Web-Enabled Interactive Culture and Language Training

The goal of this project is to create an interactive computer-based mission planning tool that helps guide US military personnel in how to apply their cultural understanding in interactions with military counterparts and civilians in non-Western cultures. It will leverage the technology and content of current Tactical Language and Culture Training System products, including the highly successful Tactical Iraqi training system. To meet the needs of this SBIR topic, we need to develop an alternative Web-compatible delivery platform that retains the key interactive characteristics of TLCTS, and populate it with relevant social and cultural skill content. This research will focus on four major areas (1) developing an implementation of cultural lesson and exercise pages for the Web; (2) developing an execution engine that can execute interactive scenarios on the Web; (3) developing learner assessment and feedback for Web-based delivery; and (4) author additional training content, and (5) evaluating training effectiveness.