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DISTANCE LEARNING AND E-LEARNING IN WATER RESOURCES EDUCATION Faye Anderson, Associate Editor ([email protected]) This issue of IMPACT examines the role distance learning (DL) can play in water resources-related education. The planning, development, and delivery of a variety of educational efforts – diverse in terms of providers, content, and participants – are discussed, as well as lessons learned from teaching and learning experiences with these DL media.

Volume 4 • Number 5 • September 2002

Editorial Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

N. EARL SPANGENBERG ([email protected]) University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point,Wisconsin

Introduction 3 Distance Education and E-Learning in the Water Resources Community: Key Issues and Future Challenges Faye Anderson ([email protected])

Feature Articles 6 Making a Science Connection: Bringing Smithsonian Science and Environmental Education to Schools Nationwide Dottie Klugel ([email protected]) Anna van der Heijden Describes efforts at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to use videoconferencing, electronic field trips, and web-based radio broadcasts to engage K-12 and adult audiences and educate them about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

10 Not “Distant” But Connected: Experiences With International Environmental Distance Learning Jane Dougan ([email protected]) Reflects on more than 15 years of international experience with adult DL teaching and learning and raises several critical issues for those involved in DL efforts and for those thinking about undertaking DL activities, with examples from a broad spectrum of offerings at Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center.

14 Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training Douglas J. Norton ([email protected]) Presents critical lessons learned from EPA’s Watershed Academy Web – operating since 1996 – and offers insights into federal training programs for the general public, as well as for water audiences.

20 Launching Waterlearn: AWRA’s Journey Into E-Learning Lisa Koenig ([email protected]) Richard A. Engberg Relates the conception and design of e-courses by a professional association – AWRA – intended for both members and non-members, who can earn CEU credit.

24 Distance Education in Watershed Management: Linking Graduate Students With Professionals Hans Schreier ([email protected]) Kenneth Hall, Sandra Brown, and Regina Bestbier Describes efforts at the University of British Columbia to deliver graduate-level watershed management courses using the Web, CD-ROMs, and Bulletin Boards, and in the process promoting interaction between mid-career professionals and on-campus graduate students.

28 Bringing Water to the Students: Utilizing Streaming Media to Teach Coastal Policy Steffen W. Schmidt ([email protected]) Discusses a professor’s efforts to make greater use of the Web by creating digital media clips to accompany the other components of a Coastal Policy and Politics DL course.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS FAYE ANDERSON

RICHARD H. MCCUEN

([email protected]) University of Maryland College Park, Maryland

([email protected]) University of Maryland College Park, Maryland

ERIC J. FITCH

LAUREL E. PHOENIX

([email protected]) Marietta College Marietta, Ohio

([email protected]) University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Wisconsin

JOHN H. HERRING

CHARLES W. SLAUGHTER

([email protected]) NYS Department of State Albany, New York

([email protected]) University of Idaho Boise, Idaho

JONATHAN E. JONES

ROBERT C. WARD

([email protected]) Wright Water Engineers Denver, Colorado

([email protected]) CO Water Res. Research Inst. Fort Collins, Colorado

CLAY J. LANDRY ([email protected]) Political Economy Research Ctr. Bozeman, Montana

AWRA COMMUNITY, CONVERSATION, CONNECTIONS AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION

▲ Water Resources Puzzler . . . . . .32 ▲ Employment Opportunity . . . . .34 ▲ Water Resources Continuing Education Opportunities . . . . . .35 ▲ AWRA Business 27 33 33 33 34 36 37

Future Issues of IMPACT President’s Message AWRA Future Meetings August 2002 JAWRA Papers 2002 Election Results “Coastal Water Resources” Proc. 2002 Membership Application

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IMPACT is a magazine of ideas. Authors, Associate Editors, and the Editor-InChief work together to create a publication that will inform and will provoke conversation. The views and conclusions expressed by individual authors and published in Water Resources IMPACT should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the American Water Resources Association. Contact the AWRA HQ Office if you have any questions pertaining to your membership status. For information on advertising rates and deadlines, contact Charlene Young, AWRA Director of Publications Production, at the address given above. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Water Resources IMPACT, American Water Resources Association, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626.

ISSN 1522-3175 VOL. 4 • NO. 5 SEPTEMBER 2002

2 • Water Resources IMPACT

[Cover Photo: Cascading waterfall, Snowbird, Utah; by D.A. Young, Huntsville, AL)

September • 2002

DISTANCE LEARNING AND E-LEARNING IN THE WATER RESOURCES COMMUNITY: KEY ISSUES AND FUTURE CHALLENGES Faye Anderson INTRODUCTION Educational practices are undergoing change for a wide variety of reasons: social, economic, technological, etc. As a simple example, consider the differences in the task of researching and writing a term paper in the 1970s vs. today. Perhaps even more critically, the ‘average’ college student is different in many ways as well. Traditionally, the focal point of our learning landscapes has been the classroom – with a teacher lurking near the front of the room. Changes in technologies, access to information, lifestyles, and pedagogies are expanding the set of alternatives for learning. Distance learning (DL) is not a new practice in the world of education – historically it has been equated with correspondence study. DL is distinguished in that it does not require students to be physically in the same location as the instructor. The rise of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is rapidly transforming traditional notions of DL and causing many to take a fresh look at distance learning. Clearly, learning is now less and less dependent upon being in a specific place at a specific time. WHAT IS DISTANCE LEARNING? Distance learning can be defined in a number of ways. The U.S. Distance Learning Association defines distance education as “the acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance.” DL could refer to: • Studying books and readings that arrived by mail and turning in assignments by mail. • Accessing a set of Power Point lectures and exercises on a website and turning them in by email. • Turning on a cable television station to view class sessions. • Engaging in an interactive, multi-media, and personalized online environment, or any number of other possible scenarios. The common denominator is that teacher(s) and learner(s) are separated by ‘distance’ and some technology – such as audioconferencing, tapes, radio, film, videotape, television, videoconferencing, Computer, CD-ROM, email, listserv, World Wide Web, etc. – links them together in the learning process. Indeed, today’s digital world is allowing a convergence of all these delivery modes as computers can now handle all these applications.

Volume 4 • Number 5

The advantages and disadvantages of DL, and also e-learning (learning that utilizes a network), can be argued. Regardless, DL and e-learning offerings are multiplying rapidly. To its proponents, these modes of delivery offer educational opportunities to populations who otherwise might not have access to them, and can serve students’ educational needs within the framework of busy family and work schedules. The inherent flexibility of DL appears to be one of its main attractions to student participants. DISTANCE: IT’S ALL RELATIVE Information and Communication Technologies are changing concepts of distance, time, and space. One who was ‘far’ can now seem ‘close’ through email. Knowledge that was ‘remote’ can now be ‘near’ through html and pdf files. Ideas and perspectives that seemed ‘isolated’ can now be ‘shared’ via online communities. Experts who seemed ‘unapproachable’ can now be ‘accessible’ through their websites and discussion lists. ICTs are transforming our lives and relationships to information, learning, and communication. We could also consider the fact that sometimes distance can be tangibly measured by the ‘connections’ experienced between individuals. What student has not experienced a great ‘distance’ existing within the walls of a traditional classroom where a teacher and student(s) are effectively worlds apart, with the learning process never bridging this space? Surely Socrates was seeking to span this distance by engaging his learners in the learning process. Today, our challenge remains the same. Many of the issues discussed in this volume of IMPACT apply to every learning situation; however, the focus is clearly on those educational settings where the span of geography is crossed with the aid of some type of learning-enabling technology. As these articles discuss specific examples and experiences with distance and e-learning, our overarching concern is how can we be sure that all these new technologies really make a difference for learners, and correspondingly, for water resources education? While newer technologies are often touted for their promise, past experience reveals that technologies often remain unused or misused. Whether or not information technologies result in better, more effective, or more efficient education remains to be negotiated. Certainly, technology challenges us to reflect on what we do and how we envision and experience effective learning experiences.

Water Resources IMPACT • 3

Distance Learning and E-Learning in the Water Resources Community . . . cont’d. KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES Some of the varied issues emerging out of this expanding development and delivery of distance and e-learning include: Increasing Diversity of Educational Providers – Universities increasingly see for-profit providers, specialized online universities, associations, etc., offering content in the educational marketplace. Increasing Diversity of Participants – DL reaches out to populations even more diverse than the more traditional educational offerings. Focus on Delivery Methods and Technologies – An over-emphasis on newer technologies can overshadow the importance of content development and the overall effectiveness of the learning experience. Conflict Over the Ownership of Content - Issues regarding ownership of the content can be very contentious, particularly for university faculty.

2. Determining how to deliver content in ways that effectively meet participant’s needs. 3. Delivering content in ways that address the range of complexities of water and water management; this can necessitate multidisciplinary and integrated approaches. 4. Creating learning communities that engage participants and build individual capacities. 5. Forming partnerships that can leverage resources to provide these educational opportunities. 6. Assessing under what conditions e-learning and DL are effective experiences. Water resources educators engaging in distance and e-learning activities will find themselves collaborating with technological and instructional support staff. Incorporating ongoing educational research findings into their design and delivery is vital to providing quality experiences to participants.

Unclear Guidelines – It will take years to experiment and assess various DL outcomes.

SUMMARY

Mixed Results – Applications of DL sometimes lead to improved educational performance (sustaining) and sometimes to worse outcomes (disruptive).

The authors in this issue describe many valuable educational efforts utilizing a variety of methods to target diverse populations. Of course, these are only a small subset of what is out there, as no one issue could articulate all of the offerings available. Their experiences and lessons learned are good barometers of the state of distance and e-learning in the water resources community. We collectively hope that readers are left with both a sense of the possibilities associated with distance and e-learning and of the critical importance of the learning process, no matter what ‘type’ of educational delivery methods are employed. Committed teachers, valuable content, effective delivery, willing participants, and adequate assessment are common denominators of all good water resources education – our tools are only as good as our intentions and follow through.

Increasing Demands on Instructors – DL and e-learning environments place many new demands on instructors and facilitators, increasing the time and effort necessary for effective delivery and learning. Institutional Challenges These issues challenge institutions and individuals alike. For example, universities increasingly face the following questions: •

What is the value of their ‘traditional’ style learning experience? And what becomes of the social structures they have historically provided under DL and e-learning formats?

•

How are DL and e-learning affecting allocations of educational dollars within an institution? Between different types of providers?

•

How are DL activities being treated within the university’s academic reward structure?

These technologies are opening up new possibilities for learning and this has particular implications for international education. The water resources community is challenged to examine how we can best use information tools for our educational purposes and goals. This task involves: 1. Identifying the needs for distance and e-learning opportunities by various participant populations (students, professionals, citizens, the media, decision makers, etc.).


AUTHOR LINK

Faye Anderson School of Public Affairs University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 (301) 405-6744

E-MAIL

[email protected]

Faye Anderson is an Associate Editor of Water Resources IMPACT. She is the Assistant Director of Executive Education at the University of Maryland in the School of Public Affairs, specializing in environmental policy, leadership, and results-based management training. She is the “Water and Information” theme coordinator for the Third World Water Forum and the Water Policy and Management Editor for the four-volume 2003 Water Encyclopedia being published by Macmillan/The Gale Group.

❖❖❖ September • 2002

USEFUL TERMINOLOGY FOR ISSUE Asynchronous – Where participants do not participate at the same time (‘apart from time’) Bandwidth – The capacity of a communications channel to carry information – the higher the bandwidth, the more information that can be carried Content on Demand – Content packaged to be delivered anytime, anywhere, via a network Delivery Mode – The method of transferring an offering to participants, e.g., instructor-led training, web-based training, CD-ROM, etc. Distance Education – The formal process of distance learning where teacher and student are separated by physical distance E-Learning – Learning that utilizes a network, e.g., Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, or the Internet ICTs – Information and Communication Technologies Network – Connected communications channels used for the distribution of information Pedagogy – Critical study of teaching processes, with particular concern for the social nature of learning and the quality of the learning experience Synchronous – Where participants, even if separated by distance, participate simultaneously (‘in real time’) Whiteboard – An electronic program that allows participants located across a network to collaborate on documents in real-time



MAKING A SCIENCE CONNECTION: BRINGING SMITHSONIAN SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE Dottie Klugel and Anna van der Heijden

Located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay just south of Annapolis, Maryland, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) has, for over 35 years, been a prime location for various groups to get hands-on experience with environmental science and ecology. In the last year and a half, SERC has dramatically increased its efforts to educate a larger population about the Bay and its watershed by providing various distance learning and web-based education programs for students K-12 and adults. The new programs are designed to complement, not replace, the existing hands-on education programs, offer students nationwide an opportunity to learn about an important ecosystem, and go behind the scenes of SERC where even conventional visitors seldom have access.

everyone enjoys visiting the Bay and SERC – sometimes getting there can be impractical. Geographic distance, cost, and limited time can prevent people, especially schoolteachers and students, from making the trip. Communication technologies developed for distance learning, however, can connect students and teachers from across the country to Smithsonian scientists who study the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. These videoconferences and electronic field trips use teacher-developed curriculum and student-centered activities and allow audiences unprecedented access to the labs and field stations of SERC. How Does It Work? Using a camera, monitor, and unit to decode the transmission signal, SERC connects over ISDN or T1 (Internet) lines to a remote site with similar equipment. A point-to-point connection such as this is generally referred to as a videoconference (VC). Because of the equipment, a limited amount of sites are able to connect at once, but the advantage is that the interactivity among the sites is very high. An electronic field trip (EFT), on the other hand, connects SERC to a large, nationwide audience, usually by satellite, live webcast, and/or PBS, but because of the large number of participating sites, interactivity is more limited. A DIRECT CONNECTION TO SCIENCE

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and its education department are located on the Rhode River, a subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay, in Edgewater, Maryland. The dock area is used by the Center’s researchers as well as by students who participate in hands-on education programs.

DISTANCE LEARNING: EXPLORING THE BAY FROM MILES AWAY The Distance Learning program at SERC (www.serc. si.edu/education/dl) is based on the idea that – although


The content of SERC’s distance learning programs is a direct reflection of the scientific research carried out at SERC, as well as its innovative hands-on education programs. SERC is a 2700-acre environmental research and educational facility of the Smithsonian Institution located on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest and most productive estuary. Here SERC is strategically situated for scientists and educators to explore the biological and physical processes that sustain life on Earth. Since 1965 scientists have been researching the aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric components of complex ecosystems, and applying this knowledge on local, regional, and global scales for the improved stewardship of the biosphere.

Videoconferences & electronic field trips enable students across the nation to explore ecosystems not native to their local area Closely connected to the scientific research, SERC’s Education Department provides programs for K-12 students, teachers, special interest groups, and the general public. Educators demonstrate the active process of

September • 2002

Making a Science Connection . . . cont’d. research to audiences, infusing this research in a handson approach to experience the wonders of the Chesapeake Bay. SERC’s Education Program is committed to broadening society’s understanding of the environment, communicating an awareness of how human activities influence ecosystems, and training future generations of environmental scientists. The distance learning technology now provides SERC with an opportunity to reach out to an even larger audience and allow this audience unprecedented access to its environmental science.

Students learn about the oyster bar community, the animals and plants that live in between the oyster shells, in Estuary Chesapeake; one of SERC’s most popular hands-on education programs and the basis of the Electronic Field Trip on April 30, 2002.

For example, Watershed Connections: Tales of the Blue Crab is the first in a series of VCs that examine the natural, inseparable connections between land and water. This VC focuses on the fascinating life and role of blue crabs, incorporating water chemistry and invertebrate research conducted in the Bay by SERC scientists. Students then interpret the scientific data to learn how the state of the blue crab population is connected to the overall state of the watershed. A typical VC lasts approximately 45 minutes with ample time for questions and answers. The goal is to make each broadcast as interactive as possible, engaging the students through the use of hands-on objects, data sets, and inquiry based learning. Audiences range from K-12 classes, teacher training, summer camps, and convention demos. SERC currently offers three VC


programs, is developing more, and can provide custommade VCs upon request. On April 30, 2002, the structure and content of Estuary Chesapeake, SERC’s most popular hands-on Bay ecology education program was converted into a highly successful EFT, Where the River Meets the Sea: Exploring Life in the Chesapeake Bay With Smithsonian Scientists for students of Grades 3-7. In this live broadcast from the SERC dock, students and SERC scientists explored where the salt water from the oceans and the fresh water from the rivers meet and mix, investigating the physical and biological environment of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. To learn about residents of the Bay, viewers fished, crabbed, and sifted through an oyster bar community alongside SERC staff. Then to better understand aspects of water quality, demonstrations of salinity and pH were conducted, allowing viewers to experience where the river meets the sea and research meets the Bay. Approximately 20 million students from 18 states watched the live broadcast – a much larger audience then could ever be reached through videoconferences. A high level of interactivity was maintained through live telephone and email questions, connections to specific schools for related demonstrations, and the involvement of school children on site at SERC throughout the EFT. The strong presence of the students in the show and the teacher-developed curriculum that supplements the broadcast make the program a highly effective educational tool, one that is more engaging than a one-way TV program. The EFT was broadcast live at 10 am and 1 pm EST (two shows to accommodate schools in different time zones) and distributed via satellite, Internet, and local PBS stations. The program has since been archived on the Apple Learning Interchange: Where the River Meets

Students watch while SERC Distance Learning coordinator Dottie Klugel demonstrates the higher density of salt water in a salinity demonstration during a videoconference.


Making a Science Connection . . . cont’d.

Dottie Klugel shows the oyster bar community to approximately 20 million students nationwide during the Electronic Field Trip: “Where the River Meets the Sea: Exploring Life in the Chesapeake Bay With Smithsonian Scientists,” on April 30, 2002. the Sea website (http://ali.apple.com/events/river/). Schools may purchase a videotape of the broadcast as well. ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE: TEACHER-DEVELOPED CURRICULUM Teacher-developed curriculum provide activities, experiments, and information to be used before, during, and after an EFT or VC, thereby enhancing the distance learning experience. With an EFT, a $75 registration fee enables schools nationwide to receive online, curriculum that has been developed and tested in the classroom by teachers. Each VC also has a $75 fee and is accompanied by hands-on materials for use during the VC and curriculum aligned with science content standards.

content providers. The result of the EEZ is a cultural network linking museums and related institutions to public schools, making the vast collections of artifacts, objects, and human resources of informal learning institutions available nationwide. To produce the electronic field trips, SERC partners with Ball State University (BSU) and its Insite Distance Learning Program (www.bsu.edu/insite). Using the latest satellite telecommunications and web technology, Insite Distance Learning delivers effective educational solutions to students and teachers at the K-12 level throughout the United States. In an EFT, SERC provides the content, and BSU provides the technology necessary to make the EFT possible. Best Buy, Inc. and Project View (www. projectview.org) of the Schenectady City School District (SCSD), through a Federal Technology Innovation Challenge Grant, sponsor the EFT program at BSU.

TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATIONS Because distance learning relies heavily on technology, SERC is able to offer VCs and EFTs through collaborations with other institutions. One such institution is the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), along with its Educational Enterprise Zone (EEZ), a consortium of schools, community centers, and educational institutions through which training and technology are provided to make videoconferencing possible. Content providers like SERC need the equipment to make their science or other specialized content available to audiences, and, equally important, those audiences need equipment and training to be able to connect and “electronically visit” the


CONNECTING THE WATERSHED: WEB-BASED LEARNING WITH WATERSHED RADIO In addition to SERC’s successful distance learning broadcasts, the Center offers another opportunity for schools and the general public to learn about the Bay and its immense watershed. Not many people, including those who live in the area, realize that this watershed is 64,000 square miles and encompasses parts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and the entire District of Columbia. Watershed Radio, an environmental education initiative in which SERC collaborates with the Sierra Club, is

September • 2002

Making a Science Connection . . . cont’d. created as a response to the need of all audiences to learn about and connect to the place they live. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is the ecological home of more than 15 million people whose actions directly affect the environmental quality of the Bay. Watershed Radio educates students and the general public about environmental issues, as well as the connection between natural processes and human activities in this watershed.

the trip will continue to do so. Even the best videoconference cannot replace the hands-on experience of using a seining net or holding a blue crab. Videoconferences and electronic field trips can, however, bring these experiences to those who may never have the opportunity to do so in person and enable students across the nation to explore ecosystems not native to their local area. They also open up SERC’s research laboratories to students, hopefully inspiring the next generation of environmental scientists and stewards. In the end, making such science connections can help teachers teach, students learn, and hopefully transform the nature of formal education.

AUTHOR LINK

E-MAIL

The logo of the Watershed Radio Environmental Education Project

Every day a new one-minute radio spot is broadcast, and a new page is added to the Watershed Radio website (www.watershedradio.org). The daily programs focus on five general categories: science; animals and plants in the watershed; special places and people; natural history; and watershed organizations, opportunities, and events. The website provides the text, audio file, and background information for each radio spot and also refers users to other Internet resources. The website literally links all the different stories of life and living in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, showing that a watershed is not just an area but a living community of people, plants, and animals. Thanks to participating radio stations across the watershed, the radio programs have more than tens of thousands listeners each weekday, while the website currently draws over 12,000 visitors each month (creating over 300,000 hits a month), with numbers still increasing. The Watershed Radio project is also well suited for use in the classroom as a reoccurring environmental education moment. Student activities vary from a short listening exercise to a more comprehensive writing assignment. The project also invites students and the general audience to contribute ideas or suggest scripts for Watershed Radio programs. THE FUTURE OF LEARNING

Dottie Klugel Distance Learning Coordinator Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 647 Contees Wharf Rd. Edgewater, MD 21037 (443) 482-2470 / Fax: (301) 261-3415 [email protected]

Dottie Klugel is the Distance Learning Coordinator at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and has a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in marine science. She has worked at the Smithsonian Institution for nine years and been involved in distance learning for the past five. ❖❖❖ SUBMITTING ARTICLES FOR IMPACT Contact the Associate Editor who is working on an issue that addresses a topic about which you wish to write. Associate Editors and their e-mail addresses are listed on pg. 1. You may also contact the EditorIn-Chief Earl Spangenberg and let him know your interests and he can connect you with an appropriate Associate Editor. Our target market is the “water resources professional” – primarily water resources managers and such people as planning and management staffers in local, state, and federal government and those in private practice. We don’t pay for articles or departments. Our only recompense is “the rewards of a job well done.”

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Will distance learning and web-based learning replace an actual visit to SERC? No. Those who can make



NOT “DISTANT” BUT CONNECTED: EXPERIENCES WITH INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL DISTANCE LEARNING Jane Dougan INTRODUCTION AND THE ROLE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND REFLECTIONS ON DL IN ENVIRONMENTAL TEACHING

What’s it like to teach environmental courses by distance learning? What’s it like to be a distance learning student? The purpose of this article is to share some reflections and personal perspectives on these questions, especially in light of my present role as Coordinator of Distance Learning for the Oceanographic Center (OC) at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). In this informal account, I hope also to intrigue and excite you about the distance learning courses and programs at the Oceanographic Center.

Since the mid-1980s, I have taught a range of environmental distance learning courses to many hundreds of students, ranging in age from undergraduates and graduates to “Third Age” (retirees) and every stage inbetween (adult learners, working professionals). Students have been based primarily within the USA and Canada, but also within Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. My distance learning experiences have taken me from print manuals and evaluation by written essay assignments to present use of the World Wide Web, with interactive asynchronous discussion and all learning materials posted and accessed online. Delivery tools are what many people think of first with distance learning; e.g., print correspondence, radio, television and video, and information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as CD-ROM, and the World Wide Web. Most teaching and learning uses various tools, especially those to communicate how we live within the natural environment. Broadly speaking, one might trace examples back to the Stone Age when our ancestors used red ochre to paint bison on cave walls. Of course, with all formal instruction, whether classroom-based or “distant,” what matters most is the intent, content, and credibility of the learning that takes place.

THE OCEANOGRAPHIC CENTER’S PROGRAMS The mission of the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center (NSUOC) is to carry out innovative, basic, and applied research and to provide highquality graduate and undergraduate education in a broad range of marine science and related disciplines. The Oceanographic Center pursues studies and investigations in marine biology and in observational and theoretical oceanography, with a wide range of research interests and programs. Regions of interest include Florida's coastal waters and the continental shelf/slope waters of the southeastern United States, and the waters of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Antarctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The Center also serves as a community resource for information, research, and education on oceanographic and environmental issues. Increasingly since 1993, the Institute of Marine and Coastal Studies at the Oceanographic Center has taken on the challenge of developing and delivering flexible, relevant, and effective distance learning courses, primarily for graduate students and working professionals. The NSUOC has a considerable base of support from the main campus – NSU was the first university in the United States to offer graduate programs online, and to use the Internet in distance learning. The NSUOC presently offers a flexible four-course distance learning Graduate Certificate in Coastal Studies. This may be taken as a stand-alone Graduate Certificate, or potentially as a stepping-stone towards an online MS in Coastal Zone Management currently in preparation. Plans are also underway with the Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services to offer a collaborative online MS in Environmental Education. This is all very well and good, but what does this really mean in terms of distance learning processes and outcomes, particularly with regard to the state of the environment and our water resources?


In approaching global problems, we need to make space for individual voices to be heard Increased concerns regarding the world’s oceans and freshwater bodies highlight a critical need to share knowledge of water issues and solutions regionally and globally, and to raise awareness of this among the general population. The argument has been made at high levels internationally that such efforts should include civil society, the private sector, grassroots and nongovernmental organizations, local communities as well as academia, and must relate to real situations and action (for example, see the World Commission on Water for the 21st century at http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/ extme/pr081198.htm). There is an exciting potential for effective distance learning programs to play a part in this process. By 2025, projections are that almost two-thirds of the world’s population will be urban or suburban, and already 60 percent of world’s population lives within 100 km of a coastline. There are related calls for increasing communication with and within the “developing” countries; to date the bulk of environmental research, information, and literature has originated from “developed”

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Not “Distant” But Connected . . . cont’d. countries. Distance learning offers some promise for wider spread capacity building and knowledge sharing. CREATING CONNECTED LEARNING COMMUNITIES As I have become more familiar with the technological possibilities of online interactive linked distance learning, I have become increasingly excited and intrigued with its potential to help create formal connected diverse learning communities. Developing an ecological world-view in part involves a blurring of perceptual borders between where definitions of “local” and “global” begin and end, particularly in terms of environmental impact. At the same time, there are valid arguments that the importance and validity of knowledge and respect for local bioregional experience should be emphasized, encouraged and supported; whether North or South, rural or urban. Geographically and/or culturally disparate learners can use on-line technology to share their knowledge, experiences and discussions; create perceptual immediacy and intimacy; and in the process actively contribute towards course content. There is increasing scope for the direct involvement of teachers and students from a diversity of experiences and places, some of whom might otherwise have little or no way of contributing to formal academic environmental learning outside of their own local community. This image of learners collaborating with the medium and the instructor to shape dynamic, timely and individually-relevant learning contrasts with stereotypical notions of “distance learning” in which “canned” instruction is “delivered” to the learner. CURRENT EVENT EXAMPLE One of my online environmental policy courses included a female student who was based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the start of a unit when I had planned that we were to discuss debates surrounding climate change, she posted a message that there had been an oil spill off the Persian Gulf coast. Students pressed for more details and she was able to provide little information. There were obstacles given that the UAE was a federation of seven emirates and not much was being said in official circles. She had heard rumors that the spill had come from a pirate barge associated with the embargo on oil from Iraq. A North American student asked her why she didn’t go to the library. She explained that as a female in the UAE, she was only allowed into a very restricted area of the library. Questions and discussion came thick and fast, and in the process students explored gender equity, distributions of power, the reality for nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in different parts of the world, a powerful illustration of the direct experience of an oil spill (as she sent us daily bulletins from progress “on the front”), implications of embargoes and blockades, and a host of related issues, sometimes with gentle prodding and guidance on my part to make sure that things stayed “on track” in terms of environmental policy perspectives. If this was a pirate barge, where was the oil going? What


did the students use oil for in their daily lives? Could they trace its route to their homes? Another student had colleagues who had worked on the Exxon Valdez clean-up, and shared their experiences, insights, and suggestions with the student and her colleagues in the UAE. All in all, it made for very powerful and relevant learning, although quite different in content from what I had originally prepared at the start of the week. This example serves to highlight one lesson I have learned from my distance teaching. To create the potential for interactive, experiential learning, there needs to be flexibility on the part of the instructor. To use a water analogy, naturally flowing water resists a straight line! In web-based environmental learning, one does need to follow a prescribed path in terms of timelines, learning goals and objectives, key issues, and an order of sequencing. But instructors also need to be willing at times to meander along the learning journey, taking advantage of the fact that students are based in disparate locations. BIOREGIONAL PORTRAIT EXAMPLE Another example of connectedness emerged from one of the water-related courses I teach online for the Oceanographic Center. We had begun by posting our individual bioregional portraits about a water place that had particular meaning to us. Out of this material came the following discussion message (extracted): This is [name withheld] from Gujarat – the state with the longest coastline (1600 Km) in peninsular India! …. Thank you for taking me on a fascinating trip around your “Water Worlds.” I virtually enjoyed the serene calmness of your backyard ponds with their birds and the beasts and the excitement of deep sea diving! Yet I couldn’t help wondering at just how amazingly different my reactions are to the mention of this vital natural resource called the elixir of life. I can truthfully say, “My life revolves around Water!” Every morning I wake up to the noise of water gushing out of the taps. Bleary-eyed, I ensure that the water filter is ready for action, the geyser switched on, and the buckets and water storage drums washed and cleaned for filling in. We must all rush through if we want to finish bathing; cooking, washing, and cleaning in running tap water – a luxury that will last only another hour or so. Else I must wait till the next installment later in the day, or worse still manage laboriously through the filled in water containers. I am talking about a lifestyle that is routine for most of us living in this, urban, progressive, elite pocket of one of the major cities of India. We are luckier than those who had to wait for their share of 20 minutes of running water every eighth day, through the scorching heat of last summer! … Was this always so?? NO. We too have been through the times when we took WATER for granted!! The years 1998-2000 saw Gujarat facing, what the media described as “the Century’s Worst Drought.” Natural water bodies dried up, animals


Not “Distant” But Connected: . . . cont’d. died in huge numbers, and villages abandoned in pursuit of water. In the cities too, ground water was ruthlessly exploited. Bore wells ran dry. Even those that still had water were found to have alarmingly high levels of fluoride and other harmful chemicals. For the first time we started buying tankers of water which would be transported over long distances. We even had ‘Water Trains” to ply water over long distances. We started buying Mineral Water for drinking. But, then again we were the privileged few who had the power to buy! Was nothing done to help?? Yes and No. The task was mammoth, the needs diverse, and the efforts not adequate enough. Also, the vagaries of nature were too complex to offer coffee table solutions. ... WATER to me means many things. I appreciate its value for all forms of life, I marvel at its capacity to support life forms as diverse as the phytoplankton to the blue whale and its myriad ecosystems. I am also proud of our marine wealth, our wetlands, which are the winter home to thousands of migratory Siberian cranes, and our shores where thousands of Olive Ridley Turtles lay their eggs. Yet, to me water is a more mundane everyday matter. Water for drinking, water for basic cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation, water for the fields. Between neighbours as also at international conferences, water is the major topic for discussions. Water is what people fight over – be it a village common tap or trans-boundary sharing. Water is a gender and equity issue. We have the capability of building nuclear weapons, but are still grappling with managing our natural resources. Providing equitable access to water is perhaps one of our gravest challenges. It would do us well to remember what Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation said: “The Earth has enough for every one’s need, but not for every man’s greed.” This type of experiential sharing and learning about water issues firsthand could happen in a face-to-face classroom. But on-line, with each student based locally but sharing globally, there is a chance for a different kind of reflection and shared response that is still potentially powerful and illuminating. This type of distance learning opens the door for a number of important related issues to be explored and linked to structured material and academic content. Not all postings need be so eloquent. The simple fact that students are “at a distance” but sharing perspectives can be empowering. One of our graduate students, originally from the Dominican Republic, recalls that he was surprised and pleased to discover via online class-based discussion that his perspectives were echoed by a classmate in Singapore. Increasingly, the learning is not so much “distant” as it is distributed or “connected.”


OTHER BENEFITS AND BARRIERS TO DISTANCE LEARNING In this account of some of my experiences with distance teaching and learning, I have tended to accentuate the positive. Of course, there are downsides. The effectiveness of each course depends largely on the instructor. Good distance teaching is time consuming and challenging. The potential for plagiarism is also often raised. In an effective distance course with interactive discussion, you get to “know” each students individual “voice,” much as in a classroom setting (and perhaps more so, depending on the size of the class). Bells ring when something does not sound right, and usually, if a student plagiarizes, they choose something that is already on the web … and easily found. While counter-arguments can be made, there are also environmental, social, and economic benefits; anyplace, anytime learning is particularly appropriate in meeting the increasing demand for lifelong learning. People can learn and communicate with colleagues at a distance while they remain in their community, close to family and work. Distance learning can also reduce the ecological footprint created by necessitating travel to a far-away learning institution. The increasing mobility is intellectual … not fossil fuel dependent. The use of the World Wide Web in distance education delivery has other advantages: • It allows for rapid update of time-sensitive material – online technology and software allows for immediate delivery of relevant new environmental research, information and perspectives. • In addition to in-house researchers, the use of web-based software allows the provider to identify and bring in international instructors, and a wide range of case studies, as well as “learners.” (The quotes are because with the use of interactive computer mediated learning, the barriers between who is “teaching” and who is “learning” can dissolve to a significant extent.) The adoption of this technology has already allowed for the inclusion of perspectives from practitioners and instructors from a broad range of geographic locations, either as invited “guest lecturers” in one component of an online course or as full course instructors. Ah yes, you say, but what about equity of access? Isn’t a reliance on online technologies for course delivery a barrier in another sense? Learning at a distance has always attempted to reach groups and individuals who might be excluded from formal learning (e.g. women, lowincome, immigrants, adult learners). The reach and physical impersonality of distance learning can also overcome barriers of race, gender, age, and physical ability. Today, a major challenge is to overcome a digital divide in who has access to – and, equally, who is providing – distance learning. International access online has increased exponentially. In 1981, there were an estimated 213 Internet hosts (computers with a direct connection) worldwide;

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Not “Distant” But Connected: . . . cont’d. January 2001 surveys estimate that there are now over 100 million Internet host sites worldwide (www.isc.org). The report of the Digital Opportunity Taskforce suggests that in North America and Europe, at least 1 out of every 3 people has internet access; worldwide, 1 out of every 30 people. These numbers are increasing rapidly, particularly with the growth in community access points and telecenters. Distance learning also opens up various mentoring and networking possibilities for participants in combination with face-to-face learning. For two years, I was actively engaged in international studies through LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development at www.lead.org), an international organization working for sustainable development consisting of mid-career professionals, primarily from the South. LEAD colleagues correspond online before, inbetween and after meeting for intense internationally-based study sessions. Online interaction made our place-based study far more effective; we had already “met” and shared discussion. Cultural and social barriers dissolved, and once we met in person there was a solid base in place from which to move forward as colleagues and co-learners. (Since graduating, I have also been able to invite many LEAD colleagues to share their knowledge and perspectives directly with my online students.) At the Oceanographic Center, we are considering a variation on the above as we embark on an international “Study Abroad” joint MS degree in Marine Biology between the University of London and NSUOC, involving extensive site visits to the University Marine Biological Station Millport (Scotland) and to our own research base in Florida.

AUTHOR LINK

E-MAIL

Jane Dougan Coordinator of Distance Learning The Oceanographic Center Nova Southeastern University (NSU) 8000 North Ocean Drive Dania Beach, FL 33004-3078 (954) 262-3621 / Fax (954) 262-4098 (519) 853-0605 (Canada) [email protected]

Oceanographic Center Website http://www.nova.edu/ocean/disted.html Jane Dougan, Coordinator of Distance Learning at NSU, works with faculty and staff on a range of environmental e-learning courses, certificates, and MS programs. She has created and taught environmental education by distance-learning since 1985 (at the Univ. of Guelph in Canada and now at NSU). Her interests lie with incorporating experiential “sense of place” into environmental e-learning, and bridging communication between North and South to build equitable connected e-learning communities‚. Graduate research at the Univ. of Bristol (UK) was based on her experience with distance learners, followed by completion of the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison Professional Development Certificate in Distance Education and the international LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) program. ❖❖❖

CONCLUSIONS None of us can or will experience life as a system or an institution or a nation or an economic bloc. We experience life as individuals. Ultimately, for environmental education to be effective beyond an academic level, the focus has to return to the aims and experiences and feelings and concerns of people. Fundamentally, progress can only come from individual actions, and our relationships to one another and our communities. In approaching global problems, we need to make space for individual voices to be heard. My hope and belief is that the present reach and potential of connected distance learning can represent a very powerful, timely, and effective means of doing just that. Distance learning is not a panacea, neither is it always a replacement for classroom-based learning. But I hope I have illustrated that it does present some intriguing and worthwhile learning opportunities, especially with regard to environmental education. If I can provide any more information about our distance learning programs at the Oceanographic Center, or if you would like to discuss any of this further, I do hope that you will not hesitate to get in touch.



WATERSHED ACADEMY WEB: FIVE LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT ONLINE TRAINING Douglas J. Norton

Watershed training faces some tough obstacles.

Live courses are popular but expensive to offer. Training budgets are limited and vulnerable to cuts. Short courses cover little material in so few days. For many local watershed managers, live courses are inaccessible due to travel and tuition constraints. Still, live courses in watershed management are consistently overfilled and demand for more training exceeds capacity. Both the high demand for watershed training and the limited reach of live courses have challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water since it began to provide training to 50 states and over 500 Indian Tribes and territories (USEPA 2002a). EPA promotes state and local watershed approaches as an integral part of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1988), offering training through EPA’s Watershed Academy (Figure 1). The limited Watershed Academy budget for live courses, however, meets only a fraction of the national demand. Additional training methods might help EPA reach a larger proportion of its clientele and address the many topics of interest to watershed workers. Could the Internet be used as a training and outreach tool? The Watershed Academy was started by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water in 1994 to provide training courses and educational materials on the basics of a watershed approach. The target audience includes state, federal, tribal, and local agencies as well as citizens and private practitioners of watershed management. The Watershed Academy has four main components: • • • •

live watershed training courses; web-based training at www.epa.gov/watertrain; Information Transfer Series publications; and State/Tribal watershed program assistance. For more information, please visit

http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy.htm

Figure 1. About the Watershed Academy.

In 1996, we uploaded our first online modules under the name Academy 2000 to experiment with delivery of web-based training to a very diverse watershed management audience. Six years later, Watershed Academy Web contains 44 modules in six training themes (Figure 2) and an on-line certificate earned by hundreds of trainees in 40 states and nine countries. Roughly one-quarter of these trainees send unsolicited, positive feedback about the program along with their notice of completed requirements. Several college professors have built live courses around the core modules, pairing the online assignments


with their own live classes and field trips. Training demands are still immense, but a more varied Watershed Academy training toolbox now reaches greater numbers of our watershed partners on their schedules and at their convenience. While we built our online training program during the late 1990s, countless Internet courses erupted. Online training has been discovered – but is it living up to its potential? Why are online programs successful or unsuccessful? In particular, what can we learn from Watershed Academy Web customer feedback over six years that might help us and others improve online training? Five lessons we learned in creating one of the first and largest online environmental training sites are discussed below. LESSON 1: DO WHAT THE INTERNET DOES BEST: PROVIDE INSTANT INFORMATION, INTERACTION, AND ENTERTAINMENT Every learning medium has its strengths and limits. Web-based training should exploit only the best traits of the Internet for training. Foremost among these is the fact that the Internet is an unparalleled source of instant and continually available information. A training website is available at any time – repeatedly, if desired for review. No class-time limits constrain the volume of information online training can cover. Numerous learning-style options (see Figure 3) and real-life examples can attract different types of trainees, who control their own pace and depth of involvement. Hot-linking can add volumes of information from other training sites without duplicating their effort; links expand our modules list by connecting to the EPA Drinking Water Academy, the Ecological Society of America, and several state and federal agencies’ sites, with great appreciation for their efforts and cooperation.

We have yet to reach all the people, but the Internet is still young . . . Beyond being an effective library, the Internet is highly interactive. Lack of interactive features provided a harsh lesson for many early websites that were heavy on little else but on-screen reading. Online training should leave page-turning for library books or downloaded and printed documents and engage the online trainee with frequent opportunities to click for new visuals or text, select among new topics to browse, fill out and submit review tests, and other activity. Figure 3 is one example ‘page’ (i.e., full screen) from a module that teaches ecological risk assessment by clicking on hot-linked parts of the assessment flow chart, viewing subpresentations on

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Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training . . . cont’d. Theme 1. Introduction/Overview: Introduces the watershed approach and the value of working at a watershed level. Principles of Watershed Management* Benefits Supplied by Natural Ecosystems*

Why Watersheds? Ohio’s Online Virtual Watershed Tour

Theme 2. Watershed Ecology: Shows that watersheds are natural systems whose structure and functions provide substantial benefits to people and the environment. Introduction to Watershed Ecology* Protecting Instream Flows* Stream Corridor Structure*

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Birds: Bellwethers of Watershed Health Wetland Functions and Values

Theme 3. Watershed Change: Describes both natural and human-made changes in watersheds, and the concepts of change vs. change of concern. Agents of Watershed Change* Nonpoint Pollution of Surface Waters with N and P* Invasive Non-Native Species Human Alteration of the Global N Cycle

Biotic Invasions: Causes, Epidemiology and Control Coastal Nutrient Pollution Effects of Aquaculture on World Fish Supplies

Theme 4. Analysis and Planning: Explains how watershed problems are analyzed as a first step toward finding solutions. Introduction to Watershed Planning* An Overview of Watershed Monitoring* An Overview of Watershed Modeling

Rapid Bioassessment Protocols Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)

Theme 5. Management Practices: Presents overviews of the ways in which the common categories of watershed management challenges – urban runoff issues, cropland management, forestry and other issues – are addressed by techniques that reduce or control negative environmental impacts. 8 Watershed Management Tools in Urban Areas* Best Management Practices for Agriculture* Best Management Practices for Forestry* Stream Corridor Restoration Tools Restoration:What’s Right/Wrong with this Picture?

Controlling Underground Injection of Wastewater Advanced Drinking Water Technology Workshop Managing Transient Drinking Water Systems Ecological Management of US National Forests Ecological Principles for Managing Land Use

Theme 6, Community/Social Context: Highlights the social, legal, organizational, and human elements of watershed management, because community support is often the strongest determinant of the chances for success. An Overview of the Clean Water Act* Getting in Step: Outreach in Your Watershed* Top Ten Watershed Lessons Learned* Intro to the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996 Water in a Changing World Statewide Watershed Management

The Economics of Sustainability Monitoring Consortiums State and Local Measures to Protect Source Water Intro to Public Water Systems Children’s Watershed Learning Links

Figure 2. Six Themes of Watershed Management Training and Their 44 Modules in Watershed Academy Web (USEPA, 2002b) [the 15 core modules from the Certificate Program (USEPA, 2002c) are asterisked].

each phase, and visiting websites from assessment case studies. Watershed Academy Web was designed to entertain as well as educate (Norton, 2000). We sought to refresh the trainee’s interest continually to minimize drifting attention. Use of abundant and colorful visuals was a key technique; modules typically contain 25 to 60 or more color graphics. Some exercises resemble games, where the trainee analyzes a photo for good or bad features of


stream management and clicks on hot-linked areas of the photo for further information. Beyond using visual communication and fun exercises, we offered a goal: an online training certificate (Figure 4). This program has lured hundreds of trainees back to the site repeatedly, spending a week to two weeks’ total time online to finish their certificate and thereby covering more material than the Watershed Academy’s longest, two-week live course. As described in an earlier IMPACT article (Pawlukiewicz and


Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training . . . cont’d.

Figure 3. A Typical Watershed Academy Web Format. In this example, trainees can study the assessment diagram (left frame), read about it in detail (right frame), consult the glossary, or link to other assessment phases and case study websites. Arrows in the top frame control movement through the ‘pages’ of the module.

Norton, 1999), we were reluctant to develop a formal certification for trainees of highly variable professional backgrounds, thus we kept the certificate program requirements general and somewhat amenable to personal specialization. As a result, the certificate has been an attractive incentive for a broad array of professionals and non-professionals alike.

LESSON 2: GROUND THE TRAINING FIRMLY IN SCIENCE, BUT DON’T IMITATE TRADITIONAL SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

Watershed Academy Web was designed to span the watershed management field as a basic but broad introduction to its multiple disciplines. We used a series of multi-agency (local, state, federal) discussions to list the key topics of watershed management and group them thematically. Since then we have added more modules under each theme whenever we could enlist expert authors and work their message into a visuals-rich, plain English style. Each module is peer-reviewed both by technical experts and potential trainees and edited for clarity and scientific content. Credible authors, careful development, and peer review are sound scientific underpinnings shared with scientific journals and texts, but there the similarities end. Our website differs from technical publications in its effort to ensure the reader’s full understanding; frequent color illustrations, glossaries, or sidebars to explain a key concept, are not commonly found in a journal article. Any printed Figure 4. Requirements for the Watershed Academy Web product has a given length, format, and Wateshed Management Certificate. complexity that are tailored to, but also


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Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training . . . cont’d. limit, its audience. In contrast, the advanced reader online can continue through a module unimpeded while the beginner can resolve terms and points of confusion before moving on. Moreover, heavy use of graphics (see Figure 5) serves not just to deter boredom but also to exploit the visual learning preferences of a large segment of people who are naturally drawn to the Internet as a visual medium. LESSON 3: THOROUGHLY ORGANIZE MATERIALS AND PRESENT THEM IN ‘BITE-SIZE’ CHUNKS Online trainers are not novelists; several pages of unbroken text without figures or subsections should never appear on a training website, except as downloadable documents. To avoid long bouts of on-screen reading dreaded by most web users, we highly organized and segmented the content of every module until it reached the stage we call ‘bite-size chunks.’ A trainee rarely proceeds through a paragraph or two of text before seeing a new subheading, sidebar, bulletized list, prompt to click for a new visual, or a page change. Trainees quickly learn to associate page changes with a new train of thought, which may help their comprehension. Figure 6 shows one way in which extensive


Figure 5. Web Modules Offer Scientists a Chance to Provide Much More Powerful Visual Information Than Usually Appears in the Scientific Literature.


Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training . . . cont’d. material was thoroughly segmented for ‘bite-size’ learning of what may have been tedious in a text-only format. LESSON 4: OFFER TRAINEES ENOUGH CONTROL TO FIND THEIR PREFERRED LEVEL OF DETAIL Visitors to a website, or a training course, enter with vastly different expectations from person to person. Of the various learning media, none grants as much personal choice over the material encountered as the Internet. With a flexible, hierarchical structure, the same online module can offer a satisfactory learning experience to very different types of visitors. Let’s say Visitor 1 – the most hasty – prefers rapid-fire browsing and is merely curious. On page 1 he encounters the basic message of the module as well as quick directions for navigation. If interested, he may click through several pages focusing only on the visuals and their captions. Visitor 2 is more intent on learning, and proceeds through the module reading text sections and visuals, perhaps taking the self-test if seeking the certificate. Visitor 3 – perhaps a scientist – craves detailed knowledge. She not only completes the module but follows its many hot links to sidebars, related websites, downloadable documents and references. Visitor 4 doesn’t like online reading and goes straight to printing out the PDF version of the module for hardcopy reading. Each visitor, more or less, has found what they need without being affected by the others.

Figure 7 is one example of how Watershed Academy Web presents its materials in hierarchical fashion for different types of users. LESSON 5: WITH A LITTLE CREATIVITY, IT MIGHT EVEN BE POSSIBLE TO ‘KEEP ALL THE PEOPLE HAPPY ALL OF THE TIME’ ... well probably not ... but it can be surprisingly rewarding to try. As we began to publicize our plans to create one comprehensive watershed training website to serve a highly varied audience, ‘naysayers’ were abundant and revealed all kinds of ways in which such an idea could fail. Early criticisms regularly showed us problems we could avoid and more traits that we could build into the website. Remarkably, it seemed that the Internet was malleable enough as a training medium for us to address every flaw that was brought to our attention. Through providing plain-English communication of science, choices of topics and optional levels of complexity, personal control of pace and volume of material, and other flexible design features, we tried to make sure that Watershed Academy Web would have something for everyone. Over time, a second surprising trend emerged: we were hearing from more varied audiences than we had ever expected to reach. A sample of our trainees’ feedback (Figure 8) seems to reiterate all the lessons we learned. In conclusion, we have yet to reach all the people, but the Internet is still young....

Figure 7. The Rapid Bioassessment Protocols, used for assessing stream health, are summarized in a one-hour overview module but linked chapter by chapter to a 250-page manual for trainees who want much more detail.


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Watershed Academy Web: Five Lessons Learned About Online Training . . . cont’d. “It helps me in working with storm drainage projects, winter deicing, pollution runoff, etc... The long distance learning classes work well with my schedule as I am in and out of my office so much during the day....” - a superintendent of streets in Virginia “I did 16 modules and plan to do them all .... You did a fantastic job covering such a wide topic.” - an aerospace environmental safety manager in Washington “I have been in the Water & Wastewater field for 25 years and I found this program very interesting and enjoyable ... We need to have more of these programs to keep us motivated with what we do.” - a water resources manager in North Carolina “.... the course will be extremely helpful in my professional life in practicing environment. Currently I am working with CARE International/Bangladesh in its rural development program and assessing the environments of infrastructure activities.... we are in challenges to ensure safe water to the communities' needs...This web course will greatly help me and my colleagues.” - a CARE project leader in Bangladesh “I have a background in Environmental Toxicology and have worked on ecosystem risk within the Agency so I understand the complexities of wetland issues, values and science. You put together this information in a very concise and understandable way. The visuals (which are extremely important) I found to be very helpful and enjoyable.” - a federal agency scientist in Washington D.C. “The photographs were helpful to me in understanding easily and they helped me a lot to visualise even the current watershed condition in the Ethiopian context.” - an environmental scientist in Ethiopia “I am the Utilities Program Manager for all the Air Force bases in the Pacific and I will recommend this training to all my personnel”. - an Air Force employee in Hawaii “I thought the content would not be as substantive as it was. Much to my delight I found them to be a good mix of information for both the layman and those who are more familiar with the concepts involved. “ - a surface mining program biologist in Kentucky “I completed about 42 modules before I realized I didn't need to do them all ....“ - an enthusiastic trainee in Pennsylvania Figure 8. Sample Feedback From Our Highly Varied Watershed Trainee Audience.

Notice: This paper has not been subjected to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s peer and administrative review. Therefore, the conclusions and opinions drawn are solely those of the author and are not necessarily the views of the Agency. Mention of trade names does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

AUTHOR LINK

REFERENCES Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. Public Law 92-500, 86 Stat. 816. Amended in 1977 and 1987, referred to as the Clean Water Act, codified at 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387 (1988). Norton, D. J., 2000. Academy 2000: Internet-Based Training in Watershed Protection. In: Proceedings, Watershed 2000. Water Environment Federation, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Pawlukiewicz, J. and D. J. Norton, 1999. Certificates or Certification? Water Resources Impact 1(4):10-13. USEPA, 2002a. Watershed Academy Home Page. http://www. epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy.html USEPA, 2002b. Watershed Academy Web Home Page. http:// www.epa.gov/watertrain USEPA, 2002c. Watershed Academy Web’s Watershed Management Certificate Program. http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/ certprogram.html


E-MAIL

Douglas J. Norton Environmental Scientist Watershed Branch Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds USEPA Office of Water (4503T) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20460 (202) 566-1221/Fax: (202) 566-1333 [email protected]

Douglas J. Norton is a landscape ecologist in the Watershed Branch of EPA’s Office of Water. He has led efforts for EPA in watershed research planning, co-developed a manual on stream corridor restoration, started and directed the EMAP Landscape Characterization Program, and created the Watershed Academy and its online training program. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Cornell University. ❖❖❖


LAUNCHING WATERLEARN: AWRA’S JOURNEY INTO E-LEARNING Lisa Koenig and Richard A. Engberg INTRODUCTION The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) working with an e-learning company, CertiLearn, launched its first Internet course in August 2002. This was the culmination of two years of work and represents a milestone in the history of AWRA as a provider of cutting-edge water resources education. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Since its incorporation in March 1964 (Marsh, 1989) and throughout its existence, AWRA has been unique in its multidisciplinary approach to water resources. One of AWRA’s objectives is to provide common ground on which professionals of various disciplines concerned with water resources can explore commonalities and establish synergies. Nothing is more important than the educational opportunities that AWRA offers through its Journal, this IMPACT magazine, and the three to four conferences that it sponsors each year. These meetings and publications disseminate the latest multidisciplinary water resourcesrelated basic and applied research and case studies. In association with its conferences, AWRA has, during most of its existence, offered short courses focusing on specific water resources topics of interest to its members and friends. The short courses have been taught by AWRA members, usually on a volunteer basis, highlighting the loyalty that its members feel toward the organization. WHY E-LEARNING? Associations and other membership organizations are at the intersection of several trends: growing demand for knowledge, accelerating use of the World Wide Web, increased competition, and members with busy, demanding lifestyles. These trends are converging to make e-learning essential to organizational growth and success and are accelerating interest in nontraditional ways to meet, learn and collaborate (LaBranche, 2002a). The events of September 11, 2001, and subsequent attitude shifts about traveling have accelerated corporate interest in e-learning. Coupled with tighter travel budgets, e-learning is expected to account for almost 50 percent of the business skills training market by 2004, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) (LaBranch, 2002b).

Recent trends are converging to make e-learning essential to organizational growth and success 20 • Water Resources IMPACT

The growth of the World Wide Web provides a new array of opportunities for education. AWRA, along with many other organizations and institutions, decided to explore the Internet as a tool to support its educational programs. In 2000, the AWRA Board of Directors voted to request that AWRA staff develop a pilot “Distance Learning” course that AWRA could offer to its members and other interested persons. The Board stipulated that the course should be on a timely subject of interest to all disciplines, should be reasonably priced ,and should take full advantage of the capabilities of the internet to make it as creative and interactive as possible. The Board authorized staff to survey available distance learning providers and to select a provider that met the needs of the organization. AWRA staff surveyed several e-learning providers. CertiLearn, located in Falls Church, Virginia, was selected as the e-Learning partner to meet the educational needs of their members. Some of the reasons for this decision include CertiLearn’s strengths in the following key areas: (1) exclusive focus on membership organizations and appreciation for consensus-oriented processes; (2) experience in working with members, subject matter experts to design and develop learning content; (3) affordable, scalable, high-quality technology solutions; and (4) value-added partnerships and alliances In early 2000, AWRA offered several two-day short courses taught in classroom settings. One course, “Modeling of Hydrologic Systems” received very high evaluations by it students, and seemed, in the opinion of AWRA staff, to be the course best suited for adaptation to distance learning. The course was prepared and taught by Eric Lappala, President of Eagle Resources, LLC, a consultant firm from Raleigh, North Carolina. Eric has over 30 years experience as a modeler of hydrologic systems, first with the U. S. Geological Survey, and later with consultants. He is a hydrologist and also a registered professional engineer. Eric agreed to retool the course to adapt it to a distance learning format. In late 2000, a preliminary proposal along with an interactive demonstration was presented to the AWRA Board of Directors that incorporated some of Eric’s course along with CertiLearn’s technology. The Board voted to approve the concept of the proposal and authorized AWRA staff to work with CertiLearn to develop a program of courses based on “Modeling of Hydrologic Systems” as AWRA’s first entry into distance learning. The purpose of this program is to provide students with an introduction to hydrologic models, their strengths and weaknesses. This would allow the students to understand the potential usefulness of hydrologic models in the performance of their jobs. It was not designed to make modelers of the students.

September • 2002

Launching Waterlearn: AWRA’s Journey Into E-Learning . . . cont’d. INTRODUCING WATERLEARN Waterlearn (www. waterlearn.org) is AWRA’s learning portal for easy access to its courses. The offerings are designed to be convenient, interactive, and affordable continuing education, provided to learners while at home or work, anytime they choose to access it. The first program in the Waterlearn curriculum is “Modeling of Hydrologic Systems.” The total program consists of nine separate courses. Learners may register for any or all of the courses, although the program has been designed sequentially, assuming that the participant will go through the entire program. Each course is designed in the same way, so that once a learner is used to the look and navigation tools for one course, they will be able to take any of the courses without a new learning curve. Each of the nine courses will take approximately 60-90 minutes to complete. Learners are given three weeks from the time they enroll to complete each course. As illustrated in the box to the right, the courses are broken up into lessons and topics that the learner can start and come back to at any time. The student in the example below has completed the topics indicated by the check marks. All courses have a self-check exam at the end of most lessons to show what has been learned. If a participant misses any questions, they are given corrective feedback and provided with a link to go back into the course to get the information to correctly answer the question.



Launching Waterlearn: AWRA’s Journey Into E-Learning . . . cont’d.

The content pages consist of short paragraphs with supporting graphics, where appropriate.

LAUNCHING WATERLEARN The first of the nine courses comprising the overall program were delivered to CertiLearn by Eric in early 2001. By October 2001, CertiLearn had received five “courses” to begin converting into effective online learning experiences. That began with the process of taking a course that was designed to be delivered by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to a live audience and converting the content into a course that would be effectively delivered online, with no interaction with the SME. To begin with, one of the most crucial advantages of having an SME/instructor deliver a course is to provide examples, stories, restating concepts that are not understood, and answer questions as they occur. That is one reason why self-paced online learning will NEVER replace all instructor-led courses. So, how then, did AWRA/CertiLearn tap into that huge pool of knowledge (a.k.a. Eric’s head!) and make that “available” to online students? That process is referred to as reconceptualizing a course from the original format to an online delivery format.


Examples and illustrations had to be provided to support the concepts, as well. In addition, to go from a presentation to a training program, a more formal structure had to be added, such as determining where each course should start and end, identifying course objectives and creating exams for each of the subsequent lessons. Resources and references were added to the course, as well as internet links, which took advantage of the web-based capabilities of the program. In November 2001, the AWRA Board of Directors determined that none of the courses would be offered to students until all nine courses were on line and available in sequence. CertiLearn strongly recommends that the courses be evaluated (or piloted) by outside reviewers prior to their release, and the AWRA Board of Directors also requested review. In May of 2002, AWRA staff requested that members of AWRA technical committees serve as reviewers and asked for volunteers. Twelve persons volunteered. Five of the volunteers submitted reviews.

September • 2002

Launching Waterlearn: AWRA’s Journey Into E-Learning . . . cont’d. Feedback from the reviewers was generally positive. Those persons working as consultants or as federal employees who may need these courses to maintain their professional licenses, felt that the courses provided an excellent survey of the available information in a somewhat, but not too, technical fashion. Conversely, one academic reviewer felt that the courses might have been too simplistic. Generally, however, the views of the practitioners are what AWRA was striving for in designing the course sequence with the instructor and CertiLearn. All changes identified by the pilot feedback were made and Waterlearn was officially launched on August 15, 2002. The courses are being publicized on the AWRA website, by CertiLearn, through a blast e-mail to the entire AWRA mailing list of members and friends, by notices in JAWRA, and in IMPACT. The courses may also be listed on the web sites of other water resource-related associations or organizations. AWRA is accredited by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and intends to offer Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit for e-learning courses. A credit of 0.15 CEUs will be available for each of the nine courses (a total of 1.35 CEUs) if a student takes ALL nine courses in sequence. CEU credit will not be available for individual courses taken singly. HOW STUDENTS CAN REGISTER Students may register for the individual courses on the AWRA Waterlearn (www.waterlearn.org) website. The cost is $40.00 per course for AWRA members or $50.00 per course for nonmembers. The student will have three weeks to complete each course and take the exams. When registration is complete, students will have unique passwords that allow them to begin their courses. Students must register individually for each of the nine courses. When a student has successfully completed all nine courses, AWRA will award a certificate denoting that the student has earned a total of 1.35 CEUs. AWRA will maintain long-term records of the course completion and CEUs. LESSONS LEARNED From AWRA’s perspective, the principal lesson learned is that the process of translating an existing short course from a classroom setting to an e-learning setting was far more challenging and time consuming than ever imagined. In all likelihood, it would have been much easier to develop e-learning courses from scratch rather than to adapt an existing course. Future e-learning course offerings will be designed and created with the goal of online deployment. Because AWRA works primarily with volunteer authors, the timeframe for course development may have been lengthened as compared to working with staff or a contract author.


Other things that must be considered in development of e-learning courses in which several parties are involved are ownership of the material. This must be clearly spelled out and agreements drawn up so that conflicts will not surface in the future. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? AWRA will use a period of one year following the launch of the courses to evaluate the success of this e-learning venture. This will be accomplished via several measures: (1) use of student evaluations; (2) assessment of course popularity based strictly upon numbers of students signed up for the courses; and (3) hits on the AWRA website. If the course is deemed successful, AWRA will look into additional courses to be offered on the learning portal. The relationship between CertiLearn and AWRA has been a professional collaboration and a true team effort every step of the way to develop and deliver high-quality online learning courses for AWRA members. LITERATURE CITED LaBranche, G., 2002a. The Business of E-Learning: Applying an Ancient Business Model to Generate Revenue. http://www. certilearn.com/e-Learning/ancient.htm. LaBranche, G., 2002b. WWW. What’s Next: E-Learning, Franchising World, July/August. Marsh, M. H., 1989. The AWRA Story. American Water Resource Association, Middleburg, Virginia, 62 pp.

AUTHOR LINK

E-MAIL

Lisa Koenig Manager, E-Learning Services CertiLearn 7600 Leesburg Pike, Suite 450 Falls Church, VA 22043 (703) 288-0050 x1262 Fax: (703) 394-0985 [email protected]

Lisa Koenig combines over 20 years experience as an educator with extensive experience in producing online and distance learning for Fortune 50 companies. Prior to joining CertiLearn, she was Program Manager of Xerox’s Virtual Classroom, where she helped launch over 50 e-learning courses. She also gained valuable experience in instructional design as a training analyst for Eastman Kodak. Ms. Koenig earned a Masters in Educational Technology/Instructional Design, as well as a Masters in Education (Special Education) at Arizona State University. At Arizona State she also was an Instructor and Supervisor of Student Teachers. She earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas. ❖❖❖


DISTANCE EDUCATION IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: LINKING GRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PROFESSIONALS Hans Schreier, Kenneth Hall, Sandra Brown, and Regina Bestbier INTRODUCTION Delivering effective watershed education is a complex undertaking, partly due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject and the complex challenges facing water resources management. Water resource management education is particularly challenging as water is an essential commodity for all human beings and aquatic organisms, and opinions on water issues and how to deal with them vary widely. Arriving at a consensus on how to use water in the most sustainable manner is one of the most challenging issues facing humanity. As the cost of water treatment becomes more and more prohibitive it is clearly evident that a major educational effort is needed to introduce concepts such as conservation, source control, watershed based assessments, non-point sources of pollution, cumulative effects, and protecting water from source to tap. New challenges in water management now require a very different approach, which in many cases requires a complete reversal of what we have been doing. This is most evident in the management of wetlands, where in the past we were preoccupied with draining wetlands while the new trend is to create wetlands. The latter is more difficult, time consuming and costly. This reversal in approach is not restricted to wetlands and, as shown in Table 1, includes ways in which we deal with stream channels, stormwater management, flooding, pollution and land use activities within watersheds. Many water resources professionals have made the necessary adjustments but many managers and professionals are still entrenched in the traditional approaches because the methods used are well established and so are the costs. Moving to new approaches is always

difficult because of the risk of failure, and the uncertainty about higher costs of using a new and often unproven innovative techniques. How do we bring about these changes and how do we retool the profession? Education is obviously the key but to bring mid-career professionals back to the university is not always realistic. NEW TOOLS AND APPROACHES TO EDUCATION In the last decade, we have reached a new era in education utilizing innovative multi-media tools to make educational material available to a much wider audience and in a format that is more accessible, exciting, and flexible. There are many different approaches to the delivery of educational material via the World Wide Web and no consensus has yet been reached on the best method of delivery. The Institute for Resources and Environment at the University of British Columbia embarked on an experiment with distance education via the Internet some six years ago. The aims were to reach working professionals and expose them to the new concepts and ideas of integrated watershed management. Our approach has been to deliver graduate level courses in Watershed Management by distance using the following basic tools: A Website, an Internet Bulletin Board, and a multi-media CD-ROM that serves as an electronic textbook (Schreier et al., 1997). The Web-site serves as the classroom and during the 13-week courses we post new information on the site every week. The multi-media CD-ROM textbook is sent to the students at the beginning of the course and they are expected to review a chapter every week at their own convenience. Assignments are posted every three weeks and each week

TABLE 1. Comparison of Approaches in Water Resources Management. Traditional Approach Draining wetlands Channelizing streams Building flood protection structures Focus on point source pollution Focus on single pollutants Creating impervious surfaces End of pipe treatment Piping stormwater into streams Building dams Removing large woody debris Sectoral water management


Innovative Approach Creating wetlands Recreate natural channels Design floods concepts Focus on non-point source pollution Focus on interactions and cumulative effects Reducing impervious surfaces Source control Stormwater detention and infiltration ponds Removing dams and creating bypass systems Introducing large woody debris (create diversity) Integrated watershed approach

September • 2002

Distance Education in Watershed Management . . . cont’d. two or three selective Websites that cover the weekly topic are identified. Assignments and exams are submitted as email attachments. Discussions take place on the bulletin board and each participant is required to respond to the posted question over a three-week period. Participants are encouraged to read all comments and respond to each other. This format has been effective because it gives professionals the opportunity to participate in a graduate course on their own time and in a flexible manner, without having to come to the University. The courses are taught once every year and participants from more than 20 countries have been involved to date. Two concerns were evident from the very beginning: (1) most people missed the human contact; and (2) many participants wanted a more comprehensive package consisting of several courses leading towards a professional certificate. We experimented with a number of options on how to improve the human contact. We even arranged for a oneweekend workshop at the University at the end of the course. However, this was only partially successful as only the local participants could attend the workshop since the cost to bring international participants together is too high. To address this we also initiated a new format for the course in 2001 by combining the traditional on campus Integrated Watershed Management Course with the WEB based course. This combination allows oncampus graduate students to interact with professionals around the world via the WEB, and at the same time they receive two hours of lectures per week in a more traditional manner. This obviously is only a partial solution because the professional participants are still missing the human contact. However, since most of them are highly motivated it does not seem to be too much of a concern. We addressed the course curriculum package by offering a certificate in watershed management that consists of five graduate level courses that can all be taken for professional credit, or for graduate credit by distance (Schreier et al., 2001). The requirements are that each participant has to have a B.Sc. or B. Eng. degree in a water or resource area. If taken for graduate credit the students have to be enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited university, and permission for credit transfer is needed between the universities. What makes this concept exciting is that we are moving towards a global educational system.

CD-ROM textbooks can reach an audience that might not normally be able to attend conventional lectures and delivers material in a more timely and cost-effective manner For certificate credit we only require that three of our five courses offered at UBC be mandatory and that the additional two courses could be taken from other universities, provided that the two courses are at the graduate


level, cover a subject area related to water resources management, are offered from an accredited university of high standing, and are approved by the UBC watershed certificate committee. The five courses that are now on line and offered once every year are: Integrated Watershed Management, Urban Watershed Management, Agricultural Watershed Management, Water in International Development, and Groundwater Hydrology (for more details see: www.ire.ubc.ca/y2k/rmes/web-courses. html). For each course a multi-media CD-ROM textbook was produced that is interactive and contains text, graphics, video, voice, images and animated information, with hundreds of searchable references. An example of the information contained in the Urban Watershed CDROM is provided in Figure 1. This material is not only useful as a text book but can be used by professionals for presentation to their co-workers and for sharing concepts with the public, when working with multi-stakeholder groups.

Figure 1. Example of the Content in the Urban Watershed Management CD-ROM Multi-Media Textbook. What is exciting is that researchers and professionals from around the world now have access to educational programs in North America without having to come to the USA or Canada at huge costs and personal sacrifice. This is of particular relevance to participants from developing countries because they can now access new information from the most remote areas of the world. Researches and professionals working in remote areas of Cambodia, Bhutan, Indonesia, and in the mountains of Nepal have taken our courses and not only benefited from the exposure but were able to interact with professionals and graduate students around the globe. In addition, they can now use the multi-media material to teach their own staff of professionals and thus further distribute knowledge on water resources management.


Distance Education in Watershed Management . . . cont’d.

There are many challenges in producing such educational packages and some of the key advantages and disadvantages are listed in Table 2. Water management involves many different subjects and to give a balanced view to the topic a multi-disciplinary team is needed to produce the CD-ROM textbooks and deliver the courses. People also need to be self-motivated because making sure that each participant keeps up with the course every week is difficult. The human contact issue has not been solved effectively, and working in an isolated manner does not necessarily stimulate group interaction and problem based learning. Also, spending hours at a computer screen is not the most desirable way of providing participatory education and cannot entirely replace hands-on education and face-to-face contact in the classroom, laboratory and during field excursions. However, it reaches an audience that would normally not be able to attend conventional lectures and it delivers the material in a timelier and more cost effective manner.

The material in the CD-ROM is organized in a nonlinear fashion, and this is initially more challenging than writing a conventional text. However, once the material is organized in hypertext format it can be used to address multiple audiences. Updating is also much easier. However, there is also a danger to get carried away with interactivity and animation because the multi-media tools allow virtually limitless opportunities for linking materials together. Nice graphics and animations which are pleasing to the eye are part of any well-designed multimedia program and make the material more interesting to read. In the end, however, the graphics serve to convey a concept, illustrate an example or explain some particular issue. Spending many hours (and a substantial portion of your budget) on one particular graphic or animation is only warranted if it substantially contributes to the content. At the same time putting word documents and reports into the multi-media framework is counterproductive because nobody likes to read long texts on the computer screen (e.g. you do not like to read large texts on TV) and this does not take advantage of the technology.

SOME OF OUR MAIN LESSONS LEARNED

Keeping Students Interested in the Course

Developing a CD-ROM and/or Internet Site

Keeping students interested and involved are the main challenge in distance education. The lack of personto-person interaction makes it all too easy for students not to participate on a weekly basis. Keeping the total class size small (up to 25 or 30 students) will allow for sufficient instructor time per student. Responding quickly to student requests and concerns is essential (i.e., instructors have to be on-line on a daily basis). Also sending out personalized e-mail to some students on occasion as opposed to a general message to all students helps motivate participation.

ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES TO THIS TYPE OF EDUCATION

Delivering course content in an effective manner is not an easy task. It is relatively simple to take existing course notes and reading materials, and make them available as digital files, but this does not take advantage of the opportunities the new digital media offer, such as a higher degree of inter-activity and richer multimedia content. This requires a different approach to designing course materials and requires substantial time and effort. The initial cost of producing a CD-ROM text is high because much of the material is graphic and compiling case study material is time consuming.

TABLE 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of WEB-Based Distance Education. Advantages

• Access and material distribution is much cheaper • The most up-to-date information can be delivered • The material is provided in a very rich multimedia format

• Participants can interact at a global level and develop networks for future collaboration

• Professionals working in remote areas have easy access to current information (e.g. developing countries) • The hypertext format allows for the delivery of material in a more interesting and effective manner • Participants can access the information at their own time and convenience. This flexibility is particularly useful to working professionals


Disadvantages

• Preparation of multi-media material in a CD-ROM format is very time consuming

• Monitoring students’ use of the CD-ROM material is not easy

• Participants need to be self-motivated and disciplined to keep up on a weekly bsis

• Some difficulties exist in dealing with wide range of student hardware and software

• Students miss the face to face contact and many people are not excited about spending 5-6 hours per week reading material in a digital format • Reference material that is in conventional form (journals, book) is not easily available to the participants

September • 2002

Distance Education in Watershed Management . . . cont’d. Making Efficient Use of Student Time Most students who take these distance education courses have a regular full-time job or other full-time commitments. While the courses may be related to their daily activities, this still means that for most people the course-work takes place during their lunch-breaks, evenings and weekends. Therefore, the course should be fun, considered useful, and not take up exorbitant amounts of time. A key strategy is to allow some flexibility in terms of the discussion topics and assignments, and to encourage students to use their recent experience and current projects in the course-work. Students are often very keen to share their experiences, on which they then receive feedback from other students and instructors. Frequently, students will use one of their current projects (e.g., developing a watershed management plan, carrying out monitoring, implementing education activities) in their assignments. This has a number of benefits because the assignment stimulates them to look at their day-to-day issues from a different perspective and the results of the assignment can be useful beyond simply meeting the course requirements. In addition, some flexibility is required in terms of due dates for assignments and unavailability for discussion topics during some periods due to other commitments.

AUTHOR LINK

E-MAIL

Hans Schreier Professor Institute for Resources and Environment University of British Columbia 2206 East Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 Canada (604) 822-4401 / Fax: (604) 822-9250 [email protected]

Hans Schreier is a professor at the Institute for Resources and Environment at the University of British Columbia. He holds a PhD in Geomorphology and an MSc in Resource Management and has worked extensively in watershed management in Canada and Nepal. He and his team recently completed the Himalayan-Andean watershed project, which compares eight watersheds in the two mountain regions. A multi-media CD-ROM was produced for each watershed and a common framework and multiple indicators were use for the comparison. ❖❖❖

▲ Future Issues of IMPACT

FINAL OBSERVATIONS The distance education courses in water resources management developed by IRE at the University of British Columbia have been successful in making education and training available to a wider audience and achieving a high level of student participation. Elements of this success include: (1) rich multimedia content in the form of a CD-ROM textbook specifically created for the courses; and (2) use of an Internet classroom for announcements, discussions, links to Internet resources and assignments. The ability of students to participate in these courses from anywhere and at their own pace, while at the same time providing a unique learning experience, is very attractive for professionals, agency staff and community leaders. Creating this learning experience, however, is a challenging task and requires careful consideration of the course format, content and delivery mechanisms.

NOVEMBER 2002 THE ECONOMICS OF WATER QUALITY CLAY J. LANDRY ([email protected]) JANUARY 2003 FAILURES IN WATER MANAGEMENT: LESSONS LEARNED JOHN H. HERRING ([email protected]) MARCH 2003 WATER RIGHTS AND WRONGS IN TRANSITION CLAY J. LANDRY ([email protected]) Laurel E. Phoenix ([email protected]) MAY 2003 WATER MANAGEMENT AT THE EXTREMES CHARLES W. SLAUGHTER ([email protected]) JULY 2003 POWER SHIFTS IN WATER MANAGEMENT FAYE ANDERSON ([email protected])

LITERATURE CITED

ROBERT Schreier, H.S., K.J. Hall, W. Tamagi, S.J. Brown, and P.A. Zandbergen, 1997. Integrated Watershed Management: An Interactive Graduate Level Course for Distributed Learning. CDROM, Institute for Resources and Environment, University of British Columbia. www.ire.ubc.ca/y2k/rmes/web-courses. Schreier, H., S.J. Brown, K. J. Hall, and R. Bestbier, 2001. Certificate in Watershed Management Via Distance Education. Institute for Resources and Environment, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Canada, www.ire.ubc.ca/y2k/ rmes/html/frameset.htm.


SEPTEMBER 2003 FRAMEWORK FOR MONITORING C. WARD ([email protected])

NOVEMBER 2003 SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF WATER MANAGEMENT ERIC J. FITCH ([email protected]) All of the topics listed above are subject to change. For information concerning submitting an article to be included in the above issues, contact the designated Associate Editor or the Editor-In-Chief N. Earl Spangenberg ([email protected]).


BRINGING WATER TO THE STUDENTS: UTILIZING STREAMING MEDIA TO TEACH COASTAL POLICY Steffen W. Schmidt INTRODUCTION Providing students, whether they live near a coast or not, with access to the coastal experience can be a difficult undertaking. This article describes an innovative means to overcoming some of the difficulties in teaching a asynchronous distance learning course on Coastal Policy and Politics, especially relating to the water-related dimensions of the subject matter. For this course, I experimented with the production of digital media clips and this material was streamed on the Web along with other web-based materials such as on-line tests, a discussion forum with mandatory postings, several short opinion polls, etc. The following outlines the methods and steps I followed to produce and deliver this material. It was a successful enterprise that worked extremely well and exceeded my expectations and those of the forty students (30 undergraduate and 10 graduate) enrolled in the class from throughout the United States. THE COURSE SET-UP The course was designed around a web page that contained all of the essential material needs to engage in a distance learning class. This class homepage was part syllabus (the upper section) and part academic calendar with each day of the class as one row and with each assignment required as a navigatable (or referenced in the case of textbook pages) item. Students were asked to print out a copy as soon as they registered (and yes there is still a good use of hard copy even in digital


teaching/learning!). They were expected to check off assignments as completed, students could work through the course at their own pace – finishing early, or compressing where necessary since each student seemed to have a unique life during June 2002. This class webpage is located at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/ ~sws/ISUCoastalcourese.htm. (If any readers would like to experience the on-line discussion forum and testing on ClassNet, please e-mail me at [email protected] or [email protected] and I would be delighted to give you a pass to enter the site.

... simply videotaping a lecture in class and then streaming it raw on the web is an extremely brutal technique generally disapproved of by students MARKETING ISSUES We developed a marketing Webpage http://www. extension.iastate.edu/coastalzone/ which provided an overview of the course and its requirements. The marketing aspects of making this course successful were very interesting, challenging, and to some extent unresolved. How does one accurately identify several hundred or thousand persons in the US and abroad who might find such a course useful, necessary, or even just interesting? How does one best reach them with just the right amount and type of information? If we design such a course but it does not fill or if there are not sufficient students to make it break even, the time and energy I invested would be discouraging and the experience would certainly not drive colleagues to also launch distance learning classes. Since the class was being supported and marketed by the university extension (Extended and Continuing education) division the registration procedure proved to be somewhat convoluted and different from the normal oncampus registration. We therefore designed a registration information page at http://www.lifelearner.iastate.edu/ courses/summer02/pols.htm. This page was great but we immediately had to tweak parts of the process because full-time students on campus tend to have different expectations (for example, they don’t have a fax machine and one of the prominent registration methods was fax!). We also discovered that required books, that students normally “go” to the bookstore to buy, would need to be purchased and delivered through one of a number of alternative media since few of the students were near our campus. Amazon.com and several other web-stores were convenient and our campus bookstore quickly got into the groove with a mechanism for ordering and having the books delivered by mail

September • 2002

Estimating Water-Quality Conditions in Unmonitored Water Resources . . . cont’d. or FedEx. The pricing structure for various vendors became a huge issue (several students paid almost twice what some other classmates paid for the books). UTILIZING STREAMING MEDIA I basically never travel anywhere near a coast or on the ocean without my camera – which is nothing specialized, a Sony Digital 8 Handycam with 360x zoom and Nightshot0Lux, and SteadyShot. This off-the-shelf camera is lightweight, shoots near broadcast quality digital video, and interfaces quickly with most computers, which can do the video production. Of course, there are lesser and more elaborate choices available on the market – budgets and learning curves will guide your selection of hardware. I now have a fairly good idea of what will be covered in this Coastal Policy class and thus I’ve made a series of lists of coastal settings and issues that might be suitable for a short video clip. From these lists I then shoot video at the various coastal venues where I do my research and writing, and, of course, I also keep my eye open for opportunities that are unexpected (such as the sea turtle which was laying eggs very late one night on the beach in front of my hotel in Hollywood-by-the-Sea, Florida!). The following examples describe several methods I have used to create and deliver streaming video for this course.

Video 2 Florida – Risky Insurance This video uses a second and somewhat different technique. I prepared a simple script and then had a student who is a good videagrapher shoot my “lecture” or comments entirely on location. A series of cut-aways to other graphics were inserted. While I don’t have either the talent nor the budget to do a TV professional documentary, the technique of on-location shooting demonstrated in this clip is sufficient for my purposes and gives the students a definite “value added” to the normal Webbased class which is generally deficient in the use of nontext media. Viewers will notice that we developed a thematic opening to these videos through the use of a graphical theme and a music overlay. This, coupled with some music underneath the actual video and an exit graphic and music, as well as discussion or reflection questions at the end, adds some polish to the production as well as some pedagogical value. http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video2.rm (T1 Line Connection) http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video2-56.rm (Modem Connection)

Video 1 Integrated Coastal Management – Levels of Power

Video 3 Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula

This video was structured around an in-class lecture covering many different points about the topic of levels of coastal zone power and management. The talking head with some blackboard notations visible was edited down to a smaller size than the full lecture. Moreover, the talking head part was cut-away to various water locations in the field. These live video clips that are interwoven have a purpose. They make more tolerable the lecturing professor (so they are in part ‘eye-candy’). They also revalidate the legitimacy of the professor by placing her/him in the actual field location (my students commented frequently about this even though it might seem pretentious to emphasize all my field connections). Students love to know that their professors are not just teaching from a textbook but are actually out there (in this case on the coast and on the ocean doing research and touching the subject at hand). This type of production can be effective. Two different connections for streaming Video 1 were provided. This is the best practice so that the many students with modem access to the Internet can get a reasonably steady, uninterrupted stream of the audio and video (with as little “buffering” – pausing while pieces of the video accumulate on the computer before playing again). On the other hand, high-end users (students with DSL or T1 lines) were provided with access to a larger image and better quality.

The Seattle-Olympic Peninsula video continues some of the methods described above. However, in this documentary I shot extensive video and then afterwards reconstructed the sequence of locations that I had filmed and scripted a narrative filmed in a classroom. In other words, the video came first and the “lecture” second. (In Video 1 I used the opposite technique.) We used some Florida video in Video 3 as well in order to visually underscore several points.

http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video1.rm (T1 high speed access) http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video1-56.rm (Modem connection)


http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video3.rm (T1 Line Connection) http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/video3-56.rm (56k Modem connection)

Video 4 The 100 Fastest Growing and Coastal U.S. Counties This is an example of alternative sources of material for streaming media, as well as a different delivery method. This is a video shot from a static tripod (using a wireless microphone attached to the camera and my shirt) of a lecture on “Exploding Counties” that I gave at the Ann Kolb Nature Center, Dania Beach, Florida, on May 13, 2002. The material is very interesting and the lecture was structured around a power point presentation. Rather than using the video for this extensive lecture, we decided to extract the audio portion from the tape, synchronize it with a modified version of the Power Point presentation (removing much of the whiz-bang


Estimating Water-Quality Conditions in Unmonitored Water Resources . . . cont’d. action and graphics that would have greatly slowed down – “choked” – the streaming, and have it stream as an automatic, narrated Power Point slide show). It worked quite well and even though it does not have the visual value of video we discovered that it had a different virtue, which gave it a learning function that was quite effective. The students could start streaming this and could listen to the audio without looking at the Power Point, get most of the information, and then restream it and look at selected slides for information they might have missed or misunderstood. I am also going to experiment with strictly audio material for teaching about water and coastal issues since this can be a very effective medium (albeit with somewhat different scripting and production requirements; for example one must design sound not visual effects to enhance the spoken narrative). I believe that “Lecture Radio,” as I like to call this, has been grossly underutilized and this could become a very cost-effective and excellent medium for distance learning about water and water-related issues (for example, water and water venues have lots of great sounds!). Technical Note: While the other streaming media described above use Real Video we used something called Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL, pronounced “smile”). This “enables” simple authoring of interactive audiovisual presentations. SMIL is typically used for “rich media”/multimedia presentations that integrate streaming audio and video with images, text or any other media type. Let me comment here that it does become crucial for one to have a good network of expertise hopefully locally at a university, government agency, private firms, or NGO so that advice and hopefully even technical support can be readily accessed. I have never personally taken a digital video, extracted the audio track, dumped the video, cleaned up a Power Point presentation, encoded the whole thing using SMIL, and then dumped it on a Read server. I am grateful to Doug Bull in the Center for On-Line Learning (COLL) for suggesting and also operationalizing this! It seems to work very well and it is much “thinner” than the “fat pipeline chocking” full digital video. Also, I found out from my students, that the variety of streaming media that I produced in which no piece was exactly done the same way was an exciting relief from some of the more usual boredom associated with some test-based distance learning classes on the web. http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/exploding_counties.smil

Video 5 The “Dr. Politics” Radio Show This video demonstrates another source of material for use as instructional, streaming media. This is the tape of a special edition of my weekly talk radio program “The Dr. Politics” on WOI radio (National Public Radio affiliate and the oldest public radio station in the United States). This show was done from the Nova University Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach. My objective was


to focus on coastal and marine (water) issues and to inform my audience as well as capture the relevant portion of this show for use in my class. As you will see when you stream this most of it is unremarkable video and audio of me in the Nova Houseboat office on the telephone doing the show live. We interspersed some local video shots and then I invited Dr. Andrew Rogerson, a prominent expert on marine and water issues, to be my guest live on the phone with me. The video, although somewhat bizarre in the style of “voyeur television,” proved to be very effective and popular with my students. They found the interview and a guest on the video effective and substantive. Once again the video provided some real and “live” shots of the water-centered issues I was talking about and thus gave tangible realism to the “lecture.” The point I wish to make with this example for readers of IMPACT is that using one’s imagination there are a host of excellent sources of streaming media that can enrich a web course without substantial financial, production, and delivery costs. The raw material for creating streaming media can be collected from a variety of sources such as: panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, speeches and addresses, classroom lectures, field interventions, excursions, etc. http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/radio.rm (T1 line streaming-) http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/radio-56.rm (Modem Streaming)

Video 6 Turks and Caicos This video reviews a couple of issues affecting small, coastal zones with a case study of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Grand Turk). What I did here is to do an introduction to the video shot in my office on campus. The introduction is a brief guided tour of the video so that students would understand what things I felt would be interesting and useful. Then selected pieces of video were shot on location and edited together into a largely visual tour with the idea that seeing is believing and that visualization and a visual experience can be a powerful learning experience in and of itself. Although some of the graphics (maps and captions) need work, the students who gave me specific feedback liked the nonpedagogical feel of parts of this piece. Several complemented me on it and said that they felt they had a “cultural” experience from this, one that a lecture could not have conveyed as well. Since almost no one has ever been to Grand Turk and since it is visually quite interesting, students seemed to feel that it was a good piece of material. I should also observe here that this video and the next one on Bonaire, caused at least four or five of the students to want to take a trip to actually see and experience these coastal areas and do some field work there. That in itself was a valuable result since I am also very keen on having students go beyond my class and try to deepen (or broaden) their experiences with water-related

September • 2002

Estimating Water-Quality Conditions in Unmonitored Water Resources . . . cont’d. environmental and policy studies. In fact, I am now planning a new three-credit course that is centered on a Turks and Caicos, Bonaire, or Galapagos Islands field experience. This was a rather unexpected surprise and a bonus coming from this particular piece of streaming media.

AUTHOR LINK

http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/turks/turksdsl.rm (T1 streaming) http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/turks/turks56.rm (modem streaming)

E-MAIL Video 7 Bonaire

Steffen W. Schmidt University Professor in Political Science Iowa State University 549 Ross Hall Ames, IA 50011 and Affiliate of Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center Ft. Lauderdale, FL (515) 294-3825 / Fax: (515) 294-1003 [email protected] or [email protected]

This video consists of some brief comments on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire with a focus on some of the economic limitations of a coastal zone use caused by climate and the lack of fresh water and rain. Again some of the maps and graphics are not as high quality as I would like on the streaming digital version. However, as with all of the other pieces discussed above, there is the option of burning CDs from these or putting them on analog videotape. This requires mailing the material to students (as this is a distance course and the students will probably not be able to physically pick them up at your office). But that option makes the medium sharper and may remove some complications of getting media to stream properly. However, I must emphasize that I experienced virtually no problems with students accessing and viewing/listening to this material.

Steffen W. Schmidt is University Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University and an Affiliate of the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Prof. Schmidt is a pioneer in the development of distance learning in particular web-based learning. His prize book is the co-authored American Government and Politics Today (17th Edition). He has also written on coastal topics including “Coastal Waters Management” in Water Sciences, a student encyclopedia from Macmillan Reference Books (2002). He also wrote “The Coast and Geodetic Survey,” “Long Island,” “Bermuda,” and “Yacht Racing” for the new Dictionary of American History (2002). His essays “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” “Water Rights,” and the “National Maritime Administration” will be forthcoming in 2002 in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Policy.

http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/bonaire/bonairelg.rm (High Speed Access)

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http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ramgen/ pols542x/bonaire/bonairesm.rm (Modem)

CONCLUSIONS

NEW AWRA MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!

The discussions above are meant to be a series of reflections with examples on how we can design and deliver much greater value when designing distance learning classes. The added work and sometimes complication of scripting, shooting, editing and producing, and streaming this material was, in my view more than worth it. The end product was a web course that had more pedagogical diversity and appealed to more of the “intelligences” that students bring to the classroom or in this case the cyber-space where my class lived. I would add in conclusion that this might not be for everyone. I should also caution that simply videotaping a lecture in class and then streaming it raw on the web, while technically feasible, is an extremely brutal technique generally disapproved of by students. A little editing, however, can take a lecture and begin to move it in the direction of a production and thus a productive new way of enhancing distance education about waterrelated issues.

AWRA IS PLEASED TO OFFER ITS 2002 MEMBERS THE ONLINE NETWORKING DIRECTORY


✩ ✩ AN EASY-TO-USE RESOURCE TOOL ✩ ✩ ✔ Network and Develop Business Contacts ... Look up other water resources professionals using our wide search capability!

✔ Keep in Touch and Share Ideas ... Communicate directly via email with other members!

✔ Stay Current ... Make updates in your own personal or company record!


▲ Water Resources Puzzler ACROSS 1 precedes hall or plan 5 dangers 11 rascals 14 drug addicts 16 wool fat 18 TLC giver 19 building wing 20 labor paid per unit 21 Des Moines R. loc. 22 anagram for basal 24 stanzas 25 vim 26 whenever 28 clutter 29 wt. supported by structure 30 silly 32 David’s adversary 35 Suwannee R. loc. 36 rower’s fulcrum 37 found at car dealerships 41 worship 42 news anchor 43 parts of a TV series 45 leased 46 wigwams 47 Asian capital 48 Gallup and Time/CNN 49 meal for Sir Barton 52 employ 53 USSR news agency 55 Mideast capital 56 mean’s partner 58 composed 61 move near 62 god of heaven 64 7th or 17th Pres. 66 followed by board or child 68 Bobby or Betsy 70 Dali or Degas prop 72 followed by Empire or Isles 73 followed by station or track DOWN 1 hustlers’ targets 2 Christmas or Easter 3 Savalas (Kojak) 4 12 mos. 6 two less than a baker’s dozen 7 antonym for slow 8 synonym for slow 9 anagram for slow 10 homonym for slow 11 squid output 12 clergyman 13 brief profiles 15 Tagus River location 17 $ grabber? 23 type of heel 25 topped out


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injured cell particles eternity clinched 1950’s hits free wool cloth open spaces Satan hosp. rm. conger manor ballfield quarrel throws let. end before noon made noise at night SA mountain range coral reef one of Goren’s hands large mouthed jug mil. cops neither’s partner college cheer boxing bout outcome Time, Inc., magazine sixth tone

❖❖❖ September • 2002

▲ President’s Message Kenneth J. Lanfear, AWRA President, 2002 DISTANCE LEARNING In the early 1980s, I was enrolled in a one-night-a-weekforever MBA program at Virginia Tech when an unexpected business trip to Alaska required me to drop a planned course. The requisite university form asked, “Do your parents know you are dropping this course?” “No,” I wrote, “but I’ll ask my kids!” How times have changed! Universities now tailor programs to serve the large and growing market of students in the workforce. Continuing education often is a requirement for maintaining professional certification. And now, as this issue shows, the power of the Internet is being harnessed for distance learning. AWRA is now certified to offer continuing education units to those attending technical sessions at our meetings. Later this year, we will launch our first distance learning course (on ground water). So, thanks to Faye Anderson, enjoy this issue of IMPACT and read how education is changing.

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▲ August 2002 JAWRA Papers (Vol. 38, No. 4) INTEGRATED DECISION MAKING FOR WATERSHED MANAGEMENT-Part II • Integrated Decision Making for Watershed Management: Introduction • Interactive Distribution Conversation Planning • Using Maryland’s Stream Corridor Assessment Survey to Prioritize Watershed Restoration Efforts • Integrating Landscape Assessment and Hydrologic Modeling for Land Cover Change Analysis • Integrating Science and Technology to Support Stream Naturalization Near Chicago, Illinois • A Decision Support Tool for the Management of Multi-Reservoir Systems • A Game Theory Approach to Deciding Who Will Supply Instream Flow Water • The Structure and Practice of Water Quality Trading Markets • Creating Meaningful Stakeholder Involvement in Watershed Planning in Pierce County, Washington

▲ AWRA Future Meetings 2002 MEETINGS SEPTEMBER 17-18, 2002 WASHINGTON, D.C. AWRA WATER RESOURCES POLICY DIALOGUE

NOVEMBER 3-7, 2002 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA AWRA’S ANNUAL WATER RESOURCES CONFERENCE

2003 MEETINGS MAY 12-14, 2003 KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI AWRA’S SPRING SPECIALTY CONFERENCE “Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality”

• Involving Watershed Stakeholders: An Issue Attribute Approach to Determine Willingness and Need • Reservoir Water Level Impacts on Recreation, Property, and Nonuser Values • Graphycally Modeling Stakeholder Values TECHNICAL PAPERS • Dual Urban and Rural Hydrograph Signals in Three Small Watersheds • Impacts of Urban Landuse on Macroinvertebrate Communities in Southeastern Wisconsin Streams • A Large Electronic Weighing Lysimeter System: Design and Installation • Infiltration of Wastewater and Simulated Rainwater as Affected by Polyacrylamide • A Riffle Stability Index to Evaluate Sediment Loading to Streams • Accuracy and Reliability of Numerical River Models

JUNE 30-JULY 2, 2003 NEW YORK, NEW YORK AWRA’S SUMMER SPECIALTY CONFERENCE “Second International Congress on Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems”

NOVEMBER 3-6, 2003 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA AWRA’S ANNUAL WATER RESOURCES CONFERENCE VISIT AWRA’S WEB SITE AT WWW.AWRA.ORG FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


• Debris Flows Through Different Forest Age Classes in the Central Oregon Coast Range • Application of Tabu Search to Ground Water Parameter Zonation • Integration of Watershed Tools and SWAT Model Into BASINS • Using Technical Adaptive Management to Improve Design Guidelines for Urban Instream Structures

JAWRA Water Resources IMPACT • 33

▲ 2002 Election Results

PRESIDENT-ELECT (1-YEAR TERM) ROBERT J. MORESI SENIOR HYDROGEOLOGIST MOFFATT & NICHOL ENGINEERS TAMPA, FLORIDA

(take office effective January 1, 2003)

DIRECTOR (3-YEAR TERM) JANE O. ROWAN ASSOCIATE SCIENTIST SCHNABEL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, INC. WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA

▲ Employment Opportunity ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management Ball State University Muncie, Indiana Tenure-track position available August 22, 2003, with specialty in water resources or water quality management. Responsibilities include: teaching the introductory water resources course, upper division courses in water quality management and wastewater treatment, and other courses as needed; supervising graduate students. Potential for development of new courses. Minimum Qualification: Earned doctorate in water resources, water quality management, watershed management, or related area by July 1, 2003. Preferred Qualifications: Demonstrated teaching ability; scholarly publications and/or other evidence of scholarly activity; professional experience in water resources related areas.

DIRECTOR (3-YEAR TERM) GERALD SEHLKE ADVISORY SCIENTIST/ENGINEER IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO

“Concepts of Watershed Hydrology” Auto-tutorial, animated, and narrated short course, water budget software, and mobiles for sale

Details at www.waterbudget.com

Solution to Puzzle on pg. 32

Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, official college/university transcripts, and the names of three references to: Dr. Hugh Brown, Chair, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306. Review of applications will begin January 15, 2003, and will continue until the position is filled (www.bsu.edu). BALL STATE UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER AND IS STRONGLY AND ACTIVELY COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY WITHIN ITS COMMUNITY


September • 2002

▲ Water Resources Continuing Education Opportunities MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS, SHORT COURSES SEPTEMBER 2002 22-26/Rocky Mountain Summit: Sustaining Ecosystems & their People. Whitefish, MT. Contact RMS 2002, Attn: Julia Rodriguez, 130 Mumford Hall, Columbia, MO 65211-6200 (573/882-7458; f: 573/884-2199; e: [email protected]; w: www.cares.missouri.edu/rms2002 25-27 / National Clean Marina Workshop. Mystic, CT. Contact David G. White, NY Sea Grant, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126 (315-312-3042; f: 315-3122954; w: www.nyseagran.org) 30-Oct. 4/6th Intern’l. Conf. on Diffuse Pollution. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Contact www.nva.net/ agenda/conference.htm or Govert Verstappen at [email protected] or [email protected] OCTOBER 2002 7-9/Wetlands 2002 - Restoring Impaired Wetlands and Other Waters. Indianapolis, IN. Contact Tammy Taylor, Indiana Dept. of Environ. Mgmt. (e: tatkir@ ctic.purdue.edu; w: www.core4.org/Core4/Wetlands/ Wetlands 2002.html) 8-10/Changing Faces of Conservation & Agriculture: The Future of Working Lands. Moline, IL. Contact Chris Murray (e: [email protected]) 13-17/Hydrologic Extremes: Challenges for Science & Mgmt. AIH 2002 Annual Meeting. Portland, OR. Contact AIH, 2499 Rice St., Ste. 135, St. Paul, MN 55113 (651/484-8169; f: 651/484-8357; e: AIHydro@aol. com; w: www.aihydro.org) 27-30 / California and the World Ocean ‘02. Santa Barbara, CA. Contact Orville Magoon, Honorary Conf. Chair, P.O. Box 279, 21000 Butts Canyon Rd., Middletown, CA 95461 (707/987-0114; f: 707/987-9351; e: [email protected]; w: resources.ca.gov/ocean) NOVEMBER 2002 3-6 / Watersheds Across Boundaries: Science, Sustainability, Security. Stevenson, WA. Contact Chuck Slaughter, WMC Conf. Chair (208/364-4069; f: 208/387-1246; e: [email protected]) 3-7/AWRA’s Annual Water Resources Conf. Philadelphia, PA. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) 4-7/GBA Master Series, Inc., 3rd Annual User Development Conf. “Expertise: Your Most Valuable Asset.” Kansas City, MO. Contact e: [email protected]; w: www.gbams.com/UG02Home.htm APRIL 2003 28-30/River Basin Management 2003 - 2nd International Conf. on River Basin Mgmt. Las Palmas, Garn Canaria. Contact Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK. (+44 (0) 238 029 3223; f: +44 (0) 238 029 2853;


w: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2003/ riverbasin2003/4.html) MAY 2003 12-14/AWRA’s Spring Specialty Conf. “Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality.” Kansas City, MO. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) JUNE 2003 18-20/Water Pollution 2003 - 7th Intn’l. Conf. on Modelling, Monitoring and Prediction of Water Pollution. Cadiz, Spain. Contact Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK. (+44 (0) 238 029 3223; f: +44 (0) 238 029 2853; w: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2003/ water2003/2.html) 23-25/Coastal Engineering 2003 - 6th Intn’l. Conf. on Computer Modeling and Experimental Measurements of Seas and Coastal Regions. Cadiz, Spain. Contact Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK. (+44 (0) 238 029 3223; f: +44 (0) 238 029 2853; w: http://www. wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2003/coastal03/) 29-July 2/AWRA’s Summer Specialty Conf. “Second Intn’l Congress on Watershed Mgmt. for Water Supply Systems. New York, NY. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 201181626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) NOVEMBER 2003 2-5/AWRA’s Annual Water Resources Conf. San Diego, CA. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) CALLS FOR ABSTRACTS November 1, 2002 (Abstracts Due) – AWRA’s Spring Specialty Conf. “Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality.” May 12-14, 2003. Kansas City, MO. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) November 15, 2002 (Abstracts Due) – AWRA’s Summer Specialty Conf. “Second Intn’l. Congress on Watershed Mgmt. for Water Supply Systems.” June 29-July 2, 2003. New York, NY. Contact AWRA, 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540/687-8390; f: 540/687-8395; e: [email protected]) September 27, 2002 (Abstracts Due) – World Water and Environmental Resources Congress. Philadelphia, PA. Contact ASCE, Conferences and Expositions, 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston, VA 20191-4400 (800/548-2723; f: 703/295-6144; e: [email protected]; w: www.asce.org/conferences/ewri2003)

❖❖❖ Water Resources IMPACT • 35

Back in the late 1960s, most water resources professionals were focused on the traditional aspects of hydrology, hydraulics, and ground water. They were worried about flood control, hydropower, irrigation, and water supply. Relatively few people were systematically considering water quali2002 SPRING SPECIALTY CONFERENCE ty and how it relates to the environment. Below the head of the tide, another smaller group of enCOASTAL gineers and scientists were working on coastal problems. They focused on wave mechanics, WATER shoreline and harbor protection, beachfills, and the behavior of tidal inlets. A few people were trying to model estuarine circulation in response to the budding national flood insurance program’s RESOURCES need for better tools to predict hurricane surge elevations. Here, again, the emphasis was on the built environment, with little emphasis on the preservation of natural systems. PROCEEDINGS Fast forward to now and the whole world has changed. Knowledge in all technical fields has increased exponentially. Successful professionals are now more highly specialized in narrow disMAY 13-15, 2002 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA ciplines. On the other hand, we have learned that natural systems are infinitely more complex and interesting than once was widely understood. Therefore, our trend towards fragmented knowledge works against the critical need for a broad, multidisciplined approach to solving real problems. It was fortuitous that New Orleans was the site of AWRA’s 2002 Spring Specialty Conference. Nearly 80 percent of the total U.S. wetland losses are occurring nearby. The underlying causes involve a complex combination of coastal and hydrologic factors, including loss of sediment supply, barrier island erosion, saltwater intrusion, and diminished freshwater inputs to the estuarial system. Most of the problems are man-made. Solving the challenges will require integrated approaches that go far beyond the tools available to either water resource or coastal professionals taken alone. This published proceedings represents a good sampling of presentations made throughout the conference. Author contact information appears on the first page of each paper and will allow interested readers to followup directly with authors, thereby propagating the dissemination of information beyond the conference and this published volume. Papers are included on the following topics: • Coastal Resources Management; • Habitat Restoration; • Shoreline Erosion/Regional Sediment Management; • Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Environmental Investment Project (ENVEST); • Water Quality; • Hydraulic and Water Quality Modeling; • Coastal Ground Water; and several special Poster papers and abstracts.

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September • 2002

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Questions??? Contact AWRA HQ By Phone (540) 687-8390 By Fax (540) 687-8395 By E-Mail [email protected] Check Out Our Home Page At www.awra.org

SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS ISSUE (COMMENTS ON PREVIOUS ISSUES ARE ALSO WELCOME) Water Resources IMPACT has been in business for almost three years and we have explored a lot of ideas. We hope we’ve raised some questions for you to contemplate. “Feedback” is your opportunity to reflect and respond. We want to give you an opportunity to let your colleagues know your opinions . . . we want to moderate a debate . . . we want to know how we’re doing. Send your letters by land-mail or e-mail to Faye Anderson (for this issue); or, if you prefer, send your letters to Earl Spangenberg (Editor-In-Chief). Either way, please share your opinions and ideas. Please limit your comments to approximately 350 to 400 words. Your comments may be edited for length or space requirements.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT / KENNETH J. LANFEAR [email protected]

OF THE

AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT-ELECT / JANE LEE VALENTINE [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENT / JOHN S. GROUNDS III [email protected]

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT / KENNETH D. REID, CAE [email protected]

DATED MATERIAL ENCLOSED AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION 4 West Federal St., P.O. Box 1626 Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 USA Telephone: (540) 687-8390 ISSN 1522-3175

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