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DANTES INFORMATION BULLETIN
2021
Helping Counselors Reach Out to Military Members In this issue: DoD VolEd PDI 2021
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Academic Skills Training
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Hot News
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Contact Information
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DANTES Information Bulletin
DoD VolEd Professional Development Institute Emily Bachman, Program Manager, DANTES
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areer growth often requires continuous education and professional development, beyond earning a degree and starting a career. In recognition of this imperative and as part of the Department of Defense (DoD) commitment to enable a “viable Voluntary Education (VolEd) community” and to “cultivate a culture of organizational effectiveness,” the DoD VolEd Program and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) hosted the 2021 DoD Voluntary Education Professional Development Institute (PDI). Due to COVID precautions, this year’s PDI was hosted as a 3-part virtual
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professional development series provided on July 28, August 11, and August 25, 2021. The annual government, joint Service workshops are designed to specifically focus on training to equip the Services’ VolEd Education Services Officers and Counselors in their support of the Military Services’ efforts to shape, recruit, train, educate, and retain a diverse workforce to successfully execute current and future missions. Each training session was specifically selected by the VolEd PDI Working Group, which includes representatives from each Service.
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
DoD VolEd Professional Development Institute 2021 “The National Academic Advising Association provided the training; with each speaker uniquely qualified and engaged in academic advising to enhance the educational development of higher education in military students. The 2021 PDI delivered training to more than 420 Education Services Officers (ESOs), Counselors, and headquarters personnel from across the Services. PDI 2021 sessions focused on: • Counseling Skills & Techniques in a Virtual Environment • Counseling Strategies that Encompass Lifespan Goals of Service Members • Credentialing & Licensure for Career and Occupational Counseling • Updates on DoD VolEd policies, programs, and practices from Dr. Jonathan Woods, Associate Director of Voluntary Education Participants received training on: • Learning what constitutes a virtual counseling session • Clarifying “do’s/don’ts, advantages/disadvantages” of counseling in a virtual environment • Identifying effective methods to determine lifespan goals
DANTES Information Bulletin
• Understanding best counseling techniques for the early, mid, and transition points in a military career • Identifying commonalities and differences in strategies for academic and career counseling • Understanding the resources and processes to obtain certification and licensure • Informing and promoting opportunities generated by certification and licensure, as part of a holistic development plan Additional learning aids and resources are available for those who attended and others who are interested at the following locations: • DANTES website, under the “Education Counselor” tab at the top of the page, https://www.dantes.doded.mil/CounselorsReps/ index.html#counselors-tab&Pdi • DANTES YouTube Channel, https://www. youtube. com/channel/UCAD8yGhGBeDAtIPMW7Eu-sA • MilEd Benefits mobile app, under the VolEd Professional Development section, https:// www. dantes.doded.mil/Resources/MilEdBenefits.html
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DoD VolEd Professional Development Institute 2021
As we look ahead, our goal for the 2022 PDI is to return to an in-person professional development workshop. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts and ideas to help make next year’s PDI an even bigger success, please contact your Service POC to let them know you would like to serve on or support the planning committee. Special thanks to the speaker organization and the VolEd professionals that made this year’s PDI a success! Speaker Organization: National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). 2021 DoD VolEd PDI Speakers: • Session 1: Dr. Jonathan Woods, OSD, Dr. Cynthia Pascal, NACADA, Mr. Tom French, DANTES
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Session 2: Mr. Jeff Allen, DANTES, Dr. Jennifer Joslin, NACADA, Mr. Joshua “JJ” Johnson, NACADA, Ms. Gina Perry, DANTES Session 3: Mr. Mike Stahl, DANTES, Mr. Jim Peacock, NACADA, Dr. Jonathan Woods, OSD
2021 DoD DANTES Webinar Technical Team: Ms. Emily Bachman, Ms. Mareba Mack, Ms. Erin Roberts, Ms. A’Donna Hudson 2021 DoD VolEd PDI DANTES Executive Team: Mr. Tom French, Ms. Laura Dean, Ms. Gina Perry, Mr. Ron Steiner, Ms. Emily Bachman, Ms. Erin Roberts, Ms. Michelle Alexander, Ms. Mareba Mack, Ms. Beci Hilgeman.
Click on the pics below to to watch the sessions via DANTES YouTube Channel
DANTES Information Bulletin
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
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Academic Skills Training Program
Academic Skills Training Program, What a Difference a Year Makes Holly Young, Account Manager, Peterson’s, with Kiwanis Short, Program Manager, DANTES
Plus, service members automatically receive a certificate for completing the course! View the promotional video here: https://youtu.be/rjo_GAJ8WF0
The OASC focuses on preparing you with the academic skills needed to do well, or better, on OASC Program Updates, Recap, What’s the ASVAB, also known as the Armed Forces ClasComing Next! sification Test (AFCT) for those already in the military. The skills you’ll learn are also applicable to he DANTES Academic Skills Training program many other standardized exams you may need to includes courses and tools created by Peterson’s take. This robust course includes a wide variety to improve the academic skills and college of instructional content that reinforces the learnreadiness of service members. The Online er’s skills in key academic areas that allow them Academic Skills Course (OASC) continues to serve to advance in their military careers and, if they so as the foundational skills education solution for choose, continue their formal education. many service members. Created specifically for service members, Peterson’s Academic Skills TrainThe increased need for virtual and online learning ing program includes courses to help improve the options has never been more important than now. academic skills and readiness of service members Whether a service member is deployed, down as they progress through scholastic and occurange, or navigating the global pandemic while pational pathways during their military career. working toward their unique education goals, the This one-of-a-kind program addresses both subrestrictions on in-classroom learning have made ject-specific learning (i.e., math, English, science) the presence of OASC’s online availability a key as well as important learning attributes like study tool in reaching those achievements. OASC can habits, goal planning, and resiliency. Learner suphelp improve basic math, English, science, reading ports exist within the course to provide technical comprehension, and vocabulary skills, all of which assistance and facilitate peer-to-peer engagement. are needed to score high on the AFCT.
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DANTES Information Bulletin
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Academic Skills Training Program Features & Functionality • Diagnostics tests, mini-quizzes, and full-length assessments • Interactive lessons and videos • Peer-to-peer message boards • Mobile-responsive • Self-paced and asynchronous • Web-based, 24/7 access • For administrators: reporting by branch and installation First up, OASC now features adaptive technology! What does this mean for Servicemembers? The course begins with a diagnostic test, which provides prescriptive lessons based on strengths and weaknesses, resulting in an individualized experience for every participant. The adaptive technology saves the Service member time. It allows a Service member to skip those lessons that they score 80% competency on the pretest. OASC especially benefits Servicemembers studying to increase their AFCT scores. Lessons are supported by interactive drills and practice sets, followed by quizzes to help gauge progress. Next, there’s an App for that! Peterson’s new OASC Academic Skills Training App lets you study whenever, wherever! No WiFi? No problem! With the OASC offline study pack, you can download sessions so you can learn on the go. Back in range? Use the online course to measure your progress with assessments and quizzes. Peterson’s OASC Academic Skills Training App is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
DANTES Information Bulletin
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
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Academic Skills Training Program
OASC Academic Skills Training App
Getting Started Instructions
1) Download the app from the App Store or Google Play You'll need an internet connection to download the app. From here, you can either continue to use the app with WiFi. OR Download the Offline Study Pack to study content when you're downrange.
2) Start studying Regardless of whether you use the app Online Course, the Offline Study Pack, or both, you're on your way to improving your skills!
Learn step-by-step via educational videos
Study on the go—wherever you have your phone
In-app badges keep learning fun
Course completion certificates
DANTES Information Bulletin
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
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Academic Skills Training Program
More science please!
Service members asked for it, and it’s here! We’ve added additional lessons in the most important science concepts, so service members can build their scientific understanding and boost their science scores on important exams. Military and civilian careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) continue to grow. The enhanced science content in OASC can help members refresh or build upon the foundational science content.
Metacognition and Strategies for Self-Learning
Based on a study conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) about Instructional Approaches and Delivery of Academic Skills Training an entire module on metacognition and strategies for self-learning was added to the Online Academic Skills course.
What is metacognition?
Have you ever stopped to wonder why we are more likely to plan for organizing a social gathering than we are for passing test? Learning is an active process and understanding how “metacognition” works and can help service members create the best possible opportunity to become a successful student. This has been a very popular module and was a very successful webinar this year. Click on the video above to get a better understanding of Academic Skills and Metacognition or go to https://www.dantes.doded.mil/EducationPrograms/PrepForCollege/AcademicSkills.html for more information!
DANTES Information Bulletin
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
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Academic Skills Training Program Even more OASC enhancements are coming: Additional videos
We’re expanding the OASC video content library to better cover topics in all content areas. Because many learners using the course today are better able to learn new concepts and ideas through visual learning, we are adding more videos that cover topics in science and language arts, in addition to the robust math video library already present within the course.
Online tutoring
A service member will be able to click “connect to a tutor” in their subject area of need and then meet with the tutor via webcam. During the session, the learner and tutor will work together on an online whiteboard to help the learner understand the topic more quickly and easily. At the end of the day, learning does not happen in isolation. When service members need additional academic support or remediation that cannot be met by the online courseware or email academic support, they will be referred as appropriate for one-on-one, online tutor support.
Academic Help Desk
Some service members may have an academic question which can be explained easily via email. In these instances, they can use Peterson’s Academic Help Desk. Learners submit a question
via email and receive a response within 72 hours of receipt. Our Academic Help Desk uses video technology to email students’ responses to their questions with a video whiteboard explanation. A demo video can be viewed here: https://drive. google.com/file/d/1qfgEXgt7yyCdzUsIeszQYvpuJUeLdJYF/view?ts=60a7de51 If a student needs more in-depth support, at the discretion of the Academic Help Desk, they may be referred to our online tutor support. Ivy Global will field academic help desk support queries. These individuals are accredited instructors in their respective fields.
Wrapping up with the best for last: ESO Resources Counselors are a key component of student success. For Educational Service Officers (ESOs), counselors, and leadership, Peterson’s provides an administrator portal with administrator training modules and a dashboard access to monitor and analyze user progress by installation. The portal also provides outreach and other informational materials to help promote service member usage. You’ll be able to access Military Career Advancement Success Tips, College Success Tips for Adult Learners, and other promotional materials you can print off and share.
Get started by creating your account here: https://dantes.petersons.com/educator
DANTES Information Bulletin
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Academic Skills Training Program
DANTES Information Bulletin
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Academic Skills Training Program
DANTES Information Bulletin
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Hot News
Online Academic Skills Course (OASC) New Enhancements webinar (Academic Help Desk and Live Tutoring)
DoD Test Prep - Maximize Test Scores and Improve College and Career Readiness with EBSCO LearningExpress Library
16 September 1130 ET / 1030 CT / 0930 MT / 0830 PT
23 September 1200 ET / 1100 CT / 1000 MT / 0900 PT
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eterson’s will present another update of the program and will focus on the two MAJOR enhancements for Service members starting 1 October: Academic Help Desk and Live Tutoring. In this webinar, you will learn about the Learning Progression that a Service member will experience in the OASC Portal, how to request an administrator account, update on the mobile app, time to completion rates of adaptive vs linear training, the importance of pre- and postassessments, peer-topeer interactions, system reminders, academic help desks and live tutoring. We will also ask you to share your success stories and provide recommendations on how to improve the program. Visit https://www.dantes.doded.mil/Webinars/ index.html frequently to see what is being offered.
DANTES Information Bulletin
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BSCO LearningExpress Library is an online test prep resource designed to help service members pursue academic and career success. Gain an overview of its extensive practice tests, interactive tutorials, and eBooks for CLEP and DSST tests, military tests, college entrance exams, professional certification exams, and more. We will also look at the new LearningExpress mobile app for test prep on the go, online or offline. Find out how to register for a free personal account and gain access to a world of online academic and career development resources in EBSCO LearningExpress Library. Here is the link to get to the EBSCO webinar: https:// www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_ Ncv3S_YRRiOtEn4lweH1-g
http://www.dantes.doded.mil
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DANTES Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support
DANTES OCONUS European Advisor (Contingency Operation Support)
6490 Saufley Field Road, Pensacola, FL 32509 (850) 452-1901
DANTES_Outreach@navy.mil
011-49-611-143-511-1230
usarmy.badenwur.usareur.mbx.dantes-euro@ mail.mil
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DANTES INFORMATION BULLETIN
DANTES Information Bulletin The DANTES Information Bulletin is published monthly to inform education personnel about DANTES programs and to help promote more efficient customer service to service members. Email all inquiries to DANTES_Outreach@navy.mil. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government, except that copyrighted materials cannot be reproduced without written permission from the copyright owner. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by DANTES of the linked websites, or the information, products, or services contained therein.
Jeff Allen, Director Michelle Alexander, Editor DANTES Information Bulletin
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