•15 min read
TrainingLearning Saves Lives: Why we are reimagining workforce training
Learning Saves Lives: Why we are reimagining workforce training
By Wesley Morris, Entrepreneurial Lead of iTELL
Fifteen years ago, a conversation around a bonfire changed my life.
My cousin, a young Army lieutenant on leave from Iraq, was wrestling with a tragedy. He was an intelligence officer whose job was to plan safe convoy routes through Baghdad. He'd identified a particularly dangerous stretch of broken terrain and issued a clear warning: "drive carefully."
This critical warning was buried in a dense, text-heavy PowerPoint slide deck.
The young soldiers who received it, being 18-20 years old, likely skimmed it or ignored it completely. Tragically, one soldier, on a reckless joyride, flipped his vehicle and died.
A life was lost, not due to a failure of planning, but a failure of communication. The training materials were obsolete, unable to engage or hold attention. My cousin was exonerated, but the guilt and responsibility for that lost life haunts him to this day. He carries that soldier's name with him, every single day, as a reminder of his responsibility to the people under his command.
Building the Mission of iTELL
That tragedy never left me. As I built my career in education, I kept asking: How can we communicate vital procedures in a way that actually works? How do we not just present information, but ensure it is understood and remembered?
We need a way to make learning engaging, interactive, and accountable. A tool that doesn't just inform, but protects. It could get people ready for work faster, keep them safer, and prevent the kind of accidents that, in the US alone, cost 18 million workdays every year.
This mission drove me to pursue my PhD, and it converged perfectly with the AI revolution. With the advent of transformative AI models, the impossible suddenly seemed within reach.
That convergence is why we built iTELL.
How iTELL Transforms Training
iTELL uses AI to solve the very problem my cousin faced. We automatically convert those static, easy-to-skip documents—PowerPoints, PDFs, manuals—into dynamic, interactive learning experiences.
Think of it like this: we turn a wall of text into a conversation.
We've already moved from a powerful story to a proven solution. iTELL's MVP has been deployed in 10 instructional settings across 4 trade schools and universities. The results are clear: improved learning and higher user satisfaction. Our findings aren't just internal; they're validated in eight peer-reviewed publications.
Now, with the support of the NSF I-Corps program, we're bringing this transformation to industry.
Join Us on This Mission
When I think about iTELL's future, I still go back to that bonfire. I remember the stakes. This isn't just about efficiency or cost savings for companies—though we will deliver that. It's about preventing the kind of tragedy that my cousin, and that soldier's family, lived through.
We are building tools that don't just train better; they protect people.
We are proud to be making this dream a reality, and we invite you to be part of it. Request a demo for your company today.
By Wesley Morris, Entrepreneurial Lead of iTELL
Fifteen years ago, a conversation around a bonfire changed my life.
My cousin, a young Army lieutenant on leave from Iraq, was wrestling with a tragedy. He was an intelligence officer whose job was to plan safe convoy routes through Baghdad. He'd identified a particularly dangerous stretch of broken terrain and issued a clear warning: "drive carefully."
This critical warning was buried in a dense, text-heavy PowerPoint slide deck.
The young soldiers who received it, being 18-20 years old, likely skimmed it or ignored it completely. Tragically, one soldier, on a reckless joyride, flipped his vehicle and died.
A life was lost, not due to a failure of planning, but a failure of communication. The training materials were obsolete, unable to engage or hold attention. My cousin was exonerated, but the guilt and responsibility for that lost life haunts him to this day. He carries that soldier's name with him, every single day, as a reminder of his responsibility to the people under his command.
Building the Mission of iTELL
That tragedy never left me. As I built my career in education, I kept asking: How can we communicate vital procedures in a way that actually works? How do we not just present information, but ensure it is understood and remembered?
We need a way to make learning engaging, interactive, and accountable. A tool that doesn't just inform, but protects. It could get people ready for work faster, keep them safer, and prevent the kind of accidents that, in the US alone, cost 18 million workdays every year.
This mission drove me to pursue my PhD, and it converged perfectly with the AI revolution. With the advent of transformative AI models, the impossible suddenly seemed within reach.
That convergence is why we built iTELL.
How iTELL Transforms Training
iTELL uses AI to solve the very problem my cousin faced. We automatically convert those static, easy-to-skip documents—PowerPoints, PDFs, manuals—into dynamic, interactive learning experiences.
Think of it like this: we turn a wall of text into a conversation.
- It's Interactive: Our AI generates built-in activities like short quizzes and fill-in-the-blank exercises to reinforce understanding as you learn.
- It's Accountable: We measure a learner's knowledge and engagement in real-time, giving instructors actionable data to see who is truly prepared.
- It's Plug-and-Play: iTELL can integrate with the learning management system you already have, or using single-sign-on from Google or Outlook.
We've already moved from a powerful story to a proven solution. iTELL's MVP has been deployed in 10 instructional settings across 4 trade schools and universities. The results are clear: improved learning and higher user satisfaction. Our findings aren't just internal; they're validated in eight peer-reviewed publications.
Now, with the support of the NSF I-Corps program, we're bringing this transformation to industry.
Join Us on This Mission
When I think about iTELL's future, I still go back to that bonfire. I remember the stakes. This isn't just about efficiency or cost savings for companies—though we will deliver that. It's about preventing the kind of tragedy that my cousin, and that soldier's family, lived through.
We are building tools that don't just train better; they protect people.
We are proud to be making this dream a reality, and we invite you to be part of it. Request a demo for your company today.