Julia Kim - USC Institute for Creative Technologies

Julia is a Project Director at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). She oversees multi-disciplinary efforts that integrate technology and media, mostly for military training and education.

ICT developed Combat Hunter Action & Observation Simulation (CHAOS), where squads were tasked to find Omar, confirm information received by the Company-Level Intelligence Cell (CLIC), and determine Omar's disposition. Omar and his mother Asalah are virtual Pashtun role players driven by ICT's state-of-the-art virtual human technology. CHAOS was developed for the Joint Forces Command Future Immersive Training Environment Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (FITE JCTD). FITE's goal was to rapidly develop and demonstrate next-generation immersive training for close combat, small unit tasks.	BiLAT is a suite of immersive technology tools for training negotiation and leader meetings in a cross-cultural environment. The effort was a collaboration with Army agencies, educational psychologists, and game design experts. ICT created a game-based practice environment that runs on a laptop. ICT also created an hourlong training package built around filmed vignettes. ICT has also been collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) program -- advising PhD candidate Amy Ogan -- to assess and improve the design of BiLAT.	Army Excellence in Leadership (AXL) is a collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Institute's Ft. Leavenworth Research Unit (Leader Development). AXL combines original film-based cases with a a web-based case method teaching system for distributed/blended environments. ICT produced four AXL short films with Hollywood personnel for use by the U.S. Army. These films focus on issues such as leadership, cultural awareness, and ethical decision-making set in realistic, complex situations. AXL has also been adopted by the USC Marshall School of Business for its business ethics curriculum.
Army Fitness Interactive Training (ArmyFIT) is a prototype interactive fitness game for physically fit people, such as Soldiers, using commercially available game platforms and devices. ArmyFIT combines fun game-like experiences with physically rigorous exercises that can be done in confined spaces. The initial set of exercises included plyometric squat jumps, tire run/cardio-agility exercises, and plyometric patterns. The system also addresses needs in rehabilitation, injury prevention, and the integration and reinforcement of mental toughness as a part of physical activity.	UrbanSim: commander-centric trainer with a focus on second- and third-order effects in COIN and stability operations SimCoach: web-based interactive virtual characters Socio-Cultural Interactive Learning (SCIL): cross-cultural competence training with filmed vignettes BiLAT:Resilience: training for leaders on resilience issues	Ft. Monroe Casemate Museum, photo by JK

Publications

Aggarwal, P., Feeley, K., Morbini, F., Artstein, R., Traum, D., & Kim, J. (2011). Interactive Characters for Cultural Training of Small Military Unit. Short paper at Intelligent Virtual Agents 2011.
Rizzo, A., Lange, B., Buckwalter, J. G., Forbell, E., Kim, J., Sagae, K., Williams, J., Rothbaum B. O., Difede, J., Reger, G. and Parsons, T. (2011). An Intelligent Virtual Human System for Providing Healthcare Information and Support. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 143, 503-509.
Ogan, A., Aleven, V., Jones, C., Kim, J. (2011) Persistent Effects of Social Instructional Dialog in a Virtual Learning Environment. AI in Education 2011.
Ogan, A., Aleven, V., Kim, J., & Jones, C. (accepted). Learning intercultural negotiation from virtual humans: The effect of social goals on gameplay and learning. Proceedings of Intelligent Tutoring Systems 2010.
Ogan, A., Aleven, V., Kim, J., & Jones, C. (2010). Developing interpersonal relationships with virtual agents through social instructional dialog. Intelligent Virtual Agents Conference 2010.
Kim, J., Hill, R., Durlach, P., Lane, H., Forbell, E., Core, M., Marsella, S., Pynadath, D., and Hart, J. (2009). BiLAT: A Game-Based Environment for Practicing Negotiation in a Cultural Context. Special Issue on Ill-Defined Domains: International Journal of AI in Education, 19(3), 289-308.
Ogan, A., Aleven, V., Kim, J., Jones, C. (2009). Antecedents of attributions in an educational game for social learning: Who's to blame? Workshop paper at Human Computer Interaction International 2009, San Diego, CA.
Ogan, A., Kim, J., Aleven, V., Jones, C. (2009). Explicit social goals and learning in a game for cross-cultural negotiation. Poster presentation at AI in Education Conference 2009.
Hill, R., Kim, J., Zbylut, M., Gordon, A., Ward., J., and Vowels, C. (2008). Learning the lessons of leadership: Case method teaching with interactive, computer-based tools and film-based cases. ARI Technical Report 1226.
Zbylut, M., Brunner, J., Vowels, C., Kim, J. (2007). Case Method Instruction: 25 Minutes of Discussion Can Make a Difference. ARI Technical Report 1203.
Kim, J., Hill, R., and Zbylut, M. (2007). Film-Based Cases in Interactive Learning Environments for Leaders. Paper in the 2nd Workshop on Narrative Learning Environments at the 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), Marina del Rey, CA, July 10, 2007.
Zbylut, M., Metcalf, K., Kim, J., Hill, R., Rocher, S., Vowels, C. (2007). Army Excellence in Leadership (AXL): A Multimedia Approach to Building Tacit Knowledge and Cultural Reasoning. ARI Technical Report 1194.
Hill, R., Kim, J., Zbylut, M., Gordon, A., Traum, D., Gandhe, S., King, S., Lavis, S., Rocher, S. (2006). AXL.Net: Web-Enabled Case Method Instruction for Accelerating Tacit Knowledge Acquisition in Leaders. Proceedings of the 25th Army Science Conference, Nov 2006, Orlando, FL.
Hill, R., Belanich, J., Core, M., Lane, H., Dixon, M., Forbell, E., Kim, J., Hart, J. (2006). Pedagogically Structured Game-Based Training: Development of the ELECT BiLAT Simulation. Poster presentation at the 25th Army Science Conference, Nov 2006, Orlando, FL.
Hill, R., Gordon, A., Kim, J. (2004). Learning the Lessons of Leadership Experience: Tools for Interactive Case Method Analysis. Proceedings of the 24th Army Science Conference, Nov 2004, Orlando, FL.

Press

Education Technology on D.C. Docket
Coverage by USC News about ICT and federal edtech initiatives. (2011)
New Technology Helps Marines Train for Combat
Interviewed by San Diego ABC10 News about CHAOS (2010)
FITE demonstration builds small unit teamwork, cohesion
Interviewed by JFCOM for FITE JCTD and CHAOS news release (2010)
CHAOS Support
Contributed column to University of Central Florida's Warfighter Enhancement Activities (Summer 2010)
The Art of the Deal
Interviewed by Training and Simulation Journal about BiLAT (2009)
"First Person Thinker"
Interviewed by Lab TV for segment on BiLAT (2009)
"A Battle for the Hearts and Minds: The Design Politics of ELECT BiLAT"
Interviewed by Liz Losh for essay about BiLAT (in Joystick Soldiers: The Politics of Play in Military Videogames, Routledge, 2009)

Bio

Julia Kim is a Project Director at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). She oversees multi-disciplinary efforts that integrate technology and media, mostly for military training and education. She works with basic research staff to define and develop research technologies that work with off-the-shelf and custom-built solutions. In addition, she collaborates with creative talent to design the experience and content for ICT's systems. She has extensive experience working with Soldiers and Marines as well as civilian staff. Projects she has led include CHAOS, BiLAT, and Army Excellence in Leadership.

Julia first worked as a programmer for companies small and large, then became a management consultant with the Internet firm iXL, developing technology and product strategies for clients. Julia studied the history of science at Harvard University (B.A., 1998; M.A., 2004), with a focus on the history of information science and technology. While in graduate school, she served as a Harvard University Presidential Information Technology Fellow, advising faculty on the use of new technology and media in teaching.

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