Optimizing Learning Cost-effectively Using Multimedia

Multimedia training technologies are proliferating and offer the opportunity to provide richer training environments than ever before. However, these are expensive to develop. Little is known about what types of tasks these best train and how best to invest in them to maximize training objectives. The proposed work will develop a methodology for decomposing training tasks into underlying knowledge components. Research will then be done to identify what features of multimedia technologies best train what knowledge components. From these data, a trade-off methodology can be developed that calculates the costs associated with using different multimedia environments to meet specified training objectives. Phase I will develop this framework and trade-off methodology and demonstrate it in a proof-of-concept system for training tasks and multimedia systems that will be selected in conjunction with the Navy training community. Phase II will extend and validate the framework and trade-off tool.