The potential benefits of e-learning are well established: It is available anytime/anywhere, boasts high return-on-investment, and offers a range of other practical advantages. Well-designed e-learning systems also possess impressive training benefits, engaging students and enhancing their learning outcomes. However, think back to your last e-learning experience: Was it inherently engaging, particularly efficient, well-aligned with military training objectives, or truly meaningful? In many cases, the answer is probably "no."

Unfortunately, in real-world practice, many online courses emphasize lower-order cognitive skills, have limited interactivity, use primarily didactic training approaches, incorporate superficial metrics (e.g., recall tests), only offer one-size-fits-all training, and lack clear linkages to meaningful military training objectives. Fortunately, the science and technology exists to correct these limitations; however, instructional best-practices and interactive web applications need to be implemented in a practical, measurable, and sustainable framework in order to realistically support online military instruction. The Continuum of eLearning (CoL) intends to do this.

The CoL is an individual, web-based training package that is being designed to boost knowledge of joint mission-relevant topics before, during, and after an exercise or deployment. The CoL is intended to support a blended learning approach, emphasize (and measure) the acquisition of deeper knowledge, be personalized to the needs of each trainee, and use historical vignettes and video interviews to convey high-quality, relevant, and engaging content. The initial version of the CoL is being developed, tested, and refined by Joint and Coalition Warfighting (JCW), J7 Joint Staff, in 2012, and it will ultimately reside on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO).

This paper describes the prototype CoL, implemented for U.S. Southern Command's PANAMAX 2012 multinational training exercise. The paper also articulates the ultimate vision for the CoL, including the research-based foundations for the system's andragogical (adult-learning) instructional approaches, adaptive learning mechanisms, and higher-order learning assessments. Finally, the paper offers lessons-learned for implementing next-generation e-learning, like the CoL, in real-world contexts, such as JKO.