EMAP West Training
Presentations
Jay Araas
Department of Statistics
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Degree of Master of Science
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado
Spring 2006
Acknowledgments
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Funded by STAR grants awarded to CSU and OSU by U.S. EPA
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IT Department at Sheridan College
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Numerous people involved in the development of materials:
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N. Scott Urquhart – director of STARMAP (CSU)
Jon Stoddard – U.S. EPA (Corvallis, Oregon)
Dave Peck – U.S. EPA (Corvallis, Oregon)
Phil Kaufmann – U.S. EPA (Corvallis, Oregon)
Bob Hughes – Dyanamac, Inc.
Other contributors: A.T. Herlihy (OSU), Michael Barbour & Kristen
Pavlik (Tetra Tech, Inc.)
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VII.
Overview of Materials
I.
Background
II.
Goals
Content of Materials
I.
Questions Addressed
II.
PowerPoint Training Presentations
III.
Appendices
Features
I.
Audio (with text)
II.
Bookmarks
III.
Links
Disadvantages/Difficulties
I.
Audio
II.
Navigation
III.
Converting PowerPoint to PDF
Proposed Direction
I.
Suggested Improvements
II.
Future Learning Materials
Conclusion
Questions/Comments
Overview
Background
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Big Picture
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Learning materials developed by STARMAP at CSU and DAMARS at
OSU
Used by water quality personnel in States and Tribes to monitor
(measure) aquatic resources
Part of EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP)
Specialized Materials
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Training presentations for States and Tribes in the western United
States (EMAP West)
Address the questions: Why monitor? Where to monitor? What to
monitor? How to monitor?
Based on field crew training seminar done in May, 2004, in Corvallis,
Oregon
Overview
Goals
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Main objectives
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Further develop the learning materials for surface water monitoring to
effectively train personnel whom are involved in the EMAP program
Compile the PowerPoint training presentations into a user-friendly
format
Link audio narration and with accompanied text to each presentation
Other goals
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Use knowledge of statistics to incorporate a relevant glossary of terms
and effectively communicate other information to those with limited
knowledge in the subject matter
Learn to use Adobe Acrobat program to effectively communicate
information via audio/visual demonstrations.
Content
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Topics Addressed
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PowerPoint Training Presentations
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What to monitor (measure) at each probability site
How to monitor (measure) at each probability site
Other topics discussed: Why monitor water; Where to conduct
water monitoring
Future topics to be covered: How to summarize data; Case studies
Contributed by those involved in the 2004 training workshop
Include necessary details and information about surface water
monitoring methods
Appendices
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Detailed instructions to aid the user in viewing and navigating
through the interactive materials
Table of Contents provides information on where in the learning
materials one can find information on a certain topic
Glossary provides detailed definitions and explanations of terms or
phrases that are commonly misinterpreted
Features
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Audio Narration
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Bookmarks
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Audio narration is used to further enhance the learning
experience by providing detailed explanations and examples of
the topics covered
Most pages in the presentation have a link to the audio
narration located in the upper right hand corner of the page
The user can simultaneously view a corresponding text version
of the narration if they prefer to do so
Links
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If you would prefer to jump ahead in the presentation to a
certain section, you can make use of the Bookmarks (which
work like a more detailed table of contents).
Links are set up for easy navigation between numerous pages
in the document and the glossary
Links to web pages and email addresses are also present if the
user has access to the internet
Viewing Instructions
Option 1: Set up your viewing screen to a 2-page layout, so that the text
version of the audio accompanies its corresponding slide. Do this by
clicking on the “Facing” button, located in the bottom right corner (the
button on the far right).
Viewing Instructions
Option 2: If you prefer not to have the accompanied text slides, then the
click on the “Single Page” button in the bottom right corner (the
button on the far left). This will set the viewing screen to show one
page at a time, automatically enlarging the size of the slide that is
shown.
Appendices
Table of Contents
Glossary
Features
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Audio
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In order to access the audio for a slide, double-click on the sound icon
in the upper right corner of the slide. The audio selection for that slide
will then play – adjustments in the volume may be necessary. Once
the audio for that particular slide is finished, it will automatically stop,
and you can then proceed to the next slide.
(Note: some slides do not have audio comments)
Features
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Bookmarks
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If you would prefer to jump ahead in the presentation to a
certain section, you can make use of the Bookmarks (which
works like a table of contents).
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To access the Bookmarks, click the “Bookmarks” tab,
located on the top left of the screen, directly below the left
edge of the toolbar. This will list the section headings of
the different presentations that were combined to make
this one large presentation.
To access individual sections (if you want to go to a certain
page in the document), click the “plus signs” associated
with each presentation. After doing this, you should now
be able to click on an individual heading and go to that
page in the document.
Note: Every page in the presentation (excluding the text
for the audio) has a relevant heading which should help
you quickly access information on a specific topic.
Features
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Bookmarks
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The picture below depicts the Bookmarks tab within the Adobe
Reader program.
B = an expanded bookmark
C = bookmark options (which
includes expanding and
condensing bookmarks,
and changing text size)
Expands the current bookmark
(highlighted bookmark)
Features
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Links
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There may be some words or phrases that are unfamiliar to
you, and you want a brief definition or explanation as to what it
means. You can then look them up in the glossary, located in
the Appendix.
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A selection of words and phrases are linked to a glossary
that you can access from anywhere in the document by
clicking on that word or phrase. Otherwise, you can
access the glossary by using the Bookmarks.
Another important feature of this presentation is the presence
of links between pages. For example, say you were trying to
access all the information regarding “Laying out the reach.”
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You can use the Bookmarks to search through all the
headings and find the ones that are related to “laying out
the reach.” This will automatically move you to another
page in the document that has a related topic.
Features
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Links
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For example, in the presentation page below, you would be able
to click on “EMAP” to access a detailed description of this
program in the glossary.
Difficulties
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Audio
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Conversion to PDF
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Audio from original videotapes was not usable
Had to record audio with limited equipment
Embedded objects in PowerPoint are not always compatible with
Adobe PDF (Ex. Video/Audio in PowerPoint converts to JPEG in
PDF)
Text and pictures sometimes changed size or format
Other obstacles
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Large file size takes time to modify and save, as well as very
difficult to send via email
Most changes within document must be done in original
PowerPoint file and then converted to PDF
Disadvantages
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Audio
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Navigation
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Limited playback capabilities
Adobe program does not have a quick method of returning to a
previously viewed page
Viewing
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Not every Adobe program is set up to view the Bookmarks upon
startup
Not every Adobe program is set up to view the materials in the
correct format needed to view the narrated text alongside the
corresponding presentation page
Different versions of Adobe Reader may not be compatible with
all the features
Proposed Direction
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Suggested Improvements to these Materials
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Better quality of audio
Improved audio playback capabilities
Correct page layout view upon startup of program
Quick navigation to previously viewed page
Links to training videos
Expanded glossary
Any other improvements that can improve the educational value
Future Focus of Learning Materials
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How to summarize data
Case studies
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Goals
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Used my knowledge of statistics in developing understandable audio narrations
and relevant glossary
Applicable in my career area - teaching
Final Product
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Each goal was addressed and completed
Application to Statistics
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Conclusion
Printable version of the presentation with the accompanying narrative text
Interactive PDF tutorial available on CD-ROM
Feedback
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Any criticism or suggestions are welcome so that the learning materials can be
continually refined and improved from the current version
Suggestions and comments can be addressed to myself, Jay Araas, or N. Scott
Urquhart, the administrator of the STARMAP program at Colorado State
University, at the following email addresses:
Jay Araas – jaraas@sheridan.edu
N. Scott Urquhart – nsu@stat.colostate.edu