The aim of this project is to enable the development and the evaluation of professional soft skills training (for example: leadership /communication/ negotiation/ sales & servicing/ decision making in professional context) by using an Intelligence Tutoring System. ITSoft-skills will offer numerous web-based simulations and innovative tools to improve professional soft skills in a constructivist interactive method.

ITSoft-skills project will be the development of a Technologic Software that that would help medium and large enterprises train their people for improving leadership and communication skills and to manage and recognize their talents.

The interdisciplinary research of this project would include:

1. The PreTest for identifying the needs of different target populations.
2. The PostTest for identifying the usability factors & cognitive influences of ITSoft-skills's implementation. 

ITSoft-skills development project would include the User Interface and Instructor Interface as one.

The User Interface would include 3 main parts: Demonstration, Simulation, and Explanation.
• Demonstration: The first part includes an assortment of authentic situations and dilemmas, presented in an interactive way using virtual / realistic characters.
• Simulation: The user interacts and communicates with the characters in the same way as in real situations, thus expressing professional skills.
• Explanation: Users explain the reasoning behind their performance in the pervious part (Simulation), while interacting with the characters and making professional decision. This way users obtain an awareness of their decision-making style.

 
The cognitive influences of the ITSoft-skills's implementation will be evaluated by a knowledge & performance improvement, a conceptual changing and a self regulation in the professional context of the end users.

The Instructor Interface would include 2 main parts:
• Authoring tools- this Interface includes generic forms, scenarios and animated characters for creating web-based simulations.
• Assessment tools - this Interface includes various reports that present users simulated performance.

The usability factors of the ITSoft-skills's implementation will be evaluated by a simplicity & usability of the end-users, the content designers and the instructors, by using the ROI measures. Additionnaly, we will check the validity & reliability of the ITSoft-skills's outputs. 

The expected impact of this project is:

1. Creating tools that produce a quantifiable evaluation of soft skills and their business application potential.

2. Designing and developing a user-friendly learning environment that improves soft skills through "learning-by-doing".

3. Creating a flexible environment that dynamically responds and adjusts to the learner's performance and needs.

4. Developing a pedagogical technology for characterizing and evaluating a group of learners.

5. Providing technological tools for understanding end-users' needs and soft-skill-related behavior, and characterizing them.

Technical Description

ITSoft-skills wouls be based on SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model), with a common Web-based "Content Aggregation Model" and a "Run-Time Environment" for learning content. For the implementation, ITSoft-skills will be installed on an organizational central server and will collect, analyse and update the data according to an accepted convention.

Our expertise is e-learning tools implementation. We are looking for a technical – oriented partner who has one or more of the following skills:

• Technical partners with expertise in web-based application development, Human Resources and Learning management systems (HR & LMS).
•  Technical partners with expertise in visual interface design and e-learning tools implementation and development.
• Experts in HR technologies, development of technology enhanced learning tools.
• End-user representatives who can validate the results.
• Content providers who can design the soft-skill Content & scenarios in rich various contexts to be used by the system.
• Experience in the area of soft-skills improvement, development & evaluation.

• Development of ITSoft-skills environment and tools

• Preparation of several soft-skills contents + scenarios

• Using and learing with the environment

• Usability research by the various users

• Dissemination and exploitation of project results

Industrial hi-tech companies specializing in HR & Learning Systems.


Industrial end users as a test bed to use the ITSoft-skills environment for On The Job training.


Consultants with Experience in the area of soft-skills improve, development & evaluation (Content providers).


Consultants with Experience in the area of E-learning implementation and development.