Collaboration and Training Technologies

GOAL: To provide quality training that evolves and changes to meet the users' needs as technology implementation opportunities emerge. The geographic distribution of DoD scientists and engineers requires using technology to develop, deliver, evaluate, and administer training. DoD users require diverse training anytime and anywhere, and at any pace. The deployment of high-speed networks provides many new opportunities for distance training, virtual meetings, collaborative planning, collaborative computing and collaborative visualization that will address these needs. The objectives of the training and collaboration effort are to: Provide high-quality content courses. Synchronous and asynchronous courses which address the changing needs of DoD users are being developed and delivered. This must continue, as must monitoring of the effectiveness and efficiency of these courses, e.g. their ease of use, increased productivity, etc. Provide a multi-user training system including user training needs assessments, rapid course development and enhancement, course evaluation, and administrative support. The system must make extensive use of developments in technology, next generation networks, and new and evolving collaboration tools. Using technology tools to rapidly develop and update courseware enhances cross-MSRC PET cooperation and coordination. The extensive use of collaboration tools builds in ongoing evaluation, development, testing, and deployment of commercial and researches collaboration tools. These tools also can benefit the DoD HPCMP in administration, enhanced economic teleconferencing, virtual meetings, collaborative application development and utilization, and enhance collaborative research projects. By the end of the fifth year the integrated training system and collaborative tool sets will be available, though system integration may not be complete. The success of the training programs will be measured by ease of utilization, effectiveness, assimilation and performance improvement. Increases in productivity will indicate the success of the use of the collaboration tools. Other cross-MSRC technology areas can and should use the training system and collaboration tools. Also, PET can demonstrate and be the vehicle for introducing the collaborative training system to the broader DoD community and others. There should be a useful engagement between the HBCU/MIs and the DoD users and other academic partners in all the CTA areas.

Training & Collaboration Technology Roadmap

Efficiently raise DoD and HBCU/MI users HPC competency levels to an all time high through quality training integrating new delivery technologies
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

define and implement guidelines and procedures, identify user community by skill level, HPC training needs, CTA, locality, develop training courses, and evaluation methods

investigate network-based training and authoring tools (workshop and colloquium)

on-site hands-on facilty with recording capabilities

web-based course catalog

web-based registration

web-based calendaring (site-specific and program-wide)

broadcast experiments (MBONE)

convert audio from recorded course and course materials and combine (PIE/RealAudio Encoder)

web-based course materials of courses taught

web-based planning documents

electronic evaluation summaries and tracking system (UNIX, Excel)

identify user community by skill level, HPC training needs, CTA, locality, develop training courses, and evaluation methods

enhance on-site hands-on facility with capturing and broadcasting capabilities

update existing web-based training information

real-time synchronization of audio with course materials (WLS)

initial distance learning experiments (MBONE/TANGO)

define underlying database architecture for design, delivery, and administration (RIB, TANGO, WebWisdom, Lotus-Notes, Oracle)

integrated web-based evaluation

identify user community by skill level, HPC training needs, CTA, locality, develop training courses, and evaluation methods

update existing web-based training information

enhance real-time capturing capabilities of training courses for re-use asynchronously and include dynamic annotations to material (electronic input devices)

deploy synchronized HPC training to multiple sites (TANGO)

web-based multi-user training registration and tracking system

integrate existing course materials into Training System

develop and provide interactive asynchronous training courses

identify user community by skill level, HPC training needs, CTA, locality, develop training courses, and evaluation methods

integrate calendaring/scheduling, registration, evaluation, and reporting into Training System

enhance synchronized HPC training to multiple sites (TANGO follow-on) to include more courses and capture capabilities

develop and provide dynamic learner-centered interactive asynchronous training courses

Fully integrated collaborative multi-user Training System that is flexible and adaptable.

  • training environment
  • needs analysis
  • training courses
  • calendaring/scheduling
  • registration
  • evaluation
  • reporting
Share and track project information with geographically dispersed individuals

identify partners, their environment, define working groups and committees

coordinate and schedule meetings through e-mail

share Microsoft/web-based documents

broadcast meetings (MBONE)

identify partners, their environment, define working groups and committees

customized netWorkPlace (nWP)

enhanced desktop video conferencing with application sharing, document sharing/editing

identify partners, their environment, define working groups and committees

full exercise of nWp

electronic meeting systems with automatic conference scheduling, notification, document distribution, participation management, controlled access, digital recording, and publishing capabilities

enhanced audio/video tools shared workflow tool for mapping project process, tracking and routing tasks and assignments

investigate underlying database architecture for integrated environment

identify partners, their environment, define working groups and committees

nWP upgrade or replacement

non-senior management web-based reporting interface for developing, cross-referencing, and publishing

integrated electronic meeting systems, workflow tools, and reporting capabilities with underlying database architecture

identify partners, their environment, define working groups and committees

Fully integrated multi-user collaborative Project Management System that is flexible and adaptable.

  • facilitation environment
  • integration of information
  • calendaring/scheduling
  • tracking/routing assignments or tasks
  • reporting
  • accountability