AFIT provides satellite learning for military - Air Force Institute of Technology utilizes distance learning

Communications News,  March, 1994  by Philip Westfall

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With reductions in personnel and funding, and the added educational requirements recently determined by the Acquisition Professional Development Council (APDC), development of distance learning (DL) has become an imperative for the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Air University's graduate school.

Using modern technological tools to export education such as fiber optics, satellite video communications, computer based instruction, computer nets, fax machines and the like, AFIT is developing its own DL satellite-based network, "Air Technology Network" (ATN), a one-way video, two-way audio system which is now reaching all MAJCOM headquarters, and AFMC logistics and product centers. It will reach all 69 Air Force bases by March 1994.

Through well-designed, multimedia educational programs, and at a greatly reduced cost per student, AFIT is reaching a much larger audience for career development. Thanks to SAF/AQ's funding support, AFIT has begun to address its continuing education backlog of over 25,000 student requirements.

AFIT's first attempt at DL was through the use of AFLC's video teleconferencing network (VTCN). In October 1990, AFIT broadcast a fiber optics course taught by the School of Engineering to six sites with 120 students enrolled. This course was the first for AFIT to be delivered via fiber-optic link using the Defense Commercial Telecommunications Network (DCTN).

Coincidentally in 1991, in an effort to reduce satellite transmission costs, the National Technological University (NTU), a non-profit distance education institution, secured a $1.5 million government grant to convert its analog video transmission to compressed digital video (CVD). Included in this grant was the provision of a satellite uplink for AFIT.

AFIT agreed to participate in testing this new digital system. Installation was completed March 1992. In a separate but related initiative, HQ SUSAF/DPC purchased NTU membership for the Air Force and installed NTU equipment at 18 sites. In June 1992, AFIT began using NTU as a sole-source provider of CDV, to broadcast SYS 200.

This delivery medium has been very successful. Our yearly throughput increased from 300 in-residence for SYS 200 to 3,000 through satellite with no difference in academic performance for DL classes.

In anticipation of the increased demand DL placed on AFIT's resources, AFIT's commandant consolidated personnel from the various agencies associated with DL into a single organization. In February 1992, the commandant created the AFIT Center for Distance Education, and designated the School of Systems and Logistics (LS) as executive agent. The school delivers professional continuing education to meet APDC's most critical educational needs.

With APDC funding AFIT's DL initiative, placing the Center under LS brings this service in line with the customer-provider link. The Center, nonetheless, is serving the other schools within the institute and supports Air University and Air Education and Training Command (AETC) in the development of a command DL initiative.

Because NTU is not on contract by the Defense Department (DOD), it cannot offer interoperability across the services. In the interest of interservice DL networking, therefore, the Center explored interoperability issues with AT&T, the primary contractor for the DCTN. The contract provided only for fiber-optic video telecommunications with rates of digital compression that were unsatisfactory for education use.

To accommodate AFIT's requirements for a DL network similar to NTU, however, the Center requested that AT&T develop a satellite-based capability based on the NTU model to be placed on the DCTN contract.

AT&T now offers the new DCTN-CDV service, which allows all DOD agencies instructing via satellite to be on the same network, an important capability for the new Defense Acquisition University, where education is to be multiservice.

Moreover, because the signal uses CDV technology, broadcasting costs have been greatly reduced over the traditional analog systems with acceptable video quality.

AFIT broadcast its first course on the new network on Nov. 1, 1993. The Army Logistics Management College, at Ft. Lee, Va., recently retrofit all of the Army's "Satellite Education Network" (SEN) sites.

APDC is interested in closely integrated relationship in all DL projects it is sponsoring. The Center has coordinated the ATN and NTU efforts insofar as possible. NTU provides, for a fee, graduate education to the Air Force acquisition community, whereas ATN is the network of choise for interservice, professional continuing education. At the suggestion of the Center, and in the spirit of closer cooperation with the DOD, NTU announced in December 1992 its decision to switch satellites and join AFIT on the AT&T system.

NTU will begin broadcasting from Telstar 401, the common carrier satellite, in March 1994. This merger of networks will eliminate the need for dual uplinks and downlinks, as originally planned.

COPYRIGHT 1994 Nelson Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group