MainTrain: Maintenance Skills Training Through Distributed Learning Principles

"Maintenance skills training is a major activity within the Navy.With advances in web-based technologies, the Navy is looking toexploit the web to offer 7x24 "anytime, anyplace" maintenanceskills training opportunities to its sailors. However, web-basedtraining has yet to deliver on its promise. The absence of aclassroom atmosphere, and lack of engaging courseware are but tworeasons given by students to explain the high dropout rate.Beyond that, there has been a tendency to take domain content andmake it available over the web for "training" without applyingpedagogically sound instructional strategies or exploitingeffective learning principles. MainTrain(tm), an adaptiveinstruction system being developed on this SBIR effort, isintended to overcome these shortcomings. Intended to serve asboth a distance learning and distance support platform, MainTrainre-creates a classroom atmosphere using a set of learning aids incombination with a "virtual classroom" environment. To engageand motivate learners, MainTrain employs innovative multi-mediapresentation techniques in conjunction with a game metaphor.This Phase II effort will implement, test, and transition theMainTrain prototype to the Shore Intermediate MaintenanceActivity (SIMA) in San Diego, as well as to Task Force EXCEL.BENEFITS: MainTrain(tm) will systematize and standardize web-based training, make the courseware more engaging, and enhance overall learning. Potential commercia