| The United States Army is an education-driven | | | | Military lifestyle makes traditional education difficult. |
| force. Whether you plan on a career in the | | | | Your education can be interrupted at any time by |
| Armed Forces or not, Army correspondence | | | | deployment or transfer. The Army has |
| courses are available to prepare you for your | | | | educational programs to compensate for that by |
| future career. | | | | providing courses in a distance-learning format. |
| The Army Correspondence Course Program | | | | If you plan on continuing your military career you |
| (ACCP) | | | | can prepare for promotion and advancement |
| The Army Correspondence Course Program helps | | | | through the Army Correspondence Course |
| you keep your skills current and prepare for | | | | Program. You can even enter the Green to Gold |
| advancement in your military career. As you | | | | Enlisted Commissioning program by earning a |
| complete modules, you earn points toward | | | | degree and entering Officer Training. |
| promotion. Each module has several subcourses in | | | | If you do not plan on continuing in the military, |
| it that you complete one at a time. | | | | you can prepare for a post-military career. Army |
| The Army Correspondence Course Program | | | | correspondence courses will help you. |
| gives you training specific to your professional | | | | Disadvantages of Online Courses |
| field. You can take courses for skill qualification | | | | Online learning has some disadvantages, too. |
| development or to advance in your MOS, | | | | Some people learn better in a traditional |
| too.eArmyUeArmyU is a program that the Army | | | | classroom. They need the live interaction with an |
| sponsors that allows you to take college courses | | | | instructor and other students. Online classes may |
| over the internet on your off-duty time. eArmyU | | | | try to simulate classroom interaction, but they |
| helps you prepare for a future non-military career, | | | | cannot duplicate it. |
| or to simply take courses for your own personal | | | | In order to succeed at online learning, you have |
| interest and development. | | | | to have some specific skills. You have to be |
| Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education | | | | self-motivated, responsible for your own learning |
| Support (DANTES) | | | | and have good time management skills. If you |
| DANTES provides military personell with | | | | don't have those skills, traditional classes may be |
| educational opportunities compatible with the | | | | a better choice for you. |
| military lifestyle. You can take career training or | | | | One huge disadvantage of online courses, |
| college courses through several different DANTES | | | | especially if you are talking about e-learning grids |
| programs. DANTES is very cutting edge and | | | | and virtual educational communities, is accessibility. |
| innovative in the way education is delivered to | | | | Not everyone has ready access to a computer |
| deployed troops. They utilize traditional learning, | | | | with an internet connection. Without that access, |
| satellite courses, e-learning, video, courses that | | | | online learning is hard. |
| you can download to a PDA and even Podcast | | | | Online education is so portable and flexible for so |
| classes. | | | | many people that it's easy to miss the |
| Many colleges and universities are authorized to | | | | disadvantages. If online education were the best |
| provide distance learning through DANTES. You | | | | choice for every person every time, we wouldn't |
| can take specific courses that you need for | | | | need brick-and-mortar schools, would we? There |
| degree completion, earn a college degree, or take | | | | are both advantages and disadvantages of online |
| vocational career training through DANTES | | | | courses. |
| sponsored educational providers. | | | | |