Military downsizing and budget reductions are reducing Navy training resources, including instructor personnel. Without effective interventions Navy training may be adversely affected. A technology solution that has widespread appeal in the training arena is the development and use of interactive courseware to reduce the time to train and to diminish overall training costs.

An emerging technology at the Naval Education and Training Program Management Support Activity (NETPMSA) in Pensacola, Florida, is a unique design and development process which helps classroom instructors or subject matter experts create interactive courseware for computer-based training. The courseware may be used to facilitate, remediate, or replace classroom instruction. NETPMSA's Interactive Courseware Novice Authoring Kit (NICNAK) helps individuals and military commands create interactive courseware which will meet their specific needs. Service personnel receive a one-week intensive training session in the NICNAK process. Once the NICNAK graduates leave NETPMSA, they receive on-going assistance from the various resident experts at NETPMSA. Whether the request is an instructional design question, a programming problem, or a need for state-of-the-art visual technology, NETPMSA stands ready to assist the novice team.

Importantly, NICNAK is a synergistic effect of team interaction and people dynamics. The underlying tenet of the NICNAK process is the elimination of the "Square One Syndrome." Individuals that participate in the training receive more than just a manual, software and stand-up lectures. They become vital members in an interactive, interservice network which shares ideas, projects, templates and lessons learned. NICNAK facilitates collaboration and innovation while reducing competition and repetition.

This paper will take a brief look at NICNAK's inception one year ago and describe how it has evolved in just a short time from an in-house survival model to one that is being adopted by development teams throughout the NAVEDTRACOM and beyond. Additionally, a description of the actual NICNAK Training Week 1 class is presented including the course's scope and methodology. Student participants are identified by command and a short discussion of a Trainee Selection Instrument which, currently in development, is presented. Since NICNAK is a service-oriented process, the NETPMSA staff must be readily available to field novice questions and solve problems. Electronic access allows NETPMSA's staff to meet with development team members individually; users' group teleconferencing will allow NICNAK graduates to share the projects' library, new templates, and lessons learned. The paper concludes with trainee critiques of the NICNAK process, resulting course changes and plans for the future.

Menu

Glenn Griffin