The Web Interactive Training (WIT) project at Kennedy Space Center has expanded its course offerings, enhanced its technical capabilities, and automated its administrative functions. Aspects of the WIT project at previous stages of development were reported in “Further Developments in Web Interactive Training” (KSC-11962), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 24, No. 1 (January 2000), page 52. To recapitulate: WIT delivers training to client desktop computers on demand.

The following WIT developments are particularly noteworthy:

  • A WIT course offers training in the basics of ultrasonic testing. Topics include the basic physics of sound, typical ultrasonic-testing equipment used at Kennedy Space Center, and several testing methods. The course also includes an interactive simulation in which the trainee learns to perform a basic shear-wave calibration of an ultrasonic instrument.
  • Another WIT course provides training in the design and analysis of singleand multi-factor experiments and prepares the trainees for a formal graduate course in the design of experiments. The course covers such basic concepts of the design of experiments as randomization, replication, testing of hypotheses, and confidence intervals. After receiving instruction, a trainee performs “hands-on” analysis of several different types of experimental designs, including those of two independent samples, paired comparison, complete randomized design, randomized complete block design, Latinsquare design, and two-factor design.
  • An integrated Wed-based application program largely automates the registration, testing, and maintenance of records of WIT trainees. The program provides for two user levels: trainee and administrator. A trainee fills out a short registration form, and the system automatically assigns the student an identification number and verifies the information through electronic mail. When the student logs into the system, he or she can take any of the available courses, track his or her own progress, update student information, change passwords, and evaluate the courses. When an administrator logs into the system, he or she can (in addition to exercising all student-level privileges) track the progress of a student, review student registrations and course evaluations, edit and add quizzes, and review and analyze quiz metrics. Quizzes are randomly generated from a database of questions. The number of questions to be drawn for each quiz can be set by the administrator. Therefore, each student should get a different set of questions each time he or she takes the quiz. Upon taking the quiz, the student gets immediate feedback on each question, including an explanation of the answer and a link back to the relevant part of the course.

The software that administers the WITS courses was developed by use of commercial off-the-shelf Web-development software. The WIT course software resides on a Windows NT server computer that runs the Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 and Cold Fusion Application Server 4.0 software.

This work was done by Thomas Brubaker, Angela Smibert, David Penca, Sergei Kossenko, and Lawrence W. Haines of Dynacs Engineering Co. Inc. for Kennedy Space Center.

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to

Dynacs, Inc.
Digital Media Lab
Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

Refer to KSC-12159, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page number. Refer to KSC-12159.