Air Traffic Control Training has always been very traditional. The basic structure of the training has not seen any structural revolution since the introduction of the visual simulator in the late 90s. And even that revolution was only an upgrade of a training tool. The actual learning process and methodology has remained very much the same.
Many methods that are usual and are used every day in the educational world are still avant-garde in aviation training. There is a very sensible reason why it is so and it is the safety critical nature of Air Traffic Control. One wants to be sure that whatever we do, works. Trying new things without significant evidence of their merit is not the usual practice. But it does not boost development and it does not fuel growth.
Training and learning are a different beast. Learning is a human activity where trainers can influence success by manipulating training content, material, or tools. There is also another hugely important factor that has a massive impact on the success of training, and that is the learner. Even when the methods, structure and tools for ATC Training have not significantly changed in the past 25 years, there is one thing that has changed – the learner.
The learner is at the heart of what Lektor does. The learner is the reason for Lektor to exist. Without the learner, no ATC instructor would have a job. If the learner does not learn, we have not done our job properly. A teacher, who teaches without anyone learning is as useless as runway behind you.
The Vision
Lektor has set on a journey to make a shake to the tectonic plate known as ATC Training culture. Our intention is to ensure learner success by making ATC Training interesting and engaging. In our training philosophy the learner is happy and active. Learning is challenging, and designed to build on the learner's skills.
But how exactly does this sort of design come about? We thought we’d share our methods and working culture to foster our idea that ATC Training is for everyone.
The idea saw the light of day years ago, when we thought about a comment someone made about a student whose training was terminated during the ATCO Basic course. The people at the ATC Training organisation claimed that the student should not have been on the course in the first place. They said that the selection process had failed and let an unsuitable candidate through. Unsuitable for an ATCO Basic course?? How can that be? After all, ATCO Basic is mostly theoretical studying and hardly any practical training. The selection tests test candidates' abilities for the practical work of an ATCO, and those capabilities and abilities are really only needed when the student starts their simulator training phase – not during the Basic.
Another insight we had to ATCO Basic training was that parts of it were conducted as CBT packages and self-learning. There were modules, where no teacher was used. And the students seemed to actually prefer these modules over the talking heads in front of the classroom. So why on earth was there still emphasis on classroom teaching even though the students wanted something else? This made us think if there is a limit of how much of the ATCO Basic training a student is allowed to complete without a teacher or an instructor. Nobody seemed to have an answer to this question. Even the regulation did not say anything conclusive about the use of instructors on the Basic. So our deduction was that it would be possible to complete the whole ATCO Basic course as self learning.
The Ingredients
But how could we pull this off? How could we provide an ATCO Basic course with only self-paced online packages. We needed a few things. A great learning design to ensure learner engagement, a light-weight and smart simulator to cover the basic skill exercises required on the ATCO Basic course, and a little bad-ass business attitude to penetrate the market.
The Lektor learning design.
Lektor has always been looking outside the ATC Training box when it comes to pedagogy. We have employed people from outside the Aviation industry, who come in with a black belt in educational qualifications. We acknowledge that the ATC Learner is not different from any other learner. We believe that “only an ATCO can know how to teach an ATCO” is bullshit.
Not only have we had educational senseis in house, but we have also partnered with Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) to further strengthen the digital learning elements on our products. We have been supported by Anne-Maria Korhonen, a research principal scientist, on what to consider when creating a self-paced digital training paths. We have talked about how to ensure motivation, how to create a feeling of community and support while learning, what the training should make you feel, among other things.
Birth of the Lektor Simulator
The smart simulator project took its first steps already in 2021. Then we shook hands with another University of Applied Sciences, this one from Kajaani (KAMK), who had a department for game developers. They agreed to create a simulator for us, on which the ATCO Basic students could run their first, simple skill exercises. The project started in the spring of 2021 with a team of KAMK developers and Lektor. At this time we got some off-hours support from a colleague Mikko Jurvansuu, who, in addition of being an ATCO and ATC Instructor, has expertise in software development projects and a degree in IT engineering. To further back the project up, Tomi Äijö promised to monitor the progress. Tomi is a 24-carat senior software engineer and a co-founder of Monad, which is a software development company from Tampere Finland.
With this team we spent the summer of 2021 with two week sprint cycles to create functionalities to the simulator engine so it could meet the requirements of ATCO Basic training. The guys in Kajaani got a real crash course in Air Traffic Control basics when we guided them in the principles, which needed to be followed in the exercises. We included aircraft performance data to have realistic behavior of the aircraft types in different speeds and altitudes, we included the wind effect, we had approach procedures for the aircraft to follow.
All work was done remotely using Google Meet for communication during meetings and interactive whiteboard Miro to collect all project related pictures, drafts, charts, illustrations etc. In late 2021 the project was over and we got hold of the code created. The precious code was stored at that time because due to the situation with Coronavirus, the market was very quiet and we had no chance to push the sim-project forward.
New Take-off for the Simulator
In 2022 that changed. ATC Training market got air under its wings again and gained lift, which meant that cash flow at Lektor turned from red to green. In Q3 2022 Lektor took the simulator project out from the drawer, and set new goals. We said we wanted to have a minimum viable, functioning simulator version out by early 2023 and also to have our ATC Training Organisation certificate extended to cover ATCO Basic training.
These two items started running in parallel. Lektor headquarter staff worked on the Initial Training Plan and modifications to our Management system, for the ATCO Basic approval. It included a description of the simulator tool that we will use to train the practical parts in the ATCO Basic. A description of the tool and learning environment was not enough - there was also a need for a name for the simulator. In our vision, the learner has unlimited access to the simulator with no restrictions on how much they can practise with it. No-one will come and say: “You have now reached your limited time in the sim and cannot train any longer.” This is why the Lektor simulator is called T3 - it stands for Time To Train. The approval was granted by our local CAA just before Christmas 2022.
Powerhouse Behind the Simulator
To work on the simulator, we hired Monad (remember them from earlier?) to take the code created earlier to get the simulator to the next level. This turned out to be interesting. With Monad, we got not only the engineers to do the coding, but also a professional UX (User Experience) designer, Mikki, to work on how the simulator looks and how it feels to operate. The initial versions of how the Lektor simulator looks today was made on a train, while Monad staff was on their way to a company recreational event in the far north of Finland. The first impression was great. The symbols moved smoothly and looked interesting. The colours were calm but clear, the icons and symbols had a modern and catchy look to them. All the boringness of a real ATC surveillance monitor was gone. This looked like a game you want to play. And still, all that was happening on the screen was fully relevant learning content.
To get the full benefit from the simulator, we naturally needed to have exercises. We started to think about what would be an ATC simulator exercise that someone with no experience could play and be successful at it. The process led us to take down many of the features and functionalities we have under the simulator’s bonnet. The mission had to be relatable to Air Traffic Control, the game control had to be intuitive, the measure of success had to make sense easily, and it had to be fun and engaging. The result can be experienced by anyone from lektor.aero.
But that is not enough. We must have more exercises for the future learners to complete. To design and put together these exercises, we were able to get support from Mikko Saukkoriipi, who had been doing this work in his previous career for years. His background as an ATCO, pseudo pilot and his education in Information Technology make him an ideal person for the task. At the time of writing this, there are already the first fifteen exercises waiting to be launched on the course. Our aim is to have over a hundred on the ATCO Basic only, so Mikko will have some work ahead.
The Lektor Business
In January 2023, Lektor was accepted to and started in an Incubator program for Educational Technology start-up companies. In this program we were able to discuss and spar our technological solution and pedagogical model, which we have already discussed in the text above. The third ingredient we mentioned that is needed for making a mark in the marketplace and shaking the conventions, is the business model. This is where the bad-assery kicks in.
In the incubator program we got to bounce the business idea around extensively and quite soon it started to take shape. We have been supported by educational business professionals, mentored by people who have made it big in the EdTech-market and who can share their experience in the field. Baking that knowledge in the model of a start-up company doing EdTech business in ATC Training market has been challenging. But as we have mentioned before - what is usual elsewhere may seem avant-garde in ATC domain. Same with business.
Lektor has no interest in starting traditional ATC Training. That market is mature. We want to offer something the market has not yet seen. We want to provide a training model where selection tests are no longer a barrier for entry, nor are they something to blame in case someone’s training is terminated. So far ATC Training has been available to only those who did pass the test and even from that group too few make it until the end. In Lektor’s courses anyone can join the training. Because the training is scalable, we do not need to restrict attendance due to the limited number of seats or time in the simulator. The courses will be open to begin anytime, so the customer does not need to wait until the ATC Training Organisation is ready to launch the next cohort. We start when you need to start.
The courses are open for anyone. No selection tests needed. In fact - the ATCO Basic course is a selection test. There the participant needs to put in the work to pass all exams and simulation exercises. Every learning action is recorded and stored for audit and analytical purposes. The courses are self-paced to allow maximum control for the students over their training process. They get to experience frequent activities in the simulator - all on their own device. There is no more weeks of classroom study before you get to the simulator. The student gets to do the ATCO action from the start of the course.
Lektor makes the ATC Training process more efficient and focuses on learner success. The course is engaging and enjoyable, which keeps the learner motivated to learn more. Happy students get better learning results. With no time restrictions or simulator practice limitations, the students get more support for their learning. This relieves the worries that may have about whether they are going to be successful or not. Less stress - better learning results.
The customer ANSP gets to start the training at their convenience and has greater assurance of the students passing the course. This accelerates the process from hire to validation and significantly reduces the uncertainty of how many students of the group will pass the course. Reduced risk of a student failing is a great pain-killer for the customers, who want to have predictable workforce in their units. And as if a flexible and painless training process with fast gratification and less uncertainty is not enough - think of what this modern approach to training does to the employer branding. Who would not want to work in a place that offers training this way?
The Next Steps for Lektor
The learning design and technological elements are coming together for the first time in spring 2023, when Lektor has the honour of hosting a course on the Häme University of Applied Sciences program. The course to be available for the engineering students is called Take Control Of the Skies and it will cover the initial parts of an ATCO Basic. The course is gamified and will be run on Lektor’s own learning platform. It is the first time we will get to present the course to a genuine learner and completing it will earn the participant European University study credits! It is the first time ATCO training has been done on university level in Finland. How cool is that?
Lektor’s mid-term vision has it that after a while Lektor would have a group of students who have completed the course with us not because they are looking for a job in ATC, but because the course is interesting, it is so much fun and it opens an opportunity for a job in ATC. In this vision we attract the new generation to the profession using their language, their preferred environment, their motivation and their ambitions. The hiring cycle of new ATCOs is even further accelerated, as the ANSPs do not need to hire people to start their training (and not knowing if they’ll be successful), but they can hire from a pool of students who already have completed the training successfully.
Lektor’s work on making ATC Training that matches the needs and expectations of the modern learner continues. Lektor is spearheading the development and change in the paradigm of ATC Training. Some call it avant-garde, we call it the new normal.
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