Latent Semantic Analysis-based tutorial and assessment tools for ADL

In today's rapidly changing global operations environments, teams often must be assembled and individuals re-trained quickly for new force requirements, new systems, and changing missions. The goal of this research is to produce innovative computersoftware for individual assessment and team selection, for adaptive learning, and for cognitive performance support environments that exploit the power, economy, and customization enabled by ADL. A suite of recently developed and proposed cognitive toolsbased on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) can contribute importantly to this goal. LSA is a machine-learning system that can build assessment, tutorial, and knowledge-mining agents automatically from existing instructional and archival text in almost anydomain. These intelligent agents are constructed in far less time and expense, and with much less need for rare specialists as has previously been possible. In the combined Phase I and II effort, we will create a prototype of an integrated system, calledMilitary Knowledge Forum (MKF). In Phase I we will plan the system, and perfect or develop several critical LSA-based components that also stand alone as useful ADL/cognitive readiness tools. In Phase II, we will create or perfect additional tools and jointhem into a total distributed group learning and cognitive support environment.Almost every present-day industry or business has a need to train widely distributed personnel frequently in new operating procedures and group problem-solving methods. Theymust be able to select, re-train and support adaptable individuals and teams. The individuals and teams must be possess and be capable of verbally communicating all necessary task-relevant knowledge. No integratable set of adaptive automatic assessment,tutorial, knowledge resource, and cooperative problem-solving support capabilities, such as those that would be developed for the envisaged Military Knowledge Forum system described herein, exists. The development of technology of this kind would helpgovernment and private-sector organizations meet the needs of rapidly changing markets, technologies, and labor forces in a timely, effective and economical manner.In Phase I, features and functionalities suitable for use either in the envisionedintegrated system or in other ADL systems will be demonstrated as stand-alone web-based applications. Some, such as the automatic free-response assessment tool, will be of immediate utility in marketed or marketable commercial and military trainingsystems. Component LSA-based adaptive assessment and tutorial tools from this project, even without combining into an integrated system, will be of significant commercial value for development of ADL and private-sector cognitive readiness anddistance-education systems.KAT would embed some of these new capabilities in its own current and future Internet-based educational testing and tutorial services, and offer both piece-part components and appropriate versions of integrated learningenvironments for purchase or licensing by military, corporate, and other training and assessment organizations.