The Military Learner: The Acceptance of New Training Technology for C-130 Aircrews

<p>The problem in this qualitative embedded single-case study was that business and military organizations have shrinking budgets, which has caused conflicting priorities for training funds. This has forced training managers to develop alternative instructional programs to reduce costs, which sometimes means replacing people with technology. To be useful, the new technology must be accepted and used by learners. During military training, certain programs require learners to use a new technology despite the possible lack of acceptance of that technology. Researchers do not know how military learners accept new technology that is mandatory to use. The purpose of this case study was to understand how military learners use new technology by exploring the experiences of learners who have used a 360-degree training program. A purposeful sample of 18 participants who attend C-130 flight training was selected from a military base in the Southern United States. The study included structured and open-ended questions to explore learner experiences. The objectives were to describe how the learners accept new technology and describe how learners perceive the value of the training. The findings were that the participants have different learning styles, they take acceptance cues from their instructors, and they need technology to be easy to use. To reach a conclusion, this study applied the third version of the Technology Acceptance Model to a mandatory learning situation in a military context. The recommendations were that new technology should be developed for easy access; that instructors should employ all the support facilities necessary to use new technology; and that new technology should be easy to use to gain participant acceptance. Future recommendations are to expand qualitative studies of technology acceptance in mandatory training situations for business and industry.</p>