College of Computing and Informatics
PANCAKE is an online training module for state utility commissioners and their key employees that evaluates users using AI generated questions.
Problem: State utility commissioners are not required to be well-informed about all utility industries when appointed and they enter their role with different backgrounds and levels of expertise within each industry. It can be very hard for commissioners to keep up with developments in their own field of expertise, on top of learning about other industries. Another issue is that typical training sessions require travel and time, as the training sessions are typically out of state and take 3-4 days at a time. This requires the commissioners to use their travel budget judiciously and intelligently so they can go to the most important training sessions which also justify the travel time. The training sessions themselves can also be a problem as valuable information is squeezed into 8 hour days and this can cause important information to be lost in the session because trainers and the trainees can feel rushed. Effects of the problem: This lack of knowledge leads the commissioners to be challenged with the task of learning about the standards of other industries, and new technologies in their own fields of specialty and the information-dense training can also lead staff to feel rushed through the training sessions they attend. Characteristics of the solution: The solution proposed by our team is an online training module which would allow states to save in their travel budgets by providing training for commissioners in their home office and would allow them to work at their own pace through the material rather than condensing the material into a short period of time. How the solution delivers: The solution is an intelligent tutoring module which can be completed at the pace of the student. It would also give users the ability to view their progress in the course and retake the evaluations as needed or wanted.