Blue Shoe Technologies Inc. Delivers Spanish Language Training Courses
for the U.S. Army
Durham, N.C. – On 10/31/05 Blue Shoe Technologies Inc, an IT professional services company specializing in Communications Triage™ solutions, delivered a “proof of concept” interactive speech recognition language training program which provides voice recognition technology for training and testing Spanish speaking skills over an intranet and internet. The program provides 6 web-based introductory level Spanish speaking training sessions and 10 web-based test items
The project is sponsored by the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) and administered by Camber Corporation
The training sessions utilize Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technology combined with animation and an easy- to-use- system interface to achieve a real life look and feel. Students are introduced to Captain Bill Smith, a 3-D animated persona who then interacts with the student on such tasks as introducing others, ordering a meal, and giving directions. Students use a microphone to respond to Captain Smith’s questions. The ASR engine compares the student responses against model responses set by the instructor. If the student’s pronunciation closely matches the model, they will proceed to the next task, or be asked to try again. Animation for the project was developed by the Fayetteville, NC-based company, Advanced Computer Learning Company.
The training sessions are student-centered and performance based covering all critical elements of language learning by providing immediate feedback to students, enforcing student remedial training and providing performance-based student evaluation which establishes learning objective mastery with feedback.
“Training in foreign languages always involves pronunciation,” says Blue Shoe’s Founder and Multilingual Technologies Specialist Fred Jacome. “Through the application of ASR technology we are able to simulate live conversations and allow the student to practice and build confidence. This project successfully demonstrates that ASR technology has a place at the language learning table.”
Blue Shoe Technologies Inc, a 2005 Triangle FAST 50 award recipient, specializes in Communications Triage™ solutions to information and knowledge discovery, classification and transformation problems. Communications Triage™ solutions assist organizations with managing and allocating limited resources for optimum communications efficiency, and address multiple issues, including information overload, language and cultural barriers, logistics and deployment costs, dynamic content creation, and content reuse, to name a few.
Media contact: Diane Currier
(919) 403-7463 ext. 1106
diane@blueshoe.com
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