In 2012, the FAA Academy was exploring and transitioning into a more electronic method of course delivery. Training materials were distributed in various electronic formats to better incorporate the emerging technologies that were being used in the classrooms. In spite of this advancement, course exams were still being delivered in printed, hard copy format.
Eddie Sanders, an employee in the FAA Academy’s National Airspace System (NAS) Information Services Section (AMA-423) came up with an innovative idea. Using his programming and instructor skills, he conceived the idea of delivering a course examination through something he coined, "eTESTING."
After a short period of time, Ed developed a prototype program and presented his idea to several organizations within the Academy. Then in 2014, personnel in the Academy’s Technical Operations Training Division (AMA-400) decided to take a leap of faith on Eddie’s discovery. If his electronic testing program could meet all of the Division’s training requirements for delivering course resident examinations, the prospect of eTESTING might be a success.
eTESTING was evaluated under stringent Project Management Program (PMP) guidelines by Tony Darnell (PMP oversite manager) and other members of the Training Support Branch (AMA-405) who were selected to critique the progress of the application.
I’leta Young, Academy, Radar Concepts Instructor (AMA-411) stated, "I have to say that I was rather reluctant to use eTESTING. As a matter of fact, I was the last one to use it in Terminal Automation. It works like a champ! I am extremely happy with it, and kudos to Eddie. It has made test delivery very easy and like you said, with the way things are operating now, our courses could not continue without it. eTESTING is easily navigated by both instructors and students. I hope that it actually becomes the standard for all Academy Virtual delivery courses."
Douglas Young, Academy Terminal Automation Instructor (AMA-421) adds, "I am in the Virtual Radar Concepts course, and I absolutely love this program. eTESTING is amazing, and when we go back to resident courses we plan to continue utilizing it. Eddie was forward-thinking - about 5-years ahead of the global health crisis."
Eddie was told that eTESTING had to meet the established project guidelines or the entire project would be dismissed. Since it was an "out of the box" concept, and something new that the division that had not previously accomplished, Eddie knew that failure was not an option.
In the final analysis of the project, the PMP manager reported to the division that the eTESTING program was a success, and exceeded all expectations. Eddie was elated. "I always want to make a difference and it’s always a pleasure to exceed others’ expectations," expressed Sanders.
The eTESTING story is more about the instructors that voluntarily use the electronic method for delivering resident course exams. Most of the Academy instructors have always used printed exams in their courses. It was a "leap of faith" for these instructors to move from their comfort zone of printed exams to using an electronic method. The success or failure of eTESTING (in reality) hinged upon the Division’s instructors. The instructors that volunteered their courses for eTESTING took a chance on using something entirely different in the classroom.
The first real trial of eTESTING was conducted in the Surface Weather Systems (SWS) course. eTESTING performed well, but it needed some tweaking. The resident instructors and students in the SWS course offered tremendous input, which greatly improved the program.
Eventually, more instructors with additional courses volunteered to use the new method if evaluation. Their input was invaluable to the success of eTESTING. The success of the final eTESTING application was a result of several individuals and students who took an active role in making it better, as well as utilizing Eddie’s skillsets. Eddie shares, "these folks are truly my heroes. I am most grateful to them."
When the global health crisis struck almost a year ago, ideas were tossed about using total virtual training until the Academy could get back to some kind of normalcy. The Safety and Technical Training Office (AJI) and the Academy called upon eTESTING to play a major role in the virtual delivery of course exams. Many courses that had not been previously involved with eTESTING got a quick lesson in "Virtual Reality." Several instructors had to expeditiously reconfigure their resident course exams into the electronic format so they could be administered online.
Course exams that existed in Microsoft Word format were imported into the eTESTING program. Fortunately, eTESTING was designed to do just that! A lot of thought went into eTESTING to make this a simple and easy process, long before the global health crisis struck.
eTESTING was designed and developed to meet resident classroom challenges. No one could have anticipated the COVID-19 crisis and how the FAA Academy would have been impacted. However, eTESTING rose to the occasion with its ability to deliver virtual exams. With a "can do" effort by the instructors, courses continued to roll out - delivering virtual exams in a timely manner. At present, 45 virtual courses are able to deliver real-time course exams via the FAA intranet.
