Patent Application
20230196253
The present invention generally relates to a cloud-based, online training system. More specifically, the present invention relates to an innovated system and method for learning and working suited for any job seeker, student, new-hire employee onboarding, new skill training, team member project performance monitoring, etc.
There is a growing skill gap between what students learn in training and the skills required for performing specific jobs and tasks. Students use various methods and platforms for learning and training, and the resulting fragmentation prevents working processes and workflows from appropriate alignment. Thus, a system that closes the skill gap between learners and skills required in professional workplace is in demand.
According to research, 20% of learning happens in the classroom, but almost 80% occurs on the job, while working on projects. Learning through trial and error, however, takes a long time and is an expensive way to acquire necessary knowledge and skills for a specific job. The education environment can include various parties, such as students or learners, teachers, tutors, recruiters, and the human resource (HR) department, who may maintain transactional and functional relationships of some form with one another.
Traditionally, many placement organizations, HR departments, and educational institutions such as colleges and universities have provided placement services for students based partly on their educational qualifications; such placements may be managed by an applicant tracking system or a HR management system containing the particulars of each student, including job preferences and desired placement companies. Companies have also developed various online systems with which to offer a convenient learning environment that can be shared by potential employers.
Existing online systems may not be sufficient for offering employment opportunities to learning users, each of whom may have completed a unique set of learning application performances on such a system, and a recruiting organization may require education or training that might not be offered by an existing online learning system. Online learning systems are not designed to manage learning applications based on recruitment, the learning application performance experience, and corresponding scores or reviews of a plurality of learning users. In addition, current online learning systems are not properly designed to receive a recruitment request from a potential employer and determine application particulars and minimum metric scores. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a system to solve such problems.
The present invention is intended to address problems associated with and/or otherwise improve on conventional online learning systems through an innovative game based training and work simulation platform (WSP) that is designed to provide a unified system and method for efficiently and effectively closing the skill gap between learners and potential employers while incorporating other problem-solving features.
The present invention comprises a unique and innovative game-based training and work simulation platform (WSP) that is designed to provide a unified system and method for efficiently and effectively closing the skill gap between users and potential employers, new-hires and managers, employees and supervisors, etc. The training and work simulation method of the present invention offers businesses a powerful cloud-based, online platform to quickly scale their workforce to match demand, based on project requirements. The method provides a simulated on-the-job environment to offer users (e.g., students, employees, job-seekers, etc.) the next best thing to actually working on client projects while conducting learning and training. In this way, a user can effectively improve their skills, project strategy and efficiency, and performance, thus equipping the user with significantly improved proficiency and confidence on various projects in the field of profession. Using the method, the user can learn, practice, and work by completing a number of typical industry projects, each increasing in complexity with the given deadlines and deliverables. Upon completing the learn/practice/work program, the user can obtain performance ranking scores for the completed projects, which can provide recruiters and clients with far more valuable information about the user’s capabilities than typical certifications can. The method incorporates artificial intelligence technologies in various algorithms for generating performance scores for each task, matching job openings for the user, etc.
The online training and work simulation method facilitates a unique learn/practice/work training program, which is implemented in three modules: learn, practice, and work. This program offers the user multiple learning tools in multimedia format and integrates performance evaluations at every step as the user progresses. During the process, various projects closed related to the subject matter/skills training are provided so that the user can learn from actual/simulated projects, practice with these projects, and work with assigned projects in a monitored environment for performance evaluation. This program also can be used by employers/project managers to monitor a project team working on actual client project and generate quick and accurate performance ranking for each team member. Thus, the method provides a holistic online solution for training, onboarding, and working on projects.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
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The present invention was developed from the perspective of the 3D (three dimensional) modeling and animation industry, however, the WSP system and method is not limited to any industry and/or software tool.
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Subsequently, the method assigns one of the plurality of projects to a specific user account through the remote server (Step D), and directs the specific user with the corresponding PC device to follow the three-step learn/practice/work training program in the learn, practice, and work modules for each of the at least one phase of the project (Step E). With performance scores the method generates based on the outcome of the user’s actual learn/practice/work tasks, the method relays a performance ranking to the corresponding PC device of the specific user, wherein the performance ranking is generated using all performance scores for each task completed in each module (Step F). The performance scores the method generates for each task may include, but are not limited to, time score related to the total time to finish a task, quality score based on the evaluation of the project quality of the task, etc.
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The learn module may be designed for students in schools/colleges/independent to learn a particular 3D software by working on in-demand industry projects so that, based on their performance ranking results, they can apply for work. The practice module may be designed to allow companies to create custom project-specific workflows and administer to new talent or existing team members before bringing them on board new projects. The work module may be designed to allow companies to have a team work on their projects.
This module is for job-seekers - students in schools/colleges/independent to learn a particular skill such as 3D software by working on in-demand industry projects and based on their performance ranking results they can apply for work. This module can also be used by companies to train their internal team on new software. The process is as follows:
1. Define projects with deadlines and deliverables like in the real world, typically 3-4 for in-demand projects with each software/application.
2. Project is broken down into phases/stages typically 1 - 4.
3. For each phase students use our 3-step training methodology to go through the process.
4. Step 1 is to learn the software; Step 2 is to practice workflow and Step 3 is test their performance (based on given project and tracking time).
5. In step 1 for learning software the participant learns the software tools and menus by watching videos, and then prepares for step 2 to learn the workflow for a similar project they have been assigned through carefully prepared videos broken down into steps which are converted into tasks for the performance part.
6. For the performance the student completes the tasks associated with each phase with the timer running in the platform to measure accurate time for each task, phase and overall project.
7. The quality of the project is reviewed by at least 3 people (wisdom of crowd) and ranked on a scale from 1-5 stars.
8. Since the project assigned is fixed, based on the stars and time taken a performance percentile rank from 0-100 is assigned.
9. If the student gets low scores they can try the project again and again till they reach a satisfactory ranking established by market demand.
10. Based on the performance ranking score companies can hire skilled candidates for specific projects/work.
This module is for companies to create their custom project-specific workflows and administer to the new talent/hire or existing team members before onboarding them on new projects. The core steps are similar to the learn module however the differences are as follows:
1. Here the project is defined by the company based on typical projects the company works on and might involve using multiple software (rather than just one in the learn phase).
2. The project is broken down into phases and here participants might be asked to work on a single phase/part of the project.
3. In this stage the participant is provided with a company mentor to guide through the process.
4. The quality of the project is reviewed by at least 3 people from the company (wisdom of crowd) and ranked on a scale from 1-5 stars.
5. Based on the ranking and time the participant receives project readiness metrics. The participant can redo the project for a higher degree of project readiness.
6. The company can assign the participant to work on phases of the client projects or the entire project based on readiness metrics.
The module is for companies to have the team work on their projects. Since the previous modules are also project driven the format is similar except for some of the key differences.
1. Here the project is assigned in an actual client project.
2. The project is broken down into phases and here participants might be asked to work on a single phase/part of the project.
3. In this stage the participant collaborates with the team and a manager and is assigned tasks for each phase.
4. The participant works on the tasks they select and phase in the platform and the platform tracks the time spent on each task and phase.
5. At the end of the day the platform automatically allows the participant to fill out their timesheets based on the time spent on the platform.
6. The quality of the project is reviewed by the manager and ranked on a scale from 1-5 stars.
Based on the time spent on the tasks the company gets a task time report to measure the efficiency of the project.
Each of the three different modules of the present invention—the learn module, practice module, and work module—may include a project step, a planning step, and a learning step, as shown in
The project step may include a process to assign the user a project with deliverables and timeline, just as in real-world client settings.
In the learn module, the project step may define projects with deadlines and deliverables just as in the real world, typically 3 to 4 for in-demand projects using each software program.
In the practice module, the project step may be configured to allow companies to define a project based on their typical projects that might involve use of multiple software programs.
In the work module of the present invention, the project step may be configured to allow companies to assign client projects to their team (e.g. employees).
The planning step may include a process for breaking the project down into phases, just as a company would do using project management software, with timelines and deliverables for each phase.
In the learn module, the project can be broken down into phases/stages (typically about 4 phases).
In the practice module, the project can be broken down into phases and the users can be asked to work on a single phase/part.
In the work module, the project can be broken down into phases and the users can also be asked to work on a single phase/part.
The learning step may include a process whereby the user learns the software tools and menus needed for each phase using videos and accompanying quizzes, then may learn the recommended project workflow using videos with practice pauses, which may prompt learners to alternate watching and trying.
In some embodiments, users may apply their learning to the project assigned to them, timing themselves.
In some embodiments, based on the project completion, the user may receive two or more separate scores based on time and quality of work. In some other embodiments, the learning step may provide aggregate scores from multiple reviews on a rating scale. In cases of visual design projects, for which ratings are difficult to obtain, the learning step may be configured to take advantage of the wisdom of crowds, with the collective intelligence of a group determining the visual rating.
In the learn module that is designed for software training, the learning step may allow the users to first learn the software, then practice the workflow, and finally test their performance (based on the given project, while tracking time). For example, while learning the software, users may learn to use software tools and menus by watching videos, then prepare for the second step where the users can learn the workflow for a similar project to the one they have been assigned with the aid of carefully prepared videos broken down into multiple phases that can be converted into tasks. For testing their performance, users can complete the tasks associated with each phase as the timer runs in the platform, accurately timing each task and phase as well as the overall project.
Project quality can be reviewed by at least a group of people (taking advantage of the wisdom of crowds) and ranked on a rating scale. Because the assigned project is fixed, the ranking and time taken can be translated to a performance percentile rank.
In some embodiments, the learning step can be configured such that a user who scores below a certain threshold can retry the project until reaching a satisfactory ranking established by market demand.
In some embodiments, the learning step of the present invention may include a process for sending companies performance ranking scores, as shown in
In the practice module, the learning step may provide users with a company mentor to guide them through the learning step. Project quality can be reviewed by at least 3 people from the company (wisdom of crowd) and ranked on a rating scale.
Based on ranking and time, the user may receive project readiness metrics by the learning step.
In some embodiments, the learning step may allow the user to redo the project to achieve a higher degree of project readiness. In other embodiments, the company can assign the user to work on certain phases of client projects or the entire project, based on readiness metrics.
In the work module, the learning step may allow the user to collaborate with the team (e.g., employees), and a manager and the user can be assigned tasks for each phase. Users may work on the tasks and phase of their choice, and the learning step can be configured to track the time spent on each.
In some embodiments, the WSP may automatically allow users to fill out their timesheets based on their time spent on projects using WSP of the present invention. The quality of the project can be reviewed by the manager and ranked on a rating scale. In some embodiments, all of the three modules of WSP can be configured to send a task-time report to a company so that it can gauge efficiency based on time spent on each project and tasks.
The steps and the processes described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied entirely online, directly in hardware, or in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the three. A software module can reside in a memory unit that can include volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and network devices, or other data storage devices now known or later developed for storing information/ data. The volatile memory may be any type of volatile memory including, but not limited to, static or dynamic, random access memory (SRAM or DRAM). The non-volatile memory may be any non-volatile memory including, but not limited to, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, and magnetically or optically readable memory or memory devices such as compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs), magnetic tape, and hard drives.
The computing device may be a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, and other mobile devices of the type. Communications between components and/or devices in the systems and methods disclosed herein may be unidirectional or bidirectional electronic communication through a wired or wireless configuration or network. For example, one component or device may be wired or networked wirelessly directly or indirectly, through a third-party intermediary, over the Internet, or otherwise with another component or device to enable communication between the components or devices. Examples of wireless communications include, but are not limited to, radio frequency (RF), infrared, Bluetooth, wireless local area network (WLAN) (such as WiFi), or wireless network radio, such as a radio capable of communication with a wireless communication network such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, WiMAX network, 3G network, 4G network, 5G network, and other communication networks of the type. In example embodiments, network can be configured to provide and employ 5G wireless networking features and functionalities.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2021/038075 | 6/18/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63040980 | Jun 2020 | US |
