Validation of an active multimedia courseware package for the Integrated Damage Control Training Technology (IDCTT) trainer

Abstract

This paper reports the test and evaluation results of the Integrated Damage Control Training Technology (IDCTT) Trainer. This device - the product of a four year advanced development effort uses interactive courseware which incorporates the latest multi-media computer technology to create a realistic damage control training environment. The trainer was developed to support a recent change in shipboard damage control philosophy called Total Ship Survivability (TSS); a concept which emphasizes the simultaneous repairing of a ship's combat damage while maintaining its ability to fight. The new trainer was comprehensively evaluated using performance data and survey results collected from students and instructors during a three month test period at the Surface Warfare Officer School's Damage Control School in Newport, R.I. Findings from seven different surveys are presented; performance comparisons between the conventional trainer and this new trainer are examined; and narrative accounts of both students and instructors are reported. The data clearly identify and isolate the specific benefits as well as some drawbacks associated with the various enabling technologies integrated during the advanced development of the prototype. Recommendations about operationally deploying the device are discus the implications of suggested enhancements are explored. Interactive courseware validation report