General Information

Vcom3D has created software for the iPod to help the US Army increase communication with the local Iraqi populace, circumvent the need for a translator for minor situations, and teach small bits of Arabic language and Iraqi culture.

Learners, Context, and Goal

While Vcom3D products are applicable to any military division in Iraq, their main military product, the Vcommunicator Mobile LC is currently being used with “soldiers from the 82nd Airborne, 10th Mountain Division, 4th & 3rd Infantry Division” (Vcom3D Mobile). Many of these soldiers either have or are familiar iPods, iPod Touches, or iPhones, so it was natural to develop software for an already widely used platform.

The software was developed for a number of reasons. First, acquiring a translator can be difficult and take hours, which is very counterproductive if soldiers only need to ask simple questions. The Vcommunicator is configured to work in a number of Arabic dialects, and often contains a number of mission specific questions. It gives the user a choice to hear and say the phrase, display the Arabic, or have the device speak for them (see the demo here).

In addition to being useful in the field, it also has tools to help soldiers learn both Arabic phrases and their cultural functions, as well as Arabic gestures. For example, instead of just teaching the Arabic for please, the communicator gives three different expressions, how to use them, and the accompanying physical gestures (see the Vcommunicator – Please demo).

Technology and Design Solutions

The Vcommunicator Mobile LC is a software built on the iOS platform. According to Kallmeyer (2008) the software costs $2000, which seems expensive for an iOS app. However, it may be sold together as a unit with an iPod Touch. Neither the website or the articles were clear on this. The Vcommunicator offers one-way language translation in a number of Arabic dialects. It comes with language tailored to specific missions, often used in the order it would be said in the real world. And now, according to the Vcommunicator website, it offers speech recognition. The Vcommunicator also allows users to save phrases as favorites for quick access, and with the Vcommunicator Authoring Suite, users can add and change the content, including images and video. Here is the feature list from their website:

• Now with speech recognition that requires no training
• Use Favorites to make a custom phrase list.
• Quickly switch languages.
• Pre-loaded with scenarios for military, business or travel
• Each scenario includes culture-specific video animations, speech, and written text
• Portable, Durable, Lightweight
• Extensive Battery Life
• Available for iPod
• No training required. User friendly, intuitive interface.
• Use it on-the-go or during downtime.
• For the military, Mobile saves lives by reducing engagement mistakes with the local populace.

The goal of Vcom3D was to address the concern of translation and translators in the field, as well as Arabic language learning during downtime. The Vcommunicator Mobile LC accomplished this via one-way translation software and cultural/language aids built for popular iOS devices. In this way, soldiers were learning both on their own time (personal learning) and in the field (incidental learning).

Pedagogical Underpinnings

While its intended use is more practical than educational, the Vcommunicator is certainly an m-learning device. It is based on the m-learning maxim of learning “anywhere at anytime”.  It combines the mobility of the user with the need to access information on-demand, where ever, whenever. Situated learning is one educational theory that can help highlight the device’s learning properties. According to Herrington and Oliver (1995), there are several important characteristics of situated learning.  Situated learning should:

• Provide authentic context that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real-life;
• Provide authentic activities;
• Provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes;
• Provide multiple roles and perspectives;
• Support collaborative construction of knowledge;
• Provide coaching and scaffolding at critical times;
• Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed;
• Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit;
• Provide for integrated assessment of learning within the tasks.

(p. 3)

The Vcommunicator is a device through which situated learning occurs.  Although it does not embody all these characteristics, there are several which do make it a situated learning device.  Its use is authentic and its users learn via authentic, real-world situations.  Therefore, all learning is done via a situation, i.e. a situated context.  The program was designed by experts – US soldiers, Iraqis, and translators – and provides their expertise in both the Arabic language and Iraqi culture. Their expertise is transformed into text, audio, and visual models to help the soldiers learn through multiple means. It is somewhat scaffolded in that selecting a mission will allow one to see language in increasing order of use, starting from the first questions or responses and moving out from there, and it can do this “at critical times”.

References

Herrington, J. & Oliver, R. (1995). Critical characteristics of situated learning: Implications for the instructional design of multimedia. Proceedings ASCILITE’95, University of Melbourne. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne95/smtu/papers/herrington.pdf

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