The portfolio of wes stäbler
The digital educational platform used by every JROTC program in the nation with over 350,000 cadets signed up.
Cadet Portfolio grew from an idea EdTech entrepreneur and mastermind Brian Srikancha had for a Georgia Tech senior project to a platform in use by over 350,000 cadets across the United States.
Army JROTC cadets were disorganized, carrying around clunky three-ring binders with their homework and assignments all out of order. They had no good way to track their achievements, set goals, and showcase their skills for future opportunities. The lack of a digital platform made it difficult for cadets to visualize their growth year over year.
To design a digital portfolio platform that would digitize the curriculum, allowing cadets to easily access their assignments from any device, document their journeys, share accomplishments, and create professional resumes, while giving instructors a way to track cadets' progress, create quizzes, and plan lessons.
Designing and overseeing the implementation of a digital educational platform to digitize the JROTC curriculum and track cadets' progress year over year.
Improving the educational experiences of cadets and their instructors using technology and design.
Structuring a system that supports cadets’ education and career readiness, while helping instructors with lesson planning and grading.
Ensuring the platform is intuitive, user-friendly, accessible, and meets the educational needs of cadets and instructors.
Cadets add experiences, skills, and certifications as they progress through the program, which allows them to track their accomplishments.
The self-reported data is also visible to Cadet Command, who can see what programs are working well.
"A day in the life" Alumni Success Stories allow cadets to learn from those who came before them and ask them a limited number of questions.
Alumni answer questions like "What does a typical day at your job look like?" and "What do you wish you had known when you were in my place?"
The platform hosts all assignments, worksheets, quizzes, tests, and other content, and allows instructors to easily create new assignments with a drag-and-drop "Quiz Creator." The cadet view of the assignments dashboard is shown to the left.
With an Army contract, our platform is in use by more than 350,000 cadets, instructors, and administrators, it is a requirement for every highschool with an Army JROTC program across the nation.
Our project elevated the learning experience by fostering deeper engagement with the curriculum, leading to a marked improvement in students’ understanding and retention of key concepts.
Streamlined teaching workflows, access to resources, and more effective communication with students contributed to a more enriched learning environment.
Cadet Portfolio is poised to redefine military education for cadets, setting a new standard for interactive and immersive learning. Its widespread adoption underscores its effectiveness and potential to inspire continuous innovation in how leadership and citizenship are taught.
Given the success we’ve had with the Army, we are seeking to expand into the other branches of the military, our first focus being the Navy.
“I think this is a very important tool in the advancement of our serious attempt to build leaders for life through the JROTC program. This helps cadets organize their accomplishments, identify their goals and aspirations, and gives them a means for tracking it through a digital tool. This is clearly moving us into the right direction and into 21st century.”
—Colonel (Retired) Paul Willis | Director of Army Instruction | Jackson, Mississippi
“I’m excited for this because it helps me be more organized, and I won't lose any information from my portfolio.”
—Cadet Colonel Kayla Williams | Cadet, class of 2018 | Atlanta, GA
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