FAIRFAX, VA- Edmond Scientific Company (ESC) has recently entered phase three of their computer-based training (CBT) development for the Navy E-6 Aircraft. Working with AERA since September of 1999, ESC has provided extensive technical and instructional support to develop more than 100 hours of CBT for the Navy. The training will aid instructors and refresh technicians on the operation and repair of various systems on the aircraft.

"The training was developed for all technicians working on these planes," Dave Michalko, Project Manager, said. "The training refreshes technicians on component locations, the tools they will use, and clarifies procedures in the technical manuals for easier understanding."

Edmond Scientific provided not only subject matter expertise on the E-6 Aircraft, but contributed instructional systems design expertise, and graphic production skills to convert each lesson from a storyboard to the finished product. Coming from decades of experience in the Navy as technicians and instructors, ESC has intimate knowledge of the aircraft and the Navy approach to instruction, and brings irreplaceable expertise to the CBT development team.

The new CBT will replace older, less effective teaching aids such as transparencies and line drawings with newer technology including digital photos, computer animations, and video data. The newer technology helps instructors represent how different aircraft systems work and shows the different aircraft systems more in depth than before.

"With the new training, the technicians can look at the real aircraft instead of line art," Michalko said. "Digital photos enable them to see the aircraft without actually walking into it."

The instructors can also show videos integrated into their lesson rather than having to locate the instructional information on a VHS tape and use a separate video-playing device. Because the lesson is entirely electronic, it is also much easier to incorporate changes to the lessons and keep the material available to instructors for immediate use.

The training is computerized and on-line accessible, and is designed to be used as both an instructor training aid and as a self-teaching tool.

"The lessons we created are meant to be a classroom tool for instructors to utilize, and as a refresher course for technicians on material previously learned," Michalko said. The two products are packaged differently but make maximum reuse of developed media and files.

The Navy has already begun using the new CBT lessons developed during phase one and two of the project since 1999. At the end of the current phase three, the Navy will obtain new lessons for the more complicated and updated systems for instructors to better train their technicians.

- Back to top