For the past six months, PSI has been supporting the TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) in building MHS Learn, a centralized, web-based platform that offers a single source to address the learning needs of the Military Health System (MHS) staff, patients, and caregivers. We met with Mike McCormick, PSI's Vice President of Distance Learning & Collaborative Technologies, to get some background into this important mission.

The biggest challenge for any new program is resistance to change. Mike McCormick's goal for MHS Learn is to stamp out that mentality and get the word out about the benefits of this secure, scalable learning platform. It is also to elevate effective learning as a key ingredient for system acceptance and success, rather than as an afterthought. "We're a technology-enabler," Mike said. "Successful learning really involves blending instructionally sound materials with an effective delivery mechanism."

MHS Learn began five years ago on a shoestring budget as a pilot Learning Management System (LMS). It now ranks as the world's largest customer-facing implementation of Oracle's iLearning (COTS) LMS software. This platform often delivers over 20,000 lesson completions per week to over 170,000 current users. And 5,000 additional learners self register every month.

"Much of our success stems from the idea of building a better mouse trap," said Mike, who was the program manager on MHS Learn since its inception in 2004. Prior to that, many TMA offices were implementing their own LMS, which required a dedicated technical staff and a helpdesk for operation. This was costly to the Government and inefficient for learners, who had to log into 3-5 different systems just to prepare for a mission. Further, the training courses were often non-standard and ineffective.

Similar to the way an iPod plays media files and allows you to listen to music wherever and whenever you want, MHS Learn enables users to select from hundreds of course titles, taking training whenever it is most convenient for them, from any computer with a web browser. It supports traditional classroom, virtual "webinar" sessions, and extensive discussion forums that instantly connect specialized training communities worldwide. It is hosted at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and supported by the MHS Helpdesk.

Due to expansions across the MHS, and shared learning initiatives with other Federal Government agencies such as the Veterans Health Administration and the National Guard, there is anticipated growth of over 200,000 new MHS Learn users over the next few years.