**7. Conclusion**

**Experimentation group**

Feedback, terminology and resistance to change

**Table 1.** Experimentation of the "Cluster" on Canadian army cadets for navigation courses in teams using the map

118 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

The current research project produced three main results under the research and development methodology: (1) the theory describing the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment, (2) the "Cluster" Internet application and (3) data, results and conclusions regarding the testing of the "Cluster" Internet application with army cadets during navigation patrols in teams. The theories describing the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment are now submitted to the scientific community through numerous publications [18, 19, 20, 21] so that the term "hier‐ archical aggregate assessment" will be internationally recognized by the scientific community. Following a first iteration in the research and development process, the "Cluster" Internet application has undergone a first set of amendments that has been proposed by Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi during her teaching assignment III at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). These results were presented and discussed in the « Results » section of this chapter, and the « Cluster » Internet application is now fully operational. Although the experiment is over, the organization of the army cadet has found useful "Cluster" Internet application in the cadet movement to provide distance learning and help for cadets with learning disabilities and to help late entry cadets of 15 to 18 years of age to progress faster in their career. This application is now used by the cadets to provide distance courses on topography, navigation patrols, instructional techniques and general military knowledge. The results for the testing of the application "Cluster" by the army cadets demonstrate that the increase of knowledge pro‐ duced with the "Cluster" Internet application is 50.59 %, an increase which is almost identical to that produced by the traditional classroom teaching methods that is of 48 %. This similarity of percentages for the increase of knowledge in both cases could be explained by the "Clark [77]-Kozma [78] debate" where Clark (Clark, 1983, p 44.) states that "the media are only a

vehicle transporting knowledge and do not influence knowledge".

dynamics that destroys motivation and desire to learn.

However, the success rate for the learning of topography using the "Cluster" Internet appli‐ cation is only 22 % compared to the control group which is 83 %. The success rate of 22 % produced by distance learning can be explained by the fact that many of the cadets in the experimental group were having learning disabilities. Some of the major drawbacks of distance learning are to leave the student alone in his learning process without being in the classroom and lacking the presence of a teacher or colleagues to help him. Very often, students with learning disabilities registered in distance courses became confused by the lack of classroom

**6. Discussion**

**Control group**

> The actual research project wants that the term "hierarchical aggregate assessment" will be accepted and recognized by the entire scientific community. The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment has been used everywhere and throughout the ages without any researcher or scientist having the idea to define this process by a name or a term. One of the goals of the present research project is to resolve this issue by proposing the term "hierarchical aggregate assessment". The work done in this research was to implement this process in the areas of education, assessment and information technologies (IT). Further work and future research performed by the CDAME researchers will focus on (1) improving the user interface in the fields mentioned by the "QUIS" questionnaire that are feedback, terminology and resistance to change, (2) the implementation of the process of hierarchical aggregate assess‐ ment in the field of management and (3) the determination of the "Cluster" Internet application influence on knowledge increase, user satisfaction and student success rates.
