Whitney's Portfolio

We have all heard the military stories of the 700-dollar hammer and the 1000-dollar toilet seat.  Many of these problems were created because military mentality for years was too compartmentalized, extremely structured, lacking in creativity which resulted in poor efficiency and lack of effectiveness.  Eventually, those were problems identified, analyzed, a creative solution adopted and implemented.  Likewise, military training as a whole tends to be extremely structured, lacking creativity, mundane with little obvious application to the skill set.  Unfortunately, not only does some of the military training miss the mark but also so does the approach to correcting problems and processes. These approaches include training, leadership, communication and process improvements.

Some of the best training I’ve been exposed to in my eight years in the Coast Guard was creative, and actually applied to the skill set I needed.  My desire with Educational Technology is to not only improve how I can evaluate a process, but to use the various methods and tools available to dissect it with purpose with specific intent, and to develop creative, efficient and effective solutions.

I have spent six of the past eight years serving on Coast Guard Cutters. Through my roles on these ships, I have been given the opportunity to identify performance problems of individuals, groups, units, and our service as a whole. For example, my last assignment was second in command of a Coast Guard ship based out of Hawaii.  I was in a unique position to assess a myriad of operational, personnel and training problems and develop solutions that ‘continued to get the job done’.  Unfortunately, without my newly acquired EDTEC training, I was too often enabling the problem.  Without the higher level training of EDTEC, I was often assessing a performance gap and developing an inefficient, short-term solution. 

EDTEC has thus far provided me the tools to assess procedures and training as well as and break down the process, – particularly in teaching, learning and understanding military learning processes.  My formal study in EDTEC has given me the skills to analyze and critique the training, improve the process and improve the future for my fellow Coast Guard men and women.

My next assignment will truly test my EDTEC skills.  I will be assigned to Coast Guard headquarters where I will evaluate a myriad of operational training programs, including Law Enforcement applications and deployed specialized forces. I am eager to continue learning the many aspects of the Educational Technology discipline and apply them to the day-to-day operations of the United States Coast Guard.