Technology, the Future, and Change:
Emergent Trends in Learning
Tim Workman, NRC-IIT
6 October 2010
NRC Institute for
Information Technology
• Specializing in:
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3D imaging, modeling, and visualization
Learning and collaborative technologies
Human-computer interaction
Intelligent internet applications
Natural language processing
Data and text mining
• Research Labs focused on:
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Augmented Reality
Service Oriented Systems
People Centered Technologies
Semantic Web Technologies
A Period of Significant
Social Change
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Society is changing, in terms of demographics, priorities,
and how people consume information
• “Stop talking about Alternative Training Delivery – it is now the
way that all training will be conducted. Legacy training models
are no longer an option...”
– Commander, Combat Training Centre, CFB Gagetown
• “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even
less…”
– General Eric Shinseki, US Army Chief of Staff
• Policy is currently driven by people who’s personal
experiences and understanding may no longer be wholly
relevant
Advanced Learning and
Technology Represents...
• Methodologies and technologies that enhance
learning processes, cognitive function, knowledge
transfer, memory and retention, and both
individual and collective performance
• Applies to Training & Education and
Operational Performance Support
Challenges Identified:
Government Participants
• Lack of standards between organizations / departments
• Lack of situational awareness between organizations /
departments for potentially synergistic initiatives, projects,
content, past research, etc
• Training models are being shaped to fit available / existing
tools, versus shaping tools to fit emergent problems / models
• Organizations tend to pre-position the solution space
• Too much redundant “basic” research and not enough
scaffolding to emphasize “applied” research
• Challenges in matching the right resources to the problem that
provides cost and process efficiency
Opportunities Identified:
Workshop Participants
• A national Centre of Excellence for Advanced Learning and
Technology could provide / facilitate:
– Framework for discussion / collaboration between stakeholders
– Technology “sandbox” to develop / trial / showcase emergent
technologies, capabilities, and methods
– Knowledge integration, coordination, and warehousing
– Advice to policy, standardization, and interoperability
– Needs assessments and prioritization of effort
– Synthesis of requirements across government organizations to
support industry engagement, innovation, etc
– Access to vendors, organizations, stakeholders within and
across the ALT ecosystem
– Alignment of stakeholder capabilities to opportunities
Online Government
Advanced Research and
Development Environment
• The purpose of ONGARDE is to provide government (security
cluster) organizations with a common virtual environment within
which collaboration, experimentation, and resource sharing can
occur. Intent is to
– Eliminate redundant / individually funded efforts and create a
collective resource pool
– Create a unified research agenda based on priority areas of
importance / impact
– Target research and development investment against Key
Performance Indicators / Return on Investment metrics
– Leverage “whole of government” capabilities, resources, and
user-base to maximize the value proposition and impact
Project OnGARDE
designed as…
• A collaboration framework between government organizations to
facilitate, expand, and optimize mutually supportive efforts
• An initiative designed to:
– Support “coal-face innovation” by linking operational
organizations with advanced institutional support
– Eliminate historic “distance” and barriers between operators and
academia at the organizational levels
– Establish new models for industry collaboration
• A technology infrastructure that will enable government
organizations to collaborate within a common virtual
environment for the purposes of research, development, and
evaluation of emergent methodologies and technologies
ONGARDE
Partnership
• Co-hosted with the Canadian Defence Academy
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Manages Canada’s ADL Co-lab
Provides Canadian Forces training policy guidance to all branch
Creates CF research agenda for learning concepts
CF representatives to NATO on use of commercial platforms for
training
– CF managing authority for Defence Learning Network and DND
Learn, the enterprise LMS / LCMS
– Within “whole of government” mandate, actively collaborates with
other government departments to unify efforts and agendas
• New partners welcome
Immersive Reflexive
Engagement Trainer
Project
• The purpose of the IRET project is to blend a number of
technologies to allow soldiers to train within a blended livevirtual environment
– Primary application is judgmental training for ROE and use of
force
– Secondary application for development of engagement skills
with primary and secondary weapons.
• 24-month project (complete summer 2011)
• Three core components
– Multimodal command interfaces (voice and laser)
– Cognitive modeling of tasks / behaviours
– Augmented reality visualization systems
Clandestine Labs
Project
• Current stakeholders include RCMP, CPKN, Canadian Police
Research Centre(CPRC), NRC-IIT, and DND
• Intent is to develop “proof of concept” in a police training context
that highlights:
– Personalized Learning / Personal Learning Environments
– Competency & Proficiency Measurement / Management
– Intelligent Tutoring / Assessment
• High-level agreements should be in place by end-Oct
• Three trial user groups:
– National police force (RCMP)
– Regional police force (volunteer?)
– Municipal police force (volunteer?)
Clandestine Labs
Project
• Proposed “course” intended to parallel existing efforts
– Frame of reference / contrast
– Content conversion
• Require “hard problems” to solve
– Training tasks
– Learning outcomes
• Need a “wish list…”
QUESTIONS / DISCUSSION
Timothy Workman, CD, MDE
Project Manager – Strategic Partnerships
National Research Council Institute for Information Technology
timothy.workman@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca