policy and Practice with Online Military Learners

Authors

  • David Starr-Glass University of New York in Prague

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v19i1.475

Keywords:

Military learner, online distance learning, online facilitation, stereotypes

Abstract

In online distance learning environments military learners are not particularly obvious or distinctive; however, they do possess a degree of difference that needs to be recognized. The military can be considered to possess a Janusian culture; two distinctive cultural patterns that emerge in different situations. The culture they display in online distance learning situations is not particularly different from their non-military peers; however, online facilitators should be aware of their other cultural dimension and the difficulties that they encounter in participating online. Drawn from the author’s ten years of working with military learners, this article explains these different cultural perspectives, explores the negative impacts of stereotyping, and provides practical suggestions for harnessing the strengths of these learners in productive online learning.

Author Biography

David Starr-Glass, University of New York in Prague

David Starr-Glass is a faculty member of the University of New York in Prague, Czech Republic, and is also a senior mentor with the International Programs (Prague Unit) of the State University of New York, Empire State College. He serves as the supervisor for undergraduate dissertations and also facilitates a wide range of online distance learning courses in business administration, including cross-cultural management and organizational behavior. David has a wide range of managerial and educational experience and has earned master’s degrees in business administration (Notre Dame de Namur, California), organizational psychology (Birkbeck College, University of London), and online distance education (University of Southern Queensland, Australia). He publishes regularly in the business administration, online distance learning, and mentoring literature. When not in Prague he lives in Jerusalem, where he teaches a wide range of economics and business administration courses with a number of local colleges.

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Published

2014-11-13

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Military Online Education Best Practices

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