Since yesterday,three other cadets and I have been going through test rotations, where we test out different projects ICT has been working on for a while. So far, the tests involved interacting with virtual characters. The purpose of these tests is to obtain an evaluation and feedback from us to better improve the program that they have been working on. Yesterday's testing is called TACL (Technologies for Accelerated Continuous Learning. TACL is a newly developed program that keeps track of reflective essays based on learning experiences and it automatically grades the essays to see if you have learned anything. To provide you with a better picture of what I'm talking about, our experiment involved facing four different scenarios as a platoon sergeant. Like the PMEE classes, we're supposed to select the best decision, which later on allows us to move on to the next scenario. After we've made decisions, we're supposed to discuss the decisions we've made and if we have learned anything from good or bad decisions. Today, we interacted with an outlaw virtual character at a saloon (a replica of a saloon, not a real one, sorry). Our role was to be a ranger at the saloon to arrest or kill this outlaw. There were two other virtual characters: the bartender and a woman who works at the saloon. They provided me (ranger) some information about who the outlaw is. The outlaw's name is Rio Laine. When I met him, he threatened to kill everyone and when I had the chance, I was supposed to shoot him with my 'pistol', but I died. These virtual characters unlike other virtual characters I interacted with was displayed on what's called a digital flat display. They almost look 3D, only they're trapped in the wall. The purpose of these interactions with the virtual characters was not only to find ways to improve them by getting user feedback, but also to help us to learn better ways to deal with certain situations we are put in. How is this relevant to the Army? You will see on my next post discussing SASO (Stability Support Operations) which helps us learn to negotiate when we are out in the sand