For students who are in the military, distance learning is like a dream come true. To think that you could continue getting an associate, bachelor’s or even master’s degree while stationed overseas or even deployed in a war zone is real coup for online education.

But military personnel taking online courses while fulfilling their service is somewhat old news, isn’t it? Here’s a cool story about military distance learning involving a teacher providing online instruction to students in North Dakota while she was deployed in Iraq.

Over the course of one year, Captain Cheryl J. Wachenheim taught 4 online courses (each containing between 20 and 75 students) in micro- and macro-economics at North Dakota University. Of course, she administered these courses from 7,000 miles away in Balad, Iraq while fulfilling her tours of duty for the Minnesota National Guard. (She really puts the “distance” in military distance learning!)

For this teacher, she was not equipped with an office, desk and an apple, but rather a trailer and an M-16 (that she was required to carry with her at all times.) By chipping in with other soldiers, she had Internet access via satellite, which came right to her trailer after digging up the ground in order to bury the wires. Using the Blackboard course management system, she posted questions for discussion and assignments. With the Wimba software, she gave video lectures.  Imagine your teacher in fatigues with explosions of artillery and other weapons in the background!

The challenges Captain Wachenheim faced mostly involved the potential for her having to disappear unexpectedly or losing Internet access due to dust storms, emergency alarms, mortar explosions, or last minute trips. There’s no such thing as sick days and substitute teachers in the world of military distance learning.

On the other hand, her life on the base camp also provided her with inspiration for new and unusual economic discussion topics; particularly regarding shortages and surplusses since they obviously didn’t have the luxury of walking into a fully stocked store and choosing from a variety of products. Apparently, Diet Mountain Dew became an extremely hot commodity on the base at one point.

Incredibly, Captain Wachenheim maintained steady contact with her far away students, which is one of the most highly valued characteristics of an online instructor. Aside from being a good teacher, communication with “her” students was both inspiring and fulfilling for Captain Wachenheim - from learning about their personal lives to having her passion for economics and talking about economics satisfied. It was a win-win situation for all but particularly for her since teaching provided some peace and a welcome distraction from the intensity of her surroundings.