Technology, the Future, and Change : Emergent Trends in Learning

1. Technology, the Future, and Change: Emergent Trends in Learning Tim Workman, NRC-IIT 6 October 2010

2. NRC Institute for Information Technology • Specializing in: • 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: • Augmented Reality • Service Oriented Systems • People Centered Technologies • Semantic Web Technologies

3. A Period of Significant Social Change • 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. ONGARDE Partnership • Co-hosted with the Canadian Defence Academy • 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

10. 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 live-virtual 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

11. 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?)

12. 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…”

13. Timothy Workman, CD, MDE Project Manager – Strategic Partnerships National Research Council Institute for Information Technology timothy.workman@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Questions / Discussion