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 Web-Based Training Typical classroom training can provide a good basis of information upon which to operate a complex system. On the job, I can depend on on-line Help to provide task support on specific topics within the system. Operator's manuals may extend that support to a small degree; however, neither the Help function nor the operator's manuals present the material as a threaded sequence of tasks that will accomplish a specific job. What we have prototyped is a Web-based performance support tool, a job aid that presents a set of procedures tailored to a specific job. When I learn a new system, what I really need is an expert standing by my side, leading me step by step through necessary tasks, job support provided at the moment of need. Instead, what I often get is too few weeks of classroom training based on slide shows and discussions. Some classes may include hands-on training involving a planned exercise with prepared input for simplistic tasks. Simulators are often used when training errors on the target system could result in loss of costly resources, people and systems. However, planned exercises do not always match the complexity of tasks to be accomplished, and simulators are only as real as their input data. Web-Based Job Aid The AFMSS Embedded Trainer (ET) is a just-in-time job aid based on cutting edge, platform-independent, network (Web)-based technology. Through the combination of a Java Applet and HTML, the tool provides AFMSS job-aid information while being flexible enough to be used on other mission planning and information systems on a variety of platforms. The ET Java Applet is unique in that it provides access to the local file system, access that is usually restricted to applications. This access allows the ET to track individual user progress in the tool and manages user accounts. An applet was chosen versus a Java application because the majority of information presented to the user in the form of procedures lends itself well to HTML/browser display. Because the ET employs Web-based technology, it is portable to other platforms and operating systems. The use of platform-independent technologies such as Java and HTML was key because of the anticipated migration of the Air Force mission-planning functions to platforms other than the current UNIX-based system. Given the potential for this migration, it was important to develop a solution that could migrate with the mission planner without significant, or any, rework. As a result, the ET has been demonstrated to function in representative UNIX, Windows and Macintosh operating environments. The overarching design concepts for the ET are just-in-time training, on-the-target system with flexibility for users of varying proficiency. The ET is available just-in-time, at the user's discretion, providing only those procedures pertinent to the task at hand. Training on-the-target system maximizes user benefit of the tool by allowing its operation in the course of executing actual tasks. The name Embedded Trainer might lead one to the conclusion that the ET is somehow in communication with the target application. In fact, the ET has been designed to function concurrently, but independently from the target application. While the ET is invoked from the primary menu, and does access the target system's on-line help information, there is no other direct communication between the target application and the ET. The user controls both ET and the target application independently through their respective user system interfaces. What this means is that the user, not the target application, directs the ET to the appropriate information. More accurately, the ET should be called a job aid since the user has access to this feature while performing mission-specific tasks on the target system. Finally, the ET is designed to be useful for users of varying proficiencies. We determined that a training or job-aid application should include detailed instruction for novice users, as well as checklist-style information for expert users. The tool's flexibility allows users to access detailed procedures for executing unfamiliar tasks, or checklist-level information for mastered tasks. The ET's Features The Checklist After login, ET presents a checklist of system-specific topics. These topics aggregate the system's functions, which, while not mandating order of execution, provide a logical sequence of tasks. The checklist keeps track of completed topics, allowing the user to leave a session and return later to a known state. For the expert user, the checklist can be used in the true sense of checking off those tasks that must be accomplished.
The Interview Once a topic is selected, a topic-specific interview begins to extract information from the user to tailor the training session. The ET uses these responses to the topic interview to create procedure threads. ET's presentation of these dynamically generated procedure threads is what sets it apart from most other computer-based trainers. For example, on AFMSS, the ET queries, "Will you be loading an existing SCL?" If the user answers "yes," the ET provides the procedures for selecting a predefined (Standard Configuration Load) SCL from the database. If the user answers "no," the ET provides a much larger set of instructions for building the SCL from scratch. Sequenced Procedures After the interview, ET uses the responses to present a sequence of HTML procedure pages that provide job-aid information relevant to the topic as tailored by the interview responses. At the end of each topic, a final page instructs the operator to perform certain functions to ensure the topic has been completed successfully and then reminds the user to save the mission data. The ET then returns to the checklist for execution of the next topic.
Administration Features Other significant features of the prototype include a search function and a set of administration functions. The search function provides a capability to find information about the trainer as well as the target application. The search tool returns links to information it finds related to a word or phrase that the operator provides. The sources of information for these links include the contractor-provided AFMSS help, tutorials that have been written for the prototype, as well as the ET HTML procedure pages. The search function was designed to access additional help resources as they are available without recompiling or relinking the tool. That is, new text-based sources of help, including technical orders, etc., can be placed in the help directory and links to it will be returned by the search function without any modification to the ET. Finally, the system administration functions of the ET provide for managing user accounts, monitoring user progress in the ET, and even an ET topic-authoring tool for building the binary tree that the ET uses to provide procedures in response to the topic interviews. The Solution of Choice Operators like me who need just-in-time job support will use the ET because of its accessibility and because executing an on-the-target system allows completion of the actual task, not just a separate training evolution of the task. Systems with complex task-threaded sequences are good examples of systems where the ET can have a positive impact on job performance. ESC's Modeling, Simulation and Training Product Area Directorate (MST PAD) is looking at the ET for broader application. Using one program as a test case, they are determining the level of resources necessary to apply the ET across a larger set of programs where on-line training is a challenge. We should not leave the impression that ET can be loaded on an information system and immediately improve the user's performance. The ET provides the framework to capture a system or application-specific job aid. A large part of developing such a tool is the domain/user-level knowledge. One could say that the ET is the vessel, and it is no small effort to produce the cargo. Loading the cargo is easy enough, but the volume of the cargo depends greatly on the target system. The HTML procedures (the cargo) can be developed using a word processor and are easily maintained and portable as the system evolves. For more information, please contact Regina Furey-Deffely using the employee directory. |
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