CBT Building Blocks

Organizations interested in developing their own CBT (computer-based training) systems using the principles pioneered by Andersen Consulting and the Institute for Learning Sciences could start by experimenting with DVI technology, which allows playback of professional video. Andersen Consulting built a small system using Asymetrix's (Bellevue, WA) Tool Book authoring software together with a proprietary knowledge management shell built by Andersen's Center for Strategic Technology and Research in Chicago. For your own purposes, an off-the-shelf expert-system shell could be substituted for the proprietary component.

The idea is to implement an on-screen navigation button so that the trainee can trigger playback of the video elements, which would include company veterans relating helpful anecdotes or sales staff demonstrating company-approv ed sales techniques. Later on, you might try invoking video clips for when the trainee answers a question the system poses. In either case, the information would be presented when the trainee has the greatest need for it.

A further enhancement might be to link the system to a product such as Lotus Notes that lets trainees ask questions and match keywords to call up relevant audio or video clips or textual explanations of the principles being taught. You could easily add an object-oriented architecture, video, audio, or text objects to the system and readily modify the behavior of existing objects. Finally, an attractive GUI can make the system more appealing.