WO2001003101A1

WO2001003101A1 - Interactive training system

Info

Publication number: WO2001003101A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/000216
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Ian Wilson; Robert Mark Hill-Venning
Original assignee: Link Resources (Qld) Pty. Ltd.
Priority date: 1999-07-02
Filing date: 2000-03-17
Publication date: 2001-01-11
Also published as: AUPQ139099A0

Abstract

A computerised training method and apparatus for delivering course material (10) relating to a predetermined job (20) to individual students. The method includes the steps of organising the course material into topic groups (17) in accordance with responsibilities (19) of the job, task techniques and supporting tools available for undertaking respective responsibilities; presenting to a student, with the aid of a computer output means (31, 32), diagrams that specify the relationships (25) between said job responsibilities (22), task techniques and supporting tools (24) for each topic (23), wherein the diagrams allow navigation through said topics; and performing a simulation (11) relating to a topic, selectable by the student via a computer input means (33, 35), enabling the student to practise task techniques and use of supporting tools in order to facilitate learning.

Description

INTERACTIVE TRAINING SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(i) Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing training or education to individuals in relation to a selected topic or subject matter. In particular, the invention relates to a computerised system that involves simulation of specific vocational tasks for interaction with individuals to facilitate the learning process.

(ii) Discussion of the Background Art

The delivery of training programs or education courses to individuals has traditionally involved the study of textbooks, attendance at formal lectures, participation in tutorials or demonstrations, performance of experiments and visits to the relevant business or industry. However, it is generally recognised that a period of on-the-job training in a particular position is desirable before full task responsibility for the position is assumed. However on-the-job training, when delivered by appropriately experienced staff is costly and diverts staff from other, perhaps more productive, activities.

In certain high risk, mission critical tasks, such as piloting aircraft or space vehicles, operating electrical power systems or nuclear reactors and more recently invasive surgical procedures, simulation may be employed during training to ensure that individuals have the appropriate skills and knowledge to effectively accomplish such tasks. Modern simulators are generally coordinated by computer and exercise a combination of physical skills and mental capabilities. This allows performance testing up to and past the point of failure, which would otherwise result in loss of life or destruction of high value capital assets or both.

An example of a general purpose architecture for intelligent computer-aided training is described by Loftin in US Patent No. 5311422 assigned to the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the USA. The training system comprises a user interface simulating, for the trainee, the same information available in the actual environment of the task(s) and employs expert systems techniques for generating training scenarios and evaluating trainees. A system of the kind described is likely to be prohibitively costly and more suited to addressing the somewhat esoteric requirements of aerospace training.

Further, relatively little attention has been paid to the use of simulations as a training tool for use in business and commerce. The applicant is aware of training tools known as The Interactive Manager™ Series produced by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation of Boston, USA. Each title in the series is a multimedia learning and reference tool published on CD-ROM. The content of the tool is organised into a number of categories common to each topic, such as "my organisation", "case study", "the ideas", "activities" and "reading", according to the nature of the content. The case studies allows a user to work through a fictional commercial scenario, where decisions made by the user effect the outcome of the scenario. However, this content based organisation of topics is not well suited to conveying the depth and variety of relationships amongst business objectives, tasks and staff members which typically exist in business and commercial organisations.

Jordan, in US Patent No. 5745133, describes a system for recording and displaying information about work practices. The system includes a computer program for collecting and representing data about human environments and activities in a work place. The program includes a graphical editor for recording relationships amongst objects in the work place to allow analysis of work practices. However, the system is essentially for recoding data to facilitate analysis of business arrangements rather than as a functional training tool. Furthermore, the Jordan system does not provide interactive simulations of typical business situations for learning purposes. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (i) Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and computerised apparatus for providing education or training to individuals which ameliorates or overcomes at least some of the problems associated with the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a computerised training system which is adaptable to the particular requirements of business or commerce. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a computerised training system which facilitates improved organisation and presentation of course content.

Further objects will be evident from the following description.

(ii) Disclosure of the Invention

In one form the invention resides in a computerised training method for delivering course material relating to a predetermined job to individual students, said method including the steps of:

(a) organising the course material into topic groups in accordance with responsibilities of the job, task techniques and supporting tools available for undertaking respective responsibilities;

(b) presenting to a student, with the aid of a computer output means, diagrams that specify the relationships between said job responsibilities, task techniques and supporting tools for each topic, wherein the diagrams allow navigation through said topics; and

(c) performing a simulation relating to a topic, selectable by the student via a computer input means, enabling the student to practise task techniques and use of supporting tools in order to facilitate learning.

If required the relationships of topic groups with business requirements may also be specified in the diagrams.

Preferably the diagrams are arranged in a hierarchy such that the topics are navigable by the student in accordance with said relationships. Suitably the training method further includes the step of presenting a narrative to introduce the task techniques and supporting tools relating to a topic.

In preference the training method further includes the step of providing detailed textual explanations of the task techniques and supporting tools.

The detailed explanations for each topic may be accessible via the diagram.

Suitably the student can access the topic by manipulating the diagram on a user interface associated with the computer input means and output means.

Preferably the training method further includes the step of assessing the student's progress with learning and understanding the course material. The step of assessing may include diagnostic testing of students to assist in identifying areas of weakness and corrective learning.

The step of assessing may also include summative testing of students to assist in determining whether the student has a satisfactory level of understanding of the course material. In a second form, the invention resides in a training apparatus for delivering course material to individual students via a computer system having input means for accepting manual or vocal inputs from a student, output means for presenting visual or audible outputs to the student, and processor means for coordinating performance of the simulation, which processor means is operatively coupled to said input means, said output means and storage means for storing course material; said apparatus including:

(a) organisation means for organising course material into topic groups in accordance with responsibilities of the job, task techniques and supporting tools available for undertaking respective responsibilities;

(b) presentation means for presenting to a student via the output means diagrams that specify the relationships between said job responsibilities, task techniques and supporting tools for each topic, wherein the diagrams allow navigation through said topics; and

(c) simulation means for performing a simulation relating to a topic, selectable by the student and enabling practise of task techniques and use of supporting tools in order to facilitate learning.

Preferably, the training apparatus includes a user interface associated with the input means and output means of the computer system.

In preference, the relationships of topic groups with business requirements are specified in the diagrams.

Preferably the diagrams are arranged in a hierarchy whereby the topics are navigable via the user interface in accordance with said relationships.

The course material suitably includes narratives to introduce task techniques and supporting tools relating to a topic.

In preference, the course material further includes detailed textual explanations of the task techniques and supporting tools.

The detailed explanations for each topic may be accessible via a respective diagram presented on the output means. Most preferably the diagrams include content maps.

The training system may further include assessment means for diagnostic or summative testing of students.

Suitably the storage means includes drive means for removable storage media, which removable storage media is suitable for storing data files containing the course material.

If required, the organisation means includes an editing facility for rearranging, amending or augmenting the course material.

Preferably the organisation means is associated with a course planning and generation means. The course planning and generation means may suitably include: a content map creator, a site map creator and/or a course configuring tool. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To assist in understanding the invention preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the following figures in which :

FIG. 1 is an overview diagram of the components of the training system of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a generic illustration of the manner of visual presentation of course material to a student via content map diagrams;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of computer equipment suitable for hosting the training system of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the topics for a selected responsibility of the MRP Controller job;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationships for the task of "Calculating the components required for each Master Production Schedule quantity"; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the techniques and supporting tools associated with preparing the "Bill of Material";

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the explanatory material provided in relation to the "Bill of Material" concept;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the environment provided for a simulation relating to the MRP Controller's job responsibility; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram depicting components of the course organisation means of a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The first preferred embodiment of the training system of the invention relates to typical jobs in manufacturing enterprises, particularly those associated with inventory and production control. The training system of the embodiment addresses manufacturing management within the supply chain, where a student can select from nine different management or supervisory positions. Whilst the preferred embodiment relates to manufacturing jobs, the system of the invention is adaptable to any course of training or study.

Table 1

Referring to Table 1 above, the positions include General Manager, Logistics Manager, Purchasing Manager, Inventory Manager, Warehouse and Distribution Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Master Production Scheduler, MRP Controller and Shop Floor Supervisor. Depending upon the selection of position or job during use of the system, the student will be confronted with problems ranging, for example, from developing strategic partnerships to deciding where to stock raw materials.

In general terms, the training system 10 offers students three distinct approaches to learning through simulations 11 , narratives 12 and a course guide 13 as represented in FIG. 1. The course guide primarily includes a detailed description 13a which is suited to students who prefer to learn by reading and usefully provides a reference for more advanced students. There may also be additional material in the form of suggested activities 13b for the student in their own work place and presentations of the concept at work 13c providing information about the experiences of other managers. An assessment section 14 is also included to provide feedback on progress and to test understanding of the course material.

Each group of topics 17 is associated with a business requirement or objective 18, that is addressed by the responsibilities 19 of a particular job 20. Associated with each topic group are aspects of the job that a student is expected to learn, including task techniques 15 for completing tasks and supporting tools 16 available to assist in completion of a particular task.

The course material is structured using content maps, a generic example of which is shown in FIG. 2. Content maps are diagrams showing the aspects of topics to be learnt and illustrate the context of key aspects within the business. The aspects shown include the particular business requirements and the job responsibility, along with task techniques and supporting tools relevant to the topics. Importantly, the diagrams specifically show the relationships between the business requirements, job responsibilities and tasks within each topic. In this way the content maps seek to convey the business context of topics to the student. The relationships and temporal sequencing of tasks may also be represented in the diagrams. Preferably, the diagrams are arranged in a hierarchy using predetermined identifiers on a graphical user interface to aid navigation through the hierarchy by the student.

In the generic example of a content map diagram shown in FIG. 2, a business objective is represented by a square identifier 21 , a job responsibility by an oval identifier 22, the topics by hexagonal identifiers 23, the tool and techniques by rectangular identifiers 24, whilst the relationships are indicated by arrows 25. Selection of a rectangular identifier by the student provides a detailed description of the application and use of the tools and techniques. Similarly, selection of a particular hexagonal identifier generally reveals a further set of tools and techniques for exploration by the student. The preferred hierarchical arrangement of content diagrams thus provides a convenient paradigm to facilitate navigation whilst reinforcing relationships amongst topics and business objectives.

It will be appreciated that a convenient platform for delivery of such training is general purpose computer equipment, wherein the training system can be implemented using software such as the Authorware authoring tool produced by Macromedia, Inc. of San Francisco, California USA. An example of suitable computer equipment is a multi-media type personal computer with at least a Pentium™ 133MHz or equivalent processor and 16MB of random access memory (RAM), loaded with an appropriate operating system such as Windows 9x or Windows NT produced by Microsoft Corporation. Other examples of computer equipment include suitably specified lap-top computer systems, personal organisers, personal digital assistants and the recently emerging and multi-functional third generation of mobile telephones.

With reference to the illustration in FIG. 3, the personal computer 30 may include a visual display unit 31 and a sound card (not shown) with associated speakers 32 or headphones for visual and audio output. A keyboard 33 and mouse 34 or other pointing device may be provided for manual input and, if required, a microphone 35 for audio input. One or more drives 36 for removable media such as magnetic discs or tapes or optical discs, such as CD-ROM or DVD, also may be desirable. It will be appreciated that the computer could be coupled to a local area network via a suitable interface card (not shown) or to a wide area network, such as the Internet, via a modem 37 for the purposes of external communications.

The simulations 11 , which are preferably interactive multi-media presentations arranged for delivery by the personal computer 30, allow students to work through a series of tasks in the environment of the business, here a fictitious manufacturing firm. The simulated tasks may require interaction with other members of the firm, suppliers and customers through a series of decision points. Each simulation relates to a topic and provides the opportunity for the student to explore the consequences of their decisions. The course content is incorporated into, or may be accessed from, the simulation that includes audio-visual material, suitably including animations of other members of staff in the manufacturing enterprise of the embodiment. This approach mimics the typical on-the-job training provided to new appointees in the workplace upon taking up a new position. The narratives 12 are audio recordings that provide an overview of a selected topic, and may be accompanied by photographs and graphics for the purposes of illustration. The narratives typically provide a spoken explanation of the material presented in a content map. The narratives become more specific as the student navigates down to lower levels in the hierarchy of content maps.

The course guide 13 contains detailed textual and graphical descriptions 13a of task techniques and supporting tools, which complement the simulations and narratives. The guide is organised to reflect the structure of the content maps, there being a section relating to each map, with sub-sections relating to each identified topic or task. The course guide includes stories for some topics, referred to as "Concepts at work" 13c, that describe the personal experiences of people as they applied the content to their places of work. The course guide further includes "Activities" 13b designed to assist the student to apply the content to their own work place. For example, the activity may require research into their own firm's current business systems relating to the topic being studied and investigate areas for improvement. In other embodiments the course guide may be structured to include only the descriptive text, which can be displayed or printed as required. The activities and concepts at work portions may be stand-alone components which are linked to the course guide. The training system 10 of the embodiment also includes assessment facilities 14 for diagnostic testing and summative testing of students. The diagnostic testing allows students to identify areas where their knowledge may be weak and assists development of a corrective learning path. In contrast, summative testing is used to determine whether the student has mastered both the theory and application of the course. Successful completion of summative testing in a topic area is generally indicative that a student can progress to more difficult related topics in the area of job responsibility.

The software components of the training system of the embodiment include a co-ordinating program 38 arranged for execution with the assistance of the computer operating system (O.S.). The components further include a series of data files 39, including text/graphics files containing data for the content maps and course guide, audio files containing data for the narratives and video files for supporting the simulations and concepts at work. The co-ordinating program is associated with a media player for presenting the audio and video files via the computer system 30 on command. The implementation of such arrangements are well known to those of ordinary skill in the field of multimedia computing and authoring tools, such as Macromedia's Authorware, are widely available for this purpose.

The presentation of the course content via the personal computer user interface, generally denoted 40, will now be described in relation to one of the jobs set out in Table 1 above, namely the MRP Controller. The example focuses on one particular job responsibility of the MRP Controller, as depicted in FIG. 4, being the use of material requirements planning (MRP) to ensure materials are scheduled to support the master production schedule. In the course presentation of the embodiment, a main window of the user interface 40 includes a diagram 41 showing the job responsibility in the oval 42. The labelled relational arrow 43 indicates that this responsibility "assists in the" maintenance of customer service levels, which is the business requirement encompassed by square 44. There is a sequence of seven topics, identified by hexagons 45 to 51 for study in order to understand the job responsibility.

The user interface also includes a series of tabs on the right hand margin, which tabs relate to narration 52, assessment 53, simulation 54, activity 55 and concept at work 56 functions of the training system. Only tabs for narration, assessment and simulation are available for selection by the student in relation to diagram 41. This is indicated by bold labels, rather than non-bold labels, on the respective tabs. Selecting the narration tab using the mouse, initiates an audio recording presenting an overview of the tools and techniques for the job responsibility of ensuring that materials are scheduled to support the master production schedule (MPS).

There are a number of other options available to students at this point. A student may select the "main map" button 57, located at the top right-hand corner of the user interface, which will return to a display showing all of the responsibilities of the MRP Controller job. A set of global controls for the applications are also presented to the student as a series of buttons 58 extending along the bottom edge of the user interface. It will be appreciated that the arrangement of these controls is merely a matter of choice and convenience. If, subsequent to listening to the narration, the student wishes to learn more about calculating the components required for each Master Schedule requirement, the student selects the identifier for topic 46. This results in a further diagram 60 relating to this topic being displayed in screen window 40, as shown in FIG. 5. The identifier 46 is again shown along with a related sub-topic 61 entitled "Bill of Materials" and several tools and techniques identified by rectangles 62 to 66. Selecting any of the rectangular identifiers takes the student directly to a section of the course guide containing a detailed description of the task technique and supporting tools.

A small scale replica 59 of the previous diagram is displayed in a window located above the main window 40 of the user interface. Identifier 46 is highlighted, for example by a coloured circle, allowing the student to orientate the position of diagram 60 in the hierarchy. Selection of the replica 59 also provides a way of reverting to a full display of the diagram, ie. to diagram 41 as shown in FIG. 4, as desired by the student. Accordingly, the student is able to freely navigate through the course material using the diagrams illustrating the relationships inherent to the topics.

The diagram 60 is also associated with an activity suggested for the student. Thus the relevant tab now has a bold label 67 indicating its availability. In the example topic chosen from those topics provided in the embodiment, the activity requires the student to complete a material requirements plan for a product with a given bill of materials. Prior to attempting this activity, the student might select hexagonal identifier 61 to learn more about the bill of materials concept. This would result in a diagram 70 as shown in FIG. 6, where certain relations are immediately apparent to the student that the Bill of Materials 61 :

■ "is" used in different areas of the business 68;

■ "is based on" the Parent - Child relationship 69;

"can be" presented in different ways 71 ; such as a single level bill 72, or as a multi-level bill 73, or as a summarised bill 74; and ■ "must" be structured to suit the business 75.

The relationships for bill of materials (BOM) depicted on the diagram 70, by way of the labelled arrows, seek to make this abundantly clear. If the student wished to know more about the different ways of representing the bill of material, rectangular identifier 71 could be selected. The display would then be as shown in FIG. 7, which is the relevant section 80 of the course guide, providing a detailed explanation of bill of material presentation. It should be noted that an additional navigation method specifically for the course guide, in the form of the left arrow, return, right arrow buttons 76 and page counter 77 provided on the bottom right hand edge of the user interface, allows a student to proceed directly to related pages of the course guide without first returning to the diagram. In the present example, subsequent pages 5 and 6 describe each of the single level, multi-level and summary bills, identified as rectangles 72, 73 and 74 on diagram 70 in FIG. 6. An appropriate title 78 in the upper window of the user interface replaces the replicas of previous diagrams. The diagram 70 of the bill of materials concept is supported by a concept at work presentation, which the student may select via tab 79. The topic as a whole is supported by a simulation selectable via tab 54 (see FIG. 4) and the environment provided for presentation to the student is illustrated in FIG. 8. The environment 81 includes representations of a calendar 82 showing the passage of time, an intercom 83 for communicating with an assistant to the job, a computer terminal 84 for preparing reports and memos, an "in" tray 85 for receiving papers, a video telephone 86 for communicating with clients and other staff members, and a filing cabinet 87 for storing records including correspondence received and sent. The simulation gains the students attention via a ringing telephone, buzzing intercom or incoming papers requesting tasks be undertaken. The student may interact with the computer generated environment by "clicking" on the representation of interest with the pointing device, such as the telephone which may be answered in this fashion. The student is able to refer at any time to the course content by switching to the relevant content diagrams which are made available. The course guide contains detailed explanations, which are accessible from the content map diagrams. There is a section in the course guide for each content map. There are also "Concepts at work" stories within many of the sections, which describe the personal experiences of people as they applied the content to their actual work places. The concepts at work stories are typically narratives supported by photos and graphics. The activities within almost all sections of the course guide are designed to assist the student to apply the content to their own work place. For example, the student may be required to research their firm's current practices, justify them and investigate areas for improvement.

A student using the training system is free to move between the simulations, narratives and course guide contents at any time. They can move to subsidiary content or move to explore new content. This allows students to choose the method, or combination of methods, most suited to their own learning style.

The training system of the first embodiment contains two forms of testing. First it contains diagnostic testing which can be used by the student to assess the areas within the course that require detailed study. The testing will be based upon multiple choice questions with feedback provided based upon the student's answers. This will benefit both the content novice and content expert by allowing them to plan a learning path suited to their own needs. Diagnostic testing can be accessed at any point by the student and can be targeted by the student to specific content areas.

Secondly summative assessment is used to determine if the student has mastered both the theory and application of the course content. This assessment is a combination of multiple choice questions and simulations. The student upon the successful completion of the summative assessment for all the jobs, the system of the embodiment can award a certificate of achievement to the student. In another embodiment, the assessment tab may be replaced by a context sensitive "quick quiz" tab. The quick quiz tab provides access to multiple choice questions based on the learning objectives for the content map presently on display. On-line training support, for example accessible via a local area network for an organisation or via a modem and the Internet may be integrally provided by the system. A web site may be maintained for the users of the particular training course. Such a site could provide a number of learning opportunities for students, including moderated list server/newsgroup discussions upon the course content per se, moderated list server/newsgroup discussions upon the course content as it applies to specific industries where applicable, moderated list server/newsgroup discussions upon the course content as it applies to specific firms and, where applicable, links to supporting resources available on the Internet. These links may be specific to areas of content and accessible via the button bar 58 discussed briefly above in relation to FIG. 4.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the computerised system includes within the organisation means facilities for editing the course content. This may be achieved in a number of ways by rearranging, amending or augmenting the course content, as discussed further below. The editing facility provides flexibility in delivery of training requirements in order to accommodate unique and/or rapidly changing business and commercial environments.

In the second embodiment learning objectives are associated with groups of topics and a series of learning objectives may be collected together in a learning plan. The learning plans may be directed to the skills and knowledge required to discharge the duties of a particular job or position in an organisation. Typically each content map in the training system of the embodiment is associated with at least one learning objective. Suitably, each content map has a unique label which is used as a key to organising and accessing related files containing text/graphics, sound and audio visual data. The learning objectives are also labelled. For example content map 806 is linked to a concept at work story and a file named 806cow.nar contains information about the graphics to display, the sound files to play and the sequencing of this output. The file 806cow.nar is loaded when the student selects the "Concepts at Work" tab when content map 806 (which corresponds to that depicted in FIG. 6) is displayed. Content map 806 is associated with two learning objectives, namely "1014: Create a multi-level Bill of Material (BOM) and demonstrate the different formats that can be used to represent this BOM" and "1018: Demonstrate how different manufacturing environments can require a different Bill of Material structure for the same item".

A new business objective may require a further responsibility to be added to the duty statement for a position, such as the MRP Controller position of the example. The new responsibility may draw on topics from a library of topics and associated content maps provided in the training system in relation to learning objectives for a particular business. In this way existing course content can be rearranged to suit changes precipitated by improved business processes, legislation and/or the introduction of new technology. The content maps in the library may incorporate a full presentation of the necessary task techniques and supporting tools, together with narratives, simulations, activities and concepts at work as required. Alternatively, the content maps may provide an outline of the supporting material which needs to be added, with the assistance of a course planning and generating application discussed below. Entirely new topics may also be created using a course planning and generating application. The application can be used to generate a suitable hierarchical set of content maps along with facilitating recording of narratives, preparation of business process simulations, insertion of activities and examples for the concepts at work. For the purposes of illustration, a preferred course planning and generation application 90 is illustrated in FIG. 9 and includes a content map creator tool, a site mapping tool and a configuration tool. The starting point for creating a content map, using the content map creator tool 91 , may be a generic top level representation of a content map, such as illustrated in FIG 2. This sub-program will facilitate the creation of iconic identifiers with properties specified by the course designer. The shape, text content, position, links to text or other content maps, and sequencing of associated narrations can all be specified by the designer, suitably using a pick and paste paradigm. The connecting arrows and text specifying the relationships between the iconic identifiers or icons can also be specified by the course designer. The site mapping tool 92 assists creation of a site map through entry of text into a number of supporting files, each file representing the desired positions and formats within the site map display. The site map is a comprehensive display of the learning objectives grouped within a learning plan. The supporting files may be generated automatically, based upon a numbering scheme for the content maps created by the course designer, to reflect the hierarchy. Alternatively, the files may be created manually through text entry.

The course configuring tool 93 allows the user to enter a series of learning objectives directly or by modifying existing lists of learning objectives from a closely relating course or job. The learning objectives can be manually linked to an earlier created set of content maps or the software can automatically determine which files, based on the objectives, which should be included. Preferably the configuring tool is used, when the new course of learning is fully planned, to master the course material 94 onto removal optical media, such as a CD-ROM 95.

An alternative use of the course configuring tool is to construct a learning plan, restricted in scope to a set of learning objectives individually selected from within an existing set of jobs (for example those set out in Table 1 above) in order to create an alternative learning plan tailored to a new position with a revised set of responsibilities drawn from a number of existing jobs.

The training system of the invention is suitable for a range of training requirements including individuals undertaking self-study; large manufacturing firms, educational institutions and consultants. Many individuals find that access to instructor based training is not readily available to them due to a number of factors. However, the need for education still exists. The present training system provides students with an opportunity to undertake training at a time, place, and pace which suits their needs. The course material may be taken for an individual's personal development or the student may use it as an exam preparation tool. A course delivered by the training system can be used as an induction tool for manufacturing firms by making employees new to the firm, or to sections within the firm, complete the learning activities within the course guide. This ensures both knowledge of the firm's current operations and ensures the employee has achieved a base level of knowledge. The course material may be structured so that changes to any part of the content are relatively inexpensive.

Educational institutions can use the training system to assist in the delivery of their courses. The use of situated learning as the basis for the simulations makes it ideal for students with little or no practical experience, such as manufacturing as described in the first embodiment, to understand and apply the content. The comprehensive nature of the content and the built in assessment also provides significant savings to educational institutions in terms of lecture and assessment activities. The product can also be used as a reference tool by a consultant when at a client's site. Particularly when the consultant, who may be an expert on a software package, needs to understand how various areas operate, or can operate, within a particular business.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features.

Claims

1. A computerised training method for delivering course material relating to a predetermined job to individual students, said method including the steps of:

2. The training method of claim 1 wherein the step of presenting diagrams includes specifying the relationships of topic groups with business requirements in the diagrams.

3. The training method of either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the step of presenting diagrams includes arranging the diagrams in a hierarchy such that the topics are navigable by the student in accordance with said relationships.

4. The training method of any one of claims 1 to 3 further including the step of presenting a narrative to introduce the task techniques and supporting tools relating to a topic.

5. The training method of any one of claims 1 to 4 further including the step of providing detailed textual explanations of the task techniques and supporting tools.

6. The training method of claim 5 wherein the detailed explanations for each topic are accessible via the diagram.

7. The training method of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the student can access the topic by manipulating the diagram on a user interface associated with the computer input means and output means.

8. The training method of any one of claims 1 to 7 further including the step of assessing the student's progress with learning and understanding the course material.

9. The training method of claim 8 wherein the step of assessing includes diagnostic testing of students to assist in identifying areas of weakness and corrective learning.

10. The training method of claim 8 wherein the step of assessing includes summative testing of students to assist in determining whether the student has a satisfactory level of understanding of the course material.

11. A training apparatus for delivering course material to individual students via a computer system having input means for accepting manual or vocal inputs from a student, output means for presenting visual or audible outputs to the student, and processor means for coordinating performance of the simulation, which processor means is operatively coupled to said input means, said output means and storage means for storing course material; said apparatus including:

12. The training apparatus of claim 11 including a user interface associated with the input means and output means of the computer system.

13. The training apparatus of either claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the relationships of topic groups with business requirements are specified in the diagrams.

14. The training apparatus of claims 13 wherein the diagrams are arranged in a hierarchy whereby the topics are navigable via the user interface in accordance with said relationships.

15. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the course material includes narratives to introduce task techniques and supporting tools relating to a topic.

16. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 15 wherein the course material further includes detailed textual explanations of the task techniques and supporting tools.

17. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 16 wherein the detailed explanations for each topic may be accessible via a respective diagram presented on the output means.

18. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 17 wherein the diagrams include content maps.

19. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 18 further including assessment means for diagnostic or summative testing of students.

20. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 19 wherein the storage means includes drive means for removable storage media, which removable storage media is suitable for storing data files containing the course material.

21. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 20 wherein the organisation means includes an editing facility for rearranging, amending or augmenting the course material.

22. The training apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 21 wherein the organisation means is associated with a course planning and generation means.

23. The training apparatus of claim 21 wherein the course planning and generation means includes a content map creator for creating content maps and linking the maps to course content.

24. The training apparatus of either claim 21 or claim 22 wherein the course planning and generation means includes a site map creator for creating a site map showing content maps within the course and their associated learning objectives.

25. The training apparatus of any one of claims 21 to 23 wherein the course planning and generation means includes a course configuring tool for editing or creating learning objectives.