For Soldiers needing to improve upon their foreign language and culture skills, Jedburgh Technology is introducing a cutting-edge approach.
Jedburgh Technology, a provider of Virtual Reality (VR) training software products tailored for America’s warriors, is offering dynamic technology to help Soldiers enhance their foreign language and culture training with its Realistic Training Platform (RTP).
Collaborating with subject matter experts from Military Intelligence, Special Operations Forces, government contractors and leading technologists, RTP provides an innovative approach to immersion training for Soldiers.
“We connect a live student, who is fully immersed in [a VR environment], with a live instructor who is represented as an avatar in the virtual environment,” said Jason Starkey, co-founder and CEO of Jedburgh Technology. “They interact in several different virtual [scenarios] that are contextually relevant and practical for their specific mission.”
Launched in 2016, RTP combines commercial off-the-shelf hardware with proprietary game-like software, real-world operator/linguist experiences and professional instructor subject matter expertise to immerse students in a rich, kinesthetic learning environment.
So far, the platform supports 89 languages, including 1,200 authentic cultural objects. The Army is currently the only branch using the RTP, but Jedburgh is planning to extend to other branches such as the Air Force and Marines.
Open to all Army linguist units, commanders can access the platform through two means. First, unit leaders can install VR hardware at their language learning facility to incorporate RTP into the normal training curriculum.
“For example, after spending the morning in the classroom learning vocabulary terms related to food, the afternoon will be spent using our product with the student and instructor applying those vocab words in our restaurant virtual environment,” explained Starkey.
The second way the platform can be utilized is to install the student VR hardware at the individual unit location, which allows students to perform their language training on their own time without needing to travel to a language facility.
Regardless of which set-up is chosen, as long as both the student and instructor have internet access, they can interact with each other through the RTP’s virtual environments. Instructors have the ability to easily document and annotate to give feedback in real-time, whether it is concerning grammatical, vocabulary or use of English, for review at home. Students can use RTP in exploratory mode to hone their skills when alone or use analysis mode to interact one-on-one with an instructor, while their proficiency and performance are examined.
Through the platform, students and instructors have their own dashboards that display key performance indicators such as average session length, number of target language words per minute/session, number of words in native language and mission-critical tasks completed. The dashboard provides access to instructor notes from past training sessions and the ability to listen to audio recordings of sessions for improved self-awareness and diagnosis. To encourage friendly competition, the dashboard displays metrics from other students in the class or the same unit.
For units looking to access the platform, Command Language Program Managers can visit www.jedburghco.com or call 703-682-6840 for information.
BY STAFF WRITER Tatyana White-Jenkins
Photo courtesy Jedburgh Technology
