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Research Note 86-25

FUNCTIONAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE

MODEL TRAINING PROGRAM FOR RESERVE COMPONENT UNITS

00

CO Ruth Ann Marco, Larry Israelite and

Sonia Gunderson

Scientific Systems, Inc.

( ELECTEIt_ DTiC

JUN o 0 0 

ARI FORT KNOX FIELD UNIT

Donald F. Haggard, Chief

TRAINING RESEARCH LABORATORY

Seward Smith, Acting Director

U. S. Army

LLJ Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences

MARNCh 1986

Arp~rnv'~ 'or oublC'.1~e. IPstb- on un -r'

86
0

U. S. ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A Field Operating Agency under the Jurisdiction of the

Deput Chief of Staff for Personnel

WM. DARRYL HENDERSON

EDGAR M. JOHNSON COL, IN

Techical Dirctor Commanding

Technical review by

Scott E. Graham

Carl W. Lickteig

'.I

This report, as submitted by the contractor, hot been cleared fc' release to Defense Technical Information Center

(DTIC) to comply with reglatory req€uirementi. It has been given no primary distribution Othe, than to OTIC

and will be available only through DTIC or other reference services such as the National Techn,cal Information Service (NTIS). The views. C1)#ni'r.n. and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(sl and

should not be construed as an officia; Lpepaitmeri, of the Army position, policy, or decision. unless so designated

by other official documentation.

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UNLCASS I"I I-A)

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONS

BEFORE COMPLETING FORM

I REPORT NUMB3ER 2 GOVT ACCESSION NO PE-IPENT'S CATAOG NUMBER

ARI Research Note 86-25 ,

. TITLE (a'd SubtItI) TypE O F REPORt & PERIOD COVEqEO

Functional Hardware and Software Specifications Interim Report

for the Model Training Program for I 8r8

Reserve Component Units 6 PERFORMING ORG. REPORT N .4BER

7. AJTHOR(I) 8 CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBF.Rr.,

Ruth Ann Mfarco, Larry Israelite, & DA903-3c0483

Sonia Gunderson

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT PROJECT, TASK

AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS

Scientific Systems, Inc. 2Q263743A791

35 CambridgePark Drive 512 Cl

Cambridge, MKA 02140

I. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE

U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral March 1986

W and Social Sciences/5001 Eisenhower Avenue/ 13. NUMBER OF PAGES

Alexandria, VA 22233-5600 23 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME I AOORESS(I( different from Controlllng Office) I'. SECURITY CLASS. (of (his report)

Unclassified

ISa. DECLASSIFICATION DOWNGRADING

SCHEDULE

16. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of this Report)

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited

17. ISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the absttec entered In Block 20, It different from Report)

I$. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse side ii necesary aind Identify by block number)

Armor Maintenance Technical training,

Army training Maintenance training

Computer-based instruction Simulation,

Computer-aided instruction Training

20. AW3rSTIA r 'cmztftue am rewrer.s sftl if nrcewer nod Idenfify by block number)

The Model Training Program for Reserve Component Units (MTP-RC) is

developing and evaluating state-of-the-art, computer-based troubleshooting

and maintenance instruction. MTP-RC courseware was analyzed in order to

identify those characteristics that were dependent on specific hardware

and/or software capabilities. To determine the degree to which MTP-RC

courseware is compatible with the Electronic Information Delivery System

(EIDS),IArmy agencies were contacted in order to identify the functional

specifications for EIDS hardware and software. In order to determine how

DD I A 1473 EOf1"O0 OF I NOVW 85S OBSOLETIE [

SECURITY CLASSIFIC ATION Of THIS PA -E (WhN DOe Fntervd)
UNCLASSIFIED

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE(Whn Dote Entared)

Itemn 20 (Cont)

the Hand Held Tutor could be used with MTP1-RC courseware, tile

characteristics of the Tutor were identified. MTP-RC courseware was developed for delivery on thle MicroTICCIT CBT systems. As a result, thle

hardware and software specification,; describe the capabilities of

* MicroTICCIT.

Accesro-iFr

NTIS CRAMI

OTIC TAB

Uiiarino~j2,-ed

ustffcdt3; l

Dis ]: 1VI I\'!/orI

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE(W. 4

7,n p a p p

r. 4 .W a A m W AM -WNM A 4
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE ("oen Date Entered) '-.

PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONS REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAEBEFORE COMPLETING FORM A

I. REPORT NUMBER 2. GOVT ACCESSION No. 3. RECIPIEI,-T'S CATALOG NUMBER

4. TITLE (and Subtitle) S. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED

aS

6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER7. AUTHOR(&) S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(*)

6-5

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZAT ION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT PROJECT, TASK AREA 6 WORK UNIT NUMBERS

ICONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE

13. NUMBER OFPAGES

14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME & ADDRESSI'lf different from Controlling Office) IS. SECURITY CLASS. (of this report)

I~.DCASSI FICATION/ DOWNGRADING S CHEDULE

16. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of this Report)

17. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the abstract anteredtn Block 20, If different fromt Report)

IS. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

19. KEY WORDS (Continue on rev'erse side If necessasry and identify by block number)

20. ADSTRACT (Coninus a reverse stafi if nmcwcssry and Identify by block num ber)

DO,1A7 14n3 EDITION OF NEOV 65IS OOSOL ETE

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (Whon D)ara EnIred)

- 1w -t -w -40 w .qzv 
FUNCTIONAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE MODEL TRAINING

PROGRAM FOR RESERVE COMPONENT UNITS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Requirement:

The Model Training Program for Reserve Component Units (MTP-RC) is

developing and evaluating state-of-the-art, computer-based troubleshooting

and maintenance instruction. The purpose of this report is to describe the

hardware and software systems that will be required to deliver this training

to Reserve Units. The report also contains information pertaining to the

delivery of MTP-RC courseware on the Electronic Information Delivery System

(EIDS) and on strategies for supplementing MTP-RC courseware with the Hand

Held Tutor.

Procedure:

MTP-RC courseware was analyzed in order to identify those characteristics that were dependent on specific hardware and/or software capabilities. General computer-based training hardware and software requirements

are also identified.

To determine the degree to which MTP-RC courseware is compatible with

EIDS, Army agencies were contacted in order to identify the functional specifications for EIDS hardware and software. The proposed EIDS characteristics then were compared to KTP-RC courseware delivery requirements to

determine the level of courseware compatibility.

In order to determine how the Hand Held Tutor could be used with MTP-RC

courseware, two tasks were performed. First, the characteristics of the

Tutor were identified. Second, MTP-RC courseware was analyzed in order to

identify instructional requirements for which these characteristics would be

appropriate.

Results:

MTP-RC courseware was developed for delivery on the MicroTICCIT CBT

system. As a result, the hardware and software specifications describe the

capabilities of MicroTICC[T.

At the present time, the functional specifications for EIDS are not

available. As a result, it is difficult to determine the level of compatibility between MTP-RC coiirseware and EIDS.

Iii

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The analysis of the Hand Held Tutor indicates that there are several

ways in which this device could be used to supplement MPT-RC courseware.

Utilization strategies include training on tank nomenclature, use of the

technical manuals, and equipment locations.

Utilization of Findings;

The findings will be used as the basis for selecting an MTP-RC delivery

system (MicroTICCIT) and planning for the fielding of MTP-RC courseware in

Reserve Units. Additionally, the results will help guide the integration of

several training devices (CBT, EIDS, Hand Held Tutor) to form an integrated

training system.

.
FUNCTIONAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE

MODEL TRAINING PROGRAM FOR RESERVE COMPONENT UNITS

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION................................................................1I

Instructional Approaches Appropriate for RC Training

Environment...........................................................I

MTP-RC COUR"EWARE DESCRIPTION.............................................3

Principles of Operation............................................. 3

Troubleshooting/Maintenance.................................*. . ..... 6

MTP-RC DELIVERY SYSTEM R.EQUJIREMENTS..................... .................. 10

Hardware.....................................0.......................10

Software..............................................................11

Site Support..........................................................12

System Configuration and Workstation.................................12

Recommended Delivery System......................................... 12

E IDS INTERFACE............................................................14

HAND-HELD TUTOR APPLICATIONS.............................................16

CONCLUSION................................................................18

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Flow of Instruction.........................................4

Figure 2: Proposed Workstation Design............................... 13
INTRODUCTION

The Model Training Program for Reserve Component Units (tiTP-RG) is

developing and evaluating state-of-the-art, computer-based troubleshooting

and maintenance instruction. The goal of the training program is to

sustain skill level 1 and 2 troubleshooting and maintenance proficiency on

the MI. Abrams main battle tank. The target audience Includes two

Organizational Military occupational Specialties (MOSs), 45E and 63E, and

two Direct Support/General Support MOSs, 45K and 63H, in RC units which

have CAPSTONE assignments as MI support units. Computer-based training and

simulation may be particularly appropriate for these units, as they typically

do not have MI tanks available for training at their home stations.

The MTP-RC courseware consists of four partial courses which train

tasks selected by ART from the respective MOS critical task lists. Each

course comprises approximately 1/3 of a complete skill level course for the

MOS. A front-end analysis of the selected tasks identified the skills and

knowledge required to perform the tasks. Course syllabi were then developed, and instructional strategies appropriate to the training objectives

were selected prior to production of the courseware.

The purpose of this report is to describe the functional specifications

of the MTP-RC software and hardware required to deliver the courseware.

The report also discusses how the MTP-RC design strategy could be adapted for

use with the Hand Held Tutor (HHlT) and the Electronic Information Delivery

System (EIDS), as currently specified.

Future information regarding system implementation will affect the

ultimate requirements of the delivery system including: the number of courses delivered at one site, the level of proctor/operator skills, and the

scheduling needs of the RC sites. Therefore, thle recommendations made are

likely to change as this and other projects develop. This report will,

however, provide recommendations based on current information about the

necessary specifications for the delivery system as a function of the

training requirements of RC units and the solutions provided by the MTP-RC

courseware.

Instructional Approaches Appropriate for RC Training Environment

The unique challenges of the RC Training Environment have driven the

development of training materials for the MTP-RC. As a result, the courseware development process has used new design strategies and state-of-theart courseware authoring and delivery techniques. The five environmental

factors that influenced the design and development of MTP-RC courseware

are described below.

One challenge which the RC training environment presents involves the

extremely limited and sporadic time available for training. Substantial

time gaps between training sessions and intermittent availability of
soldiers during reserve training periods necessitate that the training promote

rapid skill acquisition and retention over substantial periods of time.

Optimally, training should allow students to spend as much time as possible

with the courseware, rather than using training time to learn to use a

complicated delivery system.

Uniformity in the structure and flow of the delivery can also enhance

training efficiency, and the MTP-RC courseware is structured to maximize

familiarity with training flow. Soldiers can easily pick up where they

stopped in a prior session or review earlier material. Each new segment is

linked directly to those that came before to form an integrated whole,

rather than an unrelated sequence of instructional presentations. Finally,

the interactive nature of the courseware promotes active student responding

which has been demonstrated to increase motivation, receptivity and retention (Mager, 1978; Fleming & Levie, 1978).1

A second challenge presented by the reserve training environment is

that there is little or no access to Ml tanks during the training process.

Therefore soldiers must acquire the necessary skills without actually

working on the equipment. To address this problem, the courseware presents

graphic and video images that are highly realistic while requiring student

interactions that simulate as accurately as possible real troubleshooting

and maintenance actions.

A third RC training challenge concerns the limited access soldiers have

to experienced trainers. This is particularly a problem with the introduction of new equipment such as the Ml tank, where trainers are likely to be

as inexperienced as trainees. Computer-based instructional techniques

allow maintenance training expertise to be incorporated into the courseware. The MTP-RC training is designed to function without the presence

of trainers, at a rate which is individualized and self-paced. Each

soldier can study what he wants, for as long or as short a time period as

his learning requires.

A fourth challenge is to enhance MOS skill retention for the reserve

forces. MOS skill retention is supported by the simulated maintenance

interactions required by the courseware. RC soldiers may also be motivated

by the graphics and video used in the courseware, and heightened motivation

can lead to greater skill retention.

A fifth challenge of the RC training environment is the need to maintain systematic records of student needs and readiness. The MTP-RC, using

MicroTICCIT's computer-managed instruction capabilities, can provide

meaningful milestones for students and tracking of individual and group

progress. Periodic reports can be generated for use hy RC leadership to

assist their evaluation of individual and unit readiness.

1Mager, Robert F., 1978, Developing Attitude Toward Learning, Pitnan

Learning, Inc., Belmont, California, and Fleming, M., and Levie, W.H.,

1978, Instruct~onal Message Design: Principles From the Behavioral

Sciences, Englewood, N.J., Publications.

2..
MTP-RC COURSEWARE DESCRIPTION

The MTP-RC courseware is structured in such a way as to be compatible

with the MicroTICCIT Computer-Based Management System. Each course -- one

for each MOS -- is divided into 3 instructional categories:

Units - One for each tank system covered in the course

Lessons - Two for each unit within a course

Segments - One for each instructional objective being taught within a

lesson

Figure 1 shows the flow of instruction within a specific MOS course. There

is, in addition, one course which provides MI skills sustainment training.

The content of this course and a general description of the instructional

structure of the MOS courses follows.

The Ml Skills Sustainment Training Course is divided into two units.

Unit I serves as an introduction to the MI tank, the MicroTICCIT CBT

system, and the structure and content of the MTP-RC courseware. Unit I

also includes instruction on how to use the MicroTICCIT student workstation

to complete the courseware.

Unit 2 is designed to provide RC soldiers with the skills and knowledge

that are prerequisite to successfully complete the MTP-RC courseware. For

those who have completed Level I training, this unit can be considered as

sustainment training; it sustains skills that have been acquired previously. However, for those who have not acquired the necessary skills,

Unit 2 will serve as prerequisite skills training. Topics covered in this

unit include use of technical manuals, use of the special test sets (e.g.

STE-MI, DSESTS), and Digital Multimeter.

As Figure I shows, Units comprise the tank systems covered in a

course. Instructional structure begins to evolve at the lesson level.

There are, in each course, two lessons: Principles of Operation and

Troubleshooting or Maintenance. These are explained below.

Principles of Operation

The Principles of Operation lessons are designed to provide students

with an understanding of the purpose and function of a tank system, its

component parts, and its general operation. Such information should assist

the student in troubleshooting selected system symptoms. This lesson has

one or two types of segments, depending on the complexity of the system:

Name, Location, Function (NLF) and Input, Process, Output (IPO).

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Name, Location, Function. The primary purpose of the Name, Location,

Function segment is to teach the name, functional location and function of

each of the important components of a single tank system. The student

learns the function of the entire system, how the components work together

in the system, and what happens if the system is not working correctly. In

this segment, the student is presented with a functional block diagram of

the entire system. This-diagram shows the functional relationship among

the components in the system, so the student learns the functional position

of the component in relation to the others. In a few systems, such as the

engine, the student also learns the actual physical location. After

selecting an individual component, the students see a video or graphic

image of the component and a brief description of its function. All system

components are studied in this manner. The student then demonstrates what

he has learned by completing a practice exercise in which he identifies the

name, location and function of each component. At the end of the segment,

the student reviews what he has learned.

The Name, Location, Function segment utilizes a number of sophisticated delivery techniques:

1. Video is used to enable sLudents to see the actual tank parts and

place them in the context of the whole tank.

2. High resolution color graphics are used for motivational purposes

to help students easily identify each part, and to show the relationship using the components within the system. Highlighting is

often employed to enhance the clarity of the graphics.

3. Graphic icons and a lightpen are used so movement between and among

segment pages is consistent, easy to understand, linear in

appearance, and to make "help" easily accessible at all times.

4. Menu color coding provides students with information related to

segment completion status. Different colors are used to identify

segment components that have been completed successfully, those

that are availiable for study, and those that can be studied

later.

Input, Process, Output. The Input, Process, Output (IPO) segment is

designed to accomplish two specific goals. First, information about each

system part is presented in greater depth than in the NLF segment. In the

IPO segment, soldiers learn about:

1. those elementsq (electricity, data, fuel) that come into a

part and the sources of those elements

2. what happens to those elements while in the part, and

3. the elements (power, data) that are are output by the part and the

destination of those elements.

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For example, a computer might receive data from three electronic sen-

* sors. These data comprise the INPUT. Then, the computer performs a

clearly defined set of mathematical operations on these data. The results

are then evaluated. This represents the PROCESS. The computer sends

signals to three other tank parts. The signals represent the OUTPUT. By

studying the NLF and IPO for any part, the soldier learns what the function

of the part is and how t-his function is accomplished.

A second, and no less important, goal of the IPO segment is to reinforce the concept of the tank as an integrated system. While the NLF

segment focuses on one system or subsystem, the IPO segment shows the relationship among several systems. The reason, of course, is that input and

output is not limited to a specific system. Rather, it is the input and

output of parts, subsystems, and systems that embodies the integration of

all tank systems.

IPO segments employ the same delivery techniques as NLF segments.

Troubleshoot ing/Maintenance

The second lesson in each unit is Troubleshooting/Maintenance, which

uses part-task simulations of troubleshooting and maintenance tasks. There

are two segments within each Troubleshooting/Maintenance lesson:

Introduction to Troubleshooting and Troubleshooting/Maintenance Exercises.

For the 45E, 63E and 45K, the simulations are mainly electronic

troubleshooting and for the 6311, mainly mechanical maintenance procedures.

This content reflects the principal skill level 2 critical tasks for the

respective MOSs.

Introduction to Troubleshooting. The first segment, Introduction to

Troubleshooting (or Maintenance), provides a transition between the

Principles of Operation segments and the simulations the student will perform. The introduction consists of two sections: Symptom Introduction and

How to do Troubleshooting.

In the Symptom Introduction, the system diagram presented in the

Principles of Operation lesson serves as the foundation on which

troubleshooting knowledge is built. All of the components which could not

be responsible for the symptom are deleted from the diagram, and components

outside the system which could cause the symptom are added. This provides

the student with the "feasible set" of all possible causes of the fault.

The student then learns how each component could cause the fault and what

tests will be performed in order to isolate the fault. The Symptom

Introduction also includes a review of the rules that must be applied while

completing troubleshooting simulations.

The troubleshooting approach presented in the introduction models the

cognitive processes of experienced troubleshooters and can help students

develop the ability to locate system components that could cause a fault.

The approach may lead some soldiers to develop skills and knowledge

necessary for becoming superior techicians. For other students, the intro-

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duction will provide understanding of why specific tasks are being performed and will illustrate the relationship between symptoms that occur

within the same system.

The second section of this segment, called "How to do

Troubleshooting", is the same in every lesson. Its purpose is to teach the

student how to use the troubleshooting simulation. This section is always

available for students in need of review. It consists of a short description of how Guided Demonstrations and Practical Exercises work and two sections which explain how the student will interact with the Technical

Manuals (TMs) and the computer.

Troubleshooting Exercises. The troubleshooting exercise segments

generally consist of three sections: Guided Demonstration, Practical

Exercise 1, and Practical Exercise 2. All exercises are based on the MI

TMs. The student is required to use the appropriate TM as a constant job

aid when performing troubleshooting actions. MicroTICCIT provides the tank

and test equipment, as well as help, prompts, and explanations.

The Guided Demonstrations (GDs) and Practical Exercises (PEs) cover

the same symptom but follow different paths through the troubleshooting

procedure and lead to different faults. This approach enables the student

to repeat some steps within a procedure as well as performing new steps.

The goal of the troubleshooting exercises is for the student to simulate

troubleshooting a fault symptom using the TM as a job aid. The student is

not expected to memorize the steps required to troubleshoot a particular

symptom, but rather is expected to understand the use of the TMs for

troubleshooting symptoms.

Student Interactions with the Simulation. The main part of the

screen, called the work area, displays detailed graphics showing the tank,

system components, and test equipment. It is in this area that the student

locates his workplace, identifies the required components, and performs

tests and checks. Continuous guidance is provided on a feedback line.

Below this line are both action icons (such as remove, replace, connect)

and tool icons (such as the breakout box, cables, adapters and jumper

cables). The electronic troubleshooting procedures are presented with computer generated graphics, while the maintenance procedures (63H) primarily

use videodisc images.

The student is required to follow the TM word-by-word, completing each

step by marking with the lighten the appropriate component, actions, and

tools. After each action, the display changes in whatever way the student

has indicated as long as he continues to mark correctly. When the student

makes a mistake, he receives immediate corrective feedback and cannot continue until the correct step has been completed. The student continues

through the procedure until he finds the fault. He then orders the replacement of the faulty component and verifies that the problem is solved.

Throughout the troubleshooting, the two kinds of help available to the

student are:e

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1.what to do next if he gets lost or does not know what to do,

and

2. reminders on how to use the simulation and icons.

Several features of the troubleshooting simulation have important

implications for the specification of an instructional delivery system:

1. Graphic representations of equipment can be effective for training

the type of tasks included in Ml troubleshooting (Dwyer, 1978).2

Video images were not selected for troubleshooting for several

reasons. First, the cost of producing separate video shots as

potential responses to over 150 screen marks for each simulation

was prohibitive. Second, the complexity of aligning successive

video images to avoid position changes on the screen which would

distract the student from the appropriate cues and changes would

have made courseware production unacceptably inefficient. For

maintenance simulations, video displays were chosen because the

graphics required to maintain a continuous realistic context of

the mechanical procedure, including task cues, would have been

extremely difficult to produce.

2. Considerable data storage space is required for the graphics and

software necessary for such an intensive and complete simulation.

Each troubleshooting segment requires between 3-6 megabytes of

storage in object (or compiled) form.

3. Based on current estimates of lesson size, it seems likely that

one MTP-RC partial MOS course could be stored on a 50 megabyte

disc. If the partial courses of the Model Training Program are

expanded to cover the entire MOS skill level 20 tasks, storage

requirements would approximately triple.

4. Several colors are needed to represent the equipment and related

instructional information. On some equipment, colors are required

for recognition of indicator lights. Such colors must be used in

simulations as initiating cues. Instructional messages are colorcoded to indicate performance accuracy. For example, after a

correct mark the student receives feedback in a green text field.

After an incorrect response, the text field is red.

5. ?icroTICClT provides two student input devices; the keyboard and a

light pen. The light pen was selected as the primary input device

for two reasons. First, the MicroTICCIT keyboard is complicated

and has keys that are based on an instructional strategy that was

not used in MTP-RC courseware. Second, all MTP-RC courseware

requires students to make selections from menus, tools, tank

2 Dwyer, Francis M., 1978, Strategies for improving visual instruction.

State College, Penn.; Learning Services.

-8-
parts, and locations. In each case, marking the screen with a

light pen seemed to be the most natural input option and the one

which required the least amount of training.

6. Since using the TMs is a requirement of the training program,

there must be adequate space for keeping the TMs and handouts open

while working at the terminal.

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MTP-RC DELIVERY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The delivery system which is used for MTP-RC courseware should be able

to handle the variety of innovative requirements included in the courseware

design, as well as requirements dictated by the training environment

itself. These requirements can be grouped into five main categories:

hardware, software, site support, system configuration, and work-station

* design. Requirements for each of these, as well as our recommendation for

the delivery system, will be discussed in some detail below.

Hardware

Several facets of the required hardware will be discussed: display

capabilities, student input requirements, and storage requirements.

The primary display device will be a high resolution color video

monitor, with screen resolution of no less than 430 X 204 pixels. The

system software should be capable of generating displays with the following

characteristics:

1. Seven foreground and four background colors for both text and

graphics.

2. Text and graphic overlay of video images.

3. Assignment of text, graphic, and video images to specified

windows.

4. Ability to color specified portions of text, graphic, or video

images.

5. Ability to generate professional quality audio signals for

the narrated portion of the videodisc.

A high resolution display is essential for realism and flexibility in

creating images that provide a high degree of detail and accuracy. The

integrated use of color, text, graphics, and video supports the presentation of real equipment images that can be highlighted for emphasis or

modified slightly to make an instructional point. MTP-RC courseware makes

extensive use of all of the display capabilities described above and significant portions of the instructional content would be lost without them.

For example, if the capability to overlay text and graphics on video images

was unavailable, many highlighted action cues in the maintenance simulations could not be displayed to the student.

Two types of student input are required. First, students must be able

to identify themselves to the system and gain access to the appropriate

instructional material. A standard alphanumeric keyboard can serve this

function. It should be noted that alphanumeric input is never required in

- . -10-
the courseware. After the student has entered his identification number,

the keyboard can he disconnected and removed until he is ready to log off.

Second, students must be able to mark specific windows on the video monitor

to indicate a response. This input device must be readable at the single

character (10 X 12 pixel) level. Any standard auxiliary input device

(lightpen, mouse, trackball) is appropriate.

Should the auxiliary input device malfunction, the keyboard must be

capable of assuming the same function through the use of dedicated cursor

control and screen mark keys.

The system should be capable of having all courseware available concurrently to allow students access to lessons and to avoid loading operations. This requirement must be weighed against the cost of such storage.

Estimate of the amount of storage required for the partial courses being

developed for the Model Training Program range from about 24 megabytes to

nearly 40 megabytes per course, depending on the number of troubleshooting

segments in the course. An additional 7-10 megabytes is required for the

operating system. A MicroTICCIT delivery system with 50 megabytes of

storage would not be capable of storing either the organizational (63E and

45E) courses or the DS/GS (63H and 45K) unit courses simultaneously.

An additional hardware issue that must be considered is the requirement that each delivery system must be capable of loading and unloading

courseware and management files for shipment to other sites. The 15 megabyte tape system on current MTP-RC MicroTICCIT systems is a viable option.

Sof tware

software requirements fall into two major categories, courseware

delivery and courseware management. Each of these areas is described

below.

Courseware Delivery. The courseware delivery system should he capable

of delivering the MTP-RC courseware described in the previous section and

analyzing student input. The only form of student input used in MTP-RC

courseware is the screen mark. As a result, the system must be capable of

reading the location of a student's mark, comparing that location to one or

more locations defined by the courseware author, and then branching theC

student to another display. This analysis should be completed rapidly and

without noticeable delay.

Courseware Management. Courseware management capabilities required by

the system include student progress/status reports which are automatically

maintained to track student performance. One task of Phase II is to determine what student progress data is required by the reserve component units.

Unit reports, which combine student progress reports to determine unit

training and readiness, may also be required. Item and test analysis

reports are useful to the instructional designers to allow them to revise

and refine the courseware, but are not required. Registration is another

required feature which provides a simple and secure way for the proctor to

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register additional students when they become available for training. A

related issue is security. The system shall provide a means for maintaining the security of student performance data and all courseware files.

Site Supporta

Support needs for the system include service and maintenance of the

system, including the need to compensate for thle lack of experienced

operators. The system contractor should provide hotline service for urgent

problems and respond in a timely manner (within 48 hours) to written

requests for support. The system should include diagnostic software to aid

operators in communicating with the the suppliers customer service personnel. It shall contain a modem to allow for the remote performance of

diagnostics.

The contractor must provide operator, manager, instructor, and student

training and all documentation, including user's guides, system reference

manuals, and service and maintenance manuals. If these support requirements are not met most efficiently by the system manufacturer, then other

contractual arrangements should he made.

System Configuration and Work Station Design

The exact physical configuration of any one system will be based on the

needs of the particular Reserve Unit. Either stand-alone systems or small

local area networks should be available.

The work station design should he ergonomically satisfying. It will

include an adjustable screen which can be placed at the appropriate height

and angle for maximum comfort, a lightpen to be used for interaction, a

detachable keyboard used only by the proctor to log on and off the system,

maintenance procedure manuals within easy reaching distance, and videodisc

and central processing units which are placed well out of the student's

way. Also, a comfortable swivel chair is suggested. Aesthetics of the

work station are an important consideration. A proposed work station

design is shown in Figure 2.

Recommended Delivery System

All MTP-RC courseware has been developed on thle MicroTICCIT CBT

system. Because MicroTICCIT operates on a proprietary operating system,

MTP-RC courseware will not run on any other CBT system. As a result,

MicroTICCIT must be the MTP-RC delivery system, usimg the system configuration that meets most closely thle training delivery requirements.

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Figure 2. Proposed workstation design.

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m
[.

EIDS INTERFACE

At the time of this report, specifications for EIDS hardware and software have not been released. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain the

level of MIcroTICCIT/EIQS compatability. The EIDS system will, however,

most likely feature a videodisc-based storage capability. It is possible,

therefore, to discuss in a general way what might be required to convert

the courseware for delivery on a system using videodisc storage and to

suggest some possible gains and losses from such a conversion.

A videodisc-based digital storage system has a great advantage in that

it has a very large storage capacity, approximately 700-800 megabytes. A

single disc could easily store all of the program code for current MTP-RC

courseware. It should be noted, however, that more than one disc would

still be required to deliver MTP-RC couresware because several lessons rely

heavily on video images. The current courseware, which is approximately

one-third of the courseware required for complete courses for the 4 MOSs,

requires four 54,000-frame disc sides for video storage. Nonetheless, the

limitations of system disk storage that have existed during this project

could be diminished were videodisc storage available.

Since the main limiting factor in courseware storage is the cost of

the memory, using optical media instead of magnetic media (task and disk)

has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of a delivery system for

the MTP-RC courseware. Such a cost reduction would, of course, depend on

the type of hardware required for an EIDS delivery environment.

Another advantage of the videodisc is its stability as a storage

medium compared to magnetic media. Discs are, in effect, a ruggedized

courseware transfer and storage medium, much less susceptible to the physical damage of heat, dirt, and magnetic distortion possible at a maintenance

site or intransit to these sites.

Converting MTP-RC courseware to videodisc could have some drawbacks

which should be considered. The first issue concerns the screen displays

presented to the student. The troubleshooting/maintenance segments have

been designed and coded so that when a student makes a screen mark, the

display remains the same except for the specific changes called for by the

mark. If all coding were stored on videodisc, it is possible that the

entire screen display would be blanked while the disc player searches for

the new branching code on the disc, forcing the student to examine the

entire screen for cues when in fact, only a few changed highlights require

student attention. The likelihood of such screen blanking would depend on

the actual operating system developed, the format of storage on the disc,

and the amount of storage required for screen display information in the

central processing unit. It is quite likely, however, that when the base

display is a video image, screen blanking would occur often.

Converting MTP-RC courseware to EIDS would require remastering of the

videodiscs, both to make room for the program logic and to reorganize the

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d , .- . . . . . .. .' . . . . .
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video frames on the disc for maximum storage and retrieval efficiency.

While this task is not prohibitively expensive, on a one-time basis, the

costs would become a factor as courseware revisions were required as a

result of Ml hardware reconfiguration or TM changes.

Any change in courseware would require producing a new master tape,

pressing a new master disc, and making the disc copies. Such costs must be

compared to the costs of implementing similar revisions using the current

magnetic storage system.

The collection of student performance data is an issue that must be

considered when evaluating EIDS as an MTP-RC delivery system. The

MicroTICCIT system has space for student records which can be called up and

reported at any time for individual students or groups of students. These

reports can be recorded and transferred on magnetic tape, if desired. To

maintain student records for units, EIDS hardware must include some capacity for accumulating and reporting student performance data.

A more comprehensive examination of the advantages and disadvantages

of converting the MTP-RC courseware for delivery on EIDS can only be

completed after a detailed examination of the EIDS hardware and software

specifications.

~~ is °
HAND RELD TUTOR APPLICATIONS

The Hand Held Tutor (HHT) could supplement the MicroTICCIT courseware

system by delivering drill and practice on the content of the Principles of

Operations lessons and on subtasks of the Troubleshooting/ Maintenance

lessons. The tutor can assist soldiers in continuing their learning

progress when they are away from the main MTP-RC instructional environment,

can offer offer remediation for soldiers identified as deficient in

knowledge of the tank systems, and can provide review of instruction

previously taken on MicroTICCIT.

Although the HHT is not designed to deliver video, graphics, multiple

lines of text, screen marking, and all the other features included in the

courseware design, it is possible to suggest how the design approach used

in the MTP-RC courseware could be used on the tutor and how some of the

MTP-RC lesson content and tests could be rewritten for presentation on the

tutor. In this section, we will give some examples of how various HHT

presentation modes could be used for MTP-RC lesson content.

Implementation of the suggestions in this section would require

several types of developmental efforts. First, these suggestions would

require completely new programming to run HHT lessons because at this time,

lessons developed on the MicroTICCIT authoring system (or almost any other

system) cannot be automatically downloaded to HHT storage chips. Second,

the Army would need the capability to produce individual program modules

for the HHT. Third, implementation of any of these suggestions will probably require substantial rewriting of the MTP-RC lesson content to conform

to the HHT formats. Nontheless, the value of HHT applications may warrant

such efforts to revise the courseware, write new coding and produce the

program modules.

Word War is one popular mode of the HIT. This mode could be used for

refresher training on the nomenclature for the Ml systems and line

replaceable units (LRUs). This type of practice could be especially

valuable for soldiers for whom several months have passed since advanced

individual training (AIT) with little Ml maintenance experience in their

unit. The tutor could display a word or phrase and then the acronyms, such

as "Hull Power Distribution Box--HDB, HPD, HNB," and ask the student to

select the correct acronym. A similar format could be used for sophisticated terminology associated with a particular system such as the computer

subsystem of the fire control system, with the terms presented on the digital display or spoken and the choices of meanings presented in the booklet

mounted on the tutor.

The Picture Battle mode of the tutor could be used for review of more

complex content from the Principles of Operations lessons by mimicking the

practice section of a Name, Location, Function segment. For example, the

HIT could speak the name of one of the LRUs in an MI system when the

booklet is open to a functional block diagram; on the diagram, the LRUs

would be identified only by number, not by name. The student could

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.r 77 IF W. -7W 7

identify the functional position of that LRU in the system by entering its

number. This response is similar to marking the LRU on the screen in the

NLF segment. A similar format could be used for practice on the content of

an Input, Process, Output segment.

The graphics-intensive design of the Troubleshooting cannot be so

readily adapted for practice on the hand held tutor, but some parts of the

procedure could be practiced. For example, when a student is following a

TM procedure for inspecting electrical connectors, the LRU and attached

cables could be displayed with the components identified by numbers. To

practice following the TM instructions, the student would enter t! numbers

of the appropriate connectors in sequence. Obviously, the MTP-RC courseware's graphic response to every student input could not be delivered by

the HHT, but the tutor can give pratice in locating components, an important subtask in troubleshooting.

The tutor could also display the results of a specified multimeter

test, just as the multimeter display itself, and ask the student to enter

the number of the correct next block in the sequence. The tutor could also

be programmed to present a series of questions about the procedure,

focusing especially on references to related TMs for preliminary procedures

or follow-on maintenance. It would he possible to link together a series

of these different types of troubleshooting substeps to allow a student to

practice a portion of the procedure. Although detailed item analysis of

individual studnet's MTP-RC input is not planned, it would be possible to

direct students to HHT programs for practice of those subtasks on which

mistakes are most frequent, such as marking an incorrect cable pin.

These examples of possible uses of the Hand Held Tutor to supplement

MTP-RC courseware suggest that the tutor could be a valuable adjunct for

practice of some of the knowledge and skills taught in the courses, even

though the limited graphics ability of the tutor disallows the delivery of

courseware with the designed graphic interaction. Preliminary trials of

MTP-RC lessons suggest that these graphic interactions are highly motivating for students and that they reinforce habits required for successful

troubleshooting with the MI SPAS manuals. The drill and practice capabilities of the tutor seem more readly applicable for the cognitive content of

the Principles of Operations lessons?

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CONCLUS ION

The courseware developed for the MTP-RC was designed to'meet the

challenges of the RC training environment. The lack of dedicated systems

operators and trainers require easy access to training materials and simple

interactions with the sXstem. The delivery system should therefore he

rugged, easy to operate and maintain, and adaptable to the varying needs of

the RC units. This report has described the MTP-RC courseware and the

functional specifications for the hardware, software, data storage, student

recordkeeping, delivery, and work station requirements. At this time, no

existing stand-alone systems exist which can deliver the MTP-RC courseware

as designed. The MicroTICC[T system most closely matches the identified

requirements and is recommended as the primary delivery system.

Two other instructional systems with which the Army is developing

delivery capabilities have been discussed: the Electronic Information

Delivery System and the Hand Held Tutor. Conversion of the MTP-RC

courseware for delivery on the EIDS system has been discussed, including

possible advantages and disadvantages of such a conversion. In addition,

several suggestions have been given to exemplify the use of the HHT as a

supplement to the main delivery system.

b"J

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