DEOSNEWS Vol. 6 No.11, ISSN 1062-9416.
Copyright 1996 DEOS.
Director of ACSDE and Editor of AJDE: Dr. Michael G. Moore.
DEOSNEWS Editor: Dr. Melody M. Thompson
 
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EDITORIAL
 
In this issue of DEOSNEWS, Dirk Spennemann and Anthony Steinke
of Australia's Charles Sturt University discuss the use of a
computer-based simulation program to provide an alternative
to on-site fieldwork for students in a Cultural Resource Management
program taught at a distance. These authors discuss the development
of the Computerized Interactive Cultural Resource Inventory Tool
(CICRIT) and describe how such simulation programs can instruct
students in the principles of archeological site survey design in a
realistic manner while overcoming many of the drawbacks of a short-
term residential experience.
 
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VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK TRAINING BY
DISTANCE EDUCATION
 
Dirk H. R.Spennemann and Anthony P. Steinke
School of Environmental and Information Sciences
Charles Sturt University
PO Box 789 Albury NSW 2640 Australia
dspennemann@csu.edu.au
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
An Australian National Teaching Development Grant awarded by the
Committee for the Advancedment of University Teaching (CAUT)
allowed development of a self-contained Computerised Interactive
Cultural Resource Inventory Training tool (CICRIT) to teach
students in a realistic manner (to the extent possible) (i) site survey
design and resource inventory and (ii) resource management
techniques on the desk top. This report presents an account of the
project and the resulting application, the training program CICRIT.
The management of Australia's cultural and natural resources is
becoming increasingly important. Sound skills in survey and
inventory techniques are the very foundation for responsible
management. At present Australian Universities commonly teach
students site survey strategies and cultural resource inventory
techniques solely by means of face-to-face teaching and during
expensive field trips which are dependent on weather conditions at
the time of survey. There is a distinct need to develop a training tool
which allows teaching of the fundamentals of this field in a distance
education mode.
 
Cultural Resource Management Teaching at Charles Sturt University
 
At present, Cultural Resources Management (CRM) is taught only
at Charles Sturt University (CSU) as an integral part of Parks and
Heritage Management. In many other Universities, the term has
become a euphemism for mainstream archaeology. The Johnstone
Centre of Parks, Recreation and Heritage and the School of
Environmental and Information Sciences aim to promote
scholarship, research, consulting and education in the management
of natural resources and cultural heritage for conservation, recreation
and tourism, with an emphasis on the management of protected
areas. The success of the CSU degree programme can be measured
by the high percentage of Australian Aborigines and Parks Rangers
taking the course in the distance education mode. There are four
third-year subjects offered in the Parks Management degree, which
have a cultural resource management component focus or subfocus:
protected area planning, physical conservation techniques, cultural
resources policy and planning and, finally, site survey design. The
latter subject examines the type, variety and occurrence of historical
and Aboriginal sites in Australia and the basic methods and
techniques used to record them. It also examines the different types
of site survey methods employed in cultural resource management.
The subject takes the student through the initial planning stage of
survey design, through to site discovery and recording, and on to
the write up of site survey reports. Practical experience is gained in
the recording, evaluation and value assessment of both historical and
Aboriginal sites. The subject emphasises a practical approach;
during residential school students are required to undertake a site
survey where practical experience is gained in the discovery,
recording and value assessment of both historical and Aboriginal
sites.
 
The Training Needs
 
The archaeological component of the cultural heritage major of the
BAppSci (Parks, Recreation and Heritage) requires students to
complete a subject in site survey design. The subject addresses the
varied issues of survey design and the implications of student's
decisions on the outcomes of the survey. The subject is taught solely
in distance education mode and thus the lecturer/student interaction
is restricted to preparatory written communications, telephone calls
initiated by the student, and a high-intensity 4-day residential school
period. The period, however, is not long enough to allow students
the opportunity to evaluate the outcomes of the different survey
options: Archaeological survey occurs with increasing levels of
intensity, depending on the aims of the survey, the time, funds and
staff available to execute the survey. A desktop survey or desktop
study is conducted by accessing, compiling and evaluating the
available information of cultural resources of a given area. It is
performed by extracting relevant information from a variety of
sources: previous site surveys, regional or thematic studies,
excavation reports, anecdotal information and oral history data, as
well as predictive models for site presence. There are, in principle,
three ways in which students can be taught the skills necessary to
conduct surveys: (i) through real-life surveys, (ii) through
theoretical instruction in a class-room, or (iii) through computerised
interactive instruction.
 
Real-Life Survey
 
This is the traditional, and by far the preferred, method of Cultural
Resource Management specialists. Withinn a real-life training
scenario, the students will conceive a survey design and execute this
design in a given time frame. The survey is then written up. Another
survey design can be planned, executed and written up, and the
outcomes of both designs can be compared. Actual physical
surveying cannot be substituted in any mode, as survey training not
only comprises the methodology and design, but also the basic
training of site recognition. This depends on many parameters,
usually the sequential acquisition of clues to the presence of a site
and its nature, which relies in many cases on three-dimensional
vision and different angles of approach. However, survey training at
CSU is conducted in external mode and students come in for a four-
day residential school. Thus time is very limited. But even in
standard archaeological courses, survey training is often limited to
single events. Students gain much of their experience in participating
in commercial or research surveys.
 
One of the major limitations of the standard survey technique is the
dependency on weather conditions. While in a standard on-campus
taught subject the survey date can be postponed until the weather
improves, this is not possible in a residential school environment
where all participants have made a substantial investment in time and
money. The limited number of survey days available, as well as the
limited number of staff facilitating the survey, commonly allows
only for a single design to be executed by the group. Thus the
residential school group has to agree on a consolidated design which
will be executed. This severely limits the choices and, ultimately, the
learning experience.
 
Theoretical Instruction in a Classroom
 
The other extreme is represented by totally theoretical instruction
either by means of classroom lectures and tutorials or by self-study
based on manuals, handbooks and review articles. This mode
deprives the student of any interaction with the subject matter and
creates a situation where little benefit can be gained beyond the
mastery of the theory of survey design.
 
Computerised Interactive Instruction
 
An intermediate solution is the use of computerised interactive
instruction. In such a model a student can learn the theory of survey
design from handbooks and print-based media, or through an
interactive program approach, and then execute a virtual survey the
outcome of which is determined by the choice and combination of
parameters defined by the student. A simulation program can be
interactive, i.e., prompt the student for decisions during the
simulation run, or can be reactive, where the student is presented
with the results. The former solution is more realistic than the latter.
In both cases the student can assess the variability of outcomes by
modifying the input parameters and thus learn the relative
importance of the various parameters influencing survey design.
However, the computerised training mode has conceptual
limitations. Until virtual reality engines can be developed cost-
efficiently, the student will experience the 'survey' in a two-
dimensional mode and the progression through the surveyed 'area'
is abrupt, leading from one site directly to the next, without the
tedium of intermediate non-site areas. Likewise, if an area is
surveyed which does not contain sites, the student is presented with
an immediate result, rather than--as in the real-life scenario--having
spent a day's worth of walking. In addition, a computerised model
or simulation cannot easily express the nuances of site appearance or
the process of site recognition, the gradual piecing together and
interpretation of clues.
 
 
THE PROGRAM DESIGN
 
CICRIT was designed to allow a more intensive way of teaching
survey design and resource inventory to the student. Further, the
package will allow the student to conduct the surveys "ad lib" and at
their own schedules (within certain parameters). The objectives were
to develop a program which will fulfil the following criteria:
 
* independence of arbitrary survey times (such as residential
schools)
* independence of climatic conditions
* interactive simulation program, not a data/factual information-
based knowledge acquisition tool
* variable rate of progress dependent on individual student's pace
and interest
* repetitive use of teaching module at student's interest
* efficient use of multi-media
* limited direct supervision needed
* distance education mode and open learning architecture
* open architecture to allow expansion in both space (additional
areas) and data sets (such as botanical data)
 
Conceptual Underpinnings
 
The key principle of computer-driven interactive multimedia
education systems is that the student is enabled to determine his or
her own rate of progress through the subject matter and to conduct
the self-training at self-determined intervals. With the inclusion of
pictorial and audio material and the provision of multiple pathways
or links, the student can effectively steer and navigate a route which
will favour that particular student's mode of learning. Unlike text-
based materials, however, a computer program cannot be taken
along on a train or bus or to an outdoor location. Thus, while the
mode of study is potentially enhanced, the study environment
becomes restricted. In general, the packages can be grouped into
four classes (see Table 1). There is a need for all four types of
resources, depending on the particular learning outcomes required,
and none of these are the 'be-all-and-end-all' of computerised
training.
 
Table 1. Classes of Computer-Assisted Learning Packages
 
_Class_ _Type_ _Aim_
I 'drill and practice' mastery of methods/practices
II 'encyclopedia' information resources for factual
knowledge
III 'challenger" imparting concepts and theory,
thus challenging students
IV 'simulation' application of methods, theory,
and factual knowledge
 
 
Multimedia per se do not result in increased learning and do not
advance students' understanding of the subject matter. Rather, the
interactive mode of learning is the critical factor involved, as it
allows the student to follow up various pathways influencing the
individual learning outcome (Clark & Craig 1992). Further, there is
little sense in transforming print-based--and thus linear--teaching
resources into linear multimedia packages. While the addition of
colour illustrations, live video and sound increases the usefulness of
some packages, it does little to aid students individual approaches to
learning and, ultimately, mastering a subject. Navigational features
in programs enable students to control their movement through a
resource, but may disintegrate into an arcade-game style 'click-and-
see-what happens' program (see McKenna 1995 for a review of
literature). One of the major dangers in a learning web is that
students can become lost in the maze (Lynch 1992). This result can
be avoided by the provision of predefined pathways of a central core
(Gleadow et al. 1993) or by supplying concept maps in printed or
electronic form (Clark & James 1993, Mikhelson & Klease 1993).
 
By contrast, a simulation package requires an input set of parameters
which will determine the output. Student interaction is dependent on
the setting of the initial parameters--as well as on making decisions
along the way--based on program prompts to do so. But beyond
this, there is little the student can do to interact with the program.
Thus a simulation package is essentially linear, with the possibility
of re-running parts of the program after it has been completed
without the need to restart it. The CICRIT program was not
designed to substitute physical survey training in a field situation,
but to complement it. This allows face-to-face student instruction to
be more efficient as it removes many conceptual problems before the
actual survey takes place. Further, the program needs to be
interactive in a fashion that allows the student to influence the
outcome of the virtual survey by varying the input parameters.
Finally, background information offered to the student needs to be
structured in a fashion which allows the student to query
information in increasing levels of detail at the students' request.
Forcing a student to 'wade through a morass' of data would be akin
to actively impeding students' individual learning requirements.
 
Technical Considerations
 
Delivery Options. Successful design required consideration of a
variety of delivery options : (i) Floppy disk/Syquest based; (ii) CD-
ROM based; (iii) Optical and Floptical devices; and (iv)
Server/Internet based. Not all of these are equally suitable, however.
Standard floppy disks (1.4mb) do not have the capacity to store the
information necessary and would require users to download the
entire program onto their hard disk. At the moment, CIRCIT
requires 68mb of storage space. This is likely to double when all the
photo options have been added. Tapes are prone to wear and tear,
and in many cases are unable to rapidly access the data.
Syquest(TM) cartridges (44mb), which have become the industry
standard for prepress bureaus, would permit the delivery of
packages this large. However, such systems are prone to magnetic
influences and thus to data loss if handled inappropriately, either at
the user location or during transfer by post. Updating of the
program needs to be conducted in a centralised manner. Experiences
with Video packages sent out by CSU have shown that there is little
sense in re-using once-posted packages, as the cost of (i) following
up on non-returned items and (ii) checking the packages for damage
and quality is disproportionate to a new issue. Optical of similar
media are less corruptible than magnetic media. Unfortunately, at
least at the moment, such media are expensive and thus not common
and few people have drives which can read them. In addition, such
storage options, like magnetic media options, are systems
dependent. CD-ROM disks have become a standard in many
multimedia packages. While there is substantial interaction by the
CD-ROM user, all responses draw on predefined criteria with few,
if any, temporary files developed. In most cases, such files are
written to the memory or a scratch disk on the user's hard disk. The
advantages of a server/Internet-based program are that only one
active copy needs to exist at any given time, thus ensuring that all
students will be using the latest version. This centralised mode
allows the maintainence and updating of the program as the need
arises without having to upgrade copies held by the 'customer base'.
The downside of such a system is the possibility of a slow network
response if traffic is high. Recent developments under way at CSU
show that it is possible to package all the software necessary to run a
virtual network server on a CD-ROM. This would allow packaging
of the server and the program material on the CD-ROM and mailing
to students who have access to CD-ROM systems but not to the
Internet. This option, however, would then result in various
generations/versions of the program.
 
If a server/Internet-based approach is taken, then it is necessary to
limit or restrict the outside linkage options. Although such outside
links provide additional data sources and options to work with, their
efficiency depends on the data loads on the network at the time, the
availability of the particular server and the presence of the files.
 
Platform Options. A variety of platform options exist. In addition,
within most of the platform options, a variety of manufacturers and
models is used. This situation, combined with the variety in
processor models and, thus, overall computer speeds, creates a very
diverse systems base: (i) IBM-Compatible DOS, (ii) IBM-
Compatible Windows, (iii) Apple Macintosh, (iv) IBM OS/2, (v)
Amiga and (vi) UNIX/AUX. While some of these issues can be
overcome by specifying certain computer/processor speeds, the
issue of different operating systems cannot be overcome easily if the
whole program is to run in a stand-alone mode on a user's machine.
The greatest customer base exists for IBM compatible machines,
followed by Apple Macintosh systems. There seems to be a
difference in the markets, however, with Apple Macintoshes being
more prevalent in the graphics and arts sphere and as DTP
machines. The student population is expected to have a computer
spectrum that mirrors that of Australia overall. It would be possible
to develop a system based on MS-DOS/Windows only, which
would presumably cater to most students, but this could lead to
claims of inequity if the use of the program becomes a compulsory
and assessable component of the subject. The constraints imposed
by this diversity of systems can be overcome by providing platform-
independent programs, running on a central server. Students would
be furnished with the correct viewer, depending on which system
they owned. The project was to be designed based on the
Netscape(TM) WWW viewer. However, care was taken not to
include structural commands, such as tables, which at the time had
not been adopted universally, and which could not be interpreted by
some viewers, such as NSCA Mosaic(TM).
 
Expandability
 
The program design should be such that the program can be
expanded in geographical terms by adding new survey areas
adjacent to the currently active areas, and by the addition of other
site files and background information files. This expansion then
required the establishment of data structures where site files were
independent files which could be added to or deleted "ad lib." The
latter option was particularly necessary if false or fictitious sites
were to be added in order to provide site types which were not really
extant in the area, but the presence of which would be conceptually
possible given the environmental conditions at Mt.Wills. Likewise,
illustrations and photographs needed to be stored separately to allow
the easy addition and deletion of files as required. The background
data structure needed to be expandable so that further information
could be added into the background files if and when the
information becomes available. There is a limited set of data files
provided. It is intended that, over time, textual material can be added
which will form a set of files similar to a book of readings.
 
 
THE SIMULATION CRITERIA
 
Mt Wills offered itself as a suitable location. The area has been the
resource inventory 'training ground' of Charles Sturt University
since 1991, where students of the BAppSci (Parks, Recreation and
Heritage) degree construct flora, fauna and cultural resource
surveys and inventory assessments.
 
Criteria Explained to the Student
 
The student is given a message screen early in the program, prior to
his or her selecting the areas. The student should be well aware from
the perusal of the literature that there are a number of parameters
which have a bearing on the outcomes of a survey. Of these
parameters, those which have been labelled 'primary' parameters
have a direct bearing on the outcome of this computer program:
these parameters influence the student's survey design, the rate of
progress he or she can achieve, and the student's capacity to
recognise the sites. The student is presented with a screen providing
the following information: From here the primary and secondary
parameters can be looked up, and further information can be
obtained. Should the student decide that further work on the
background data is required, the student can 'backtrack' to the
previous screen which will allow access to the background data tree.
Once parameters are selected and the 'survey' has commenced, a
backtrack button is not offered; however, the student can backtrack
using the 'back' buttons provided by the Netscape viewer, even
though this function is not advertised. Basically, all parameters
influencing the outcomes of the computer simulation are addressed
in this section, even though the values of the penalties are not
spelled out to the students.
 
Selecting and Defining the Areas
 
Partitioning the Survey Areas. The partitioning of the survey areas
was conducted manually--and thus arbitrarily--based on the area a
single person can effectively survey in a given day, given the
conditions of the terrain encountered at Mt.Wills.
 
Contiguous vs. Non Contiguous Areas. Obviously, the choice of
the survey areas should be determined by the goals the survey is
meant to achieve. When planning the survey, however, students
need to consider the necessity of being able to move from one
survey location to another. The terrain at Mt.Wills is such that
movement from one area to another may well be very cumbersome
and will take some time. Only along the Omeo highway is one
able to move reasonably rapidly with out vehicular transport. Most
other areas are only accessible on foot and well beaten tracks are
rare. The student is told that the program will take this into account,
and it will 'penalise' him or her by calculating the time it takes to
move from area to another, if non-contiguous areas are chosen. The
program calculates the centre points of the individual areas and
allocates a travel distance penalty based on a travel rate of 2km/hr.
 
Selecting the Base Camp Location. The placement of the base
camp, from which a team will execute the survey is obviously of
great importance. The further it is necessary to walk to get to the
survey location, the more time is lost which can be used otherwise
productively. In the Mt. Wills area there are four huts to choose
from: the Talangatta Ski Club Hut, the Mt. Wills Summit Hut, the
CRB Hut, and an insecure hut next to the road side. For purposes of
this computer program the student can place the base camp in any of
the huts but the last, as this one is not secured and is open to anyone
driving along the road. Students cannot set up a permanent camp
with all the back-up facilities at such a spot.
 
The Climatic Parameters
 
The diligence of the field crew is essential for the recognition of a
number of sites. Climatic conditions, such as temperature and rain,
as well as the overall duration of a survey project, tends to wear out
staff. Unless they are diligent and observant throughout, some sites
or site indicators could be missed. Unfortunately, there is no
weather station at Mt. Wills (or nearby at Glen Wills) and thus
temperature data used for the calculation are based on the daily data
collected for Omeo, some 65km to the south (Station NBA 083025)
and provided by the Bureau of Meteorology.
 
The Rainfall Data. The daily rainfall probability was calculated
based on the daily rainfall values for the period 1957 to 1994. The
probability was calculated as the percentage of events with rainfall
greater then 3mm/day. The total number of years contributing to the
data set ranges from 33 to 36. Based on the rainfall probability the
program simulates (random-based) for each day of the survey the
rain probability (chance). If it 'rains', that day of the survey is
'washed-out'. If the program calculates that it rains on day three of a
five-day survey, the student will be presented with the displays of
the records of the sites for days one and two. The student will be
permitted to record these sites as usual. When the program moves
on to display the sites for day 3, the user will be told that 'today'
(the selected date), i.e., day 3 of the survey, it is raining. The user is
asked whether he or she wishes to proceed for the day despite the
rain, knowing that some terrain will be rather slippery. If the user
chooses 'no', that day will be deducted from the total and the
program will proceed to day four, dropping all sites for day 3. If the
user chooses 'yes', the program will run a random calculation and
drop 40% of the sites in the area surveyed during that particular day.
When the student has completed recording/reading all the sites of all
days and is about to finish or start over again, a screen will be
displayed telling the user, that because of what he/she chose on day
3, x number of sites have been missed by the survey team.
 
The Probability of Snow. If we interpolate the temperature at
Mt.Wills at the medium elevation of 1280m based on a decline of
3.5 degrees C/100m altitude, then the extremes for Omeo for the
observation period 1957 to 1994 translate to the historic occurrence
of frost on Mt.Wills (at 1280m) at any given day during the year,
except four, where the temperature ranged between 0 and +1 degree C.
This indicates that morning frosts can occur throughout the year. If
the survey period chosen by the student coincides with simulated
snowfall (based on probability tables), the program issues a warning
to the user. If the user presses on, all two-dimensional sites (n
2000-2999) deemed to be obscured by snow and are removed from
the list.
 
The Temperature Levels. The ambient temperature influences the
comfort levels during the survey. Very high as well as very low
temperatures are highly likely to limit the attention span of the
person(s) conducting the survey. In addition, the steep terrain at Mt.
Wills implies increased exertion during these temperatures. To
account for this, the simulation has been set such that the total
number of sites available to the student is reduced by a certain
percentage. The following percentages have been used: greater than
or equal to 37 degrees C 15%; 35-37 degrees C 10%; 32-35 degrees C 5%;
10-32 degrees 0%; 8-10 degrees C 5%; 4-8 degrees C 10%; less
than or equal to 4 degrees C 15%. As with any simulation, a level
of arbitrariness has been introduced. The high temperature was
calculated based on the daily maximum, while the low temperatures
were calculated based on daily maxima and minima. There is a
considerable range of temperatures throughout the area which are
generally caused by the differences in altitude. (The adiabatic lapse
rate is 1degree C/100m above 600m for unsaturated air and 0.4 degree C
for saturated air). Omeo weather station is at 640m. The average
elevation of the sites is at 1230m.
 
Number and Training of Staff
 
The number of staff taking part in the survey will determine how
quickly the students can survey an area, as they represent more
'bodies' able to cover a greater area, and more pairs of eyes to act as
spotters. However, the number of trained staff taking part ultimately
determines the rate of progress, as one person in each team will be
responsible for the documentation of the resources. Students need to
consider that the greater the number of staff, the greater the logistical
problems will become. The program simulation has been
programmed to allocate the value of "1" to a trained archaeologist,
and "0.6" to a semi-trained person/staff member. These figures are
used to calculate the "worker-days" the program needs to establish
the total number of survey areas a student and his or her "team" will
be able to survey. Further, the program does not allow for more
than 3 untrained staff to accompany one trained archaeologist.
 
Starting Date and Duration of the Survey
 
Starting Dates. The starting date of the survey needs to be chosen
carefully. The student needs to take into account the climatic
conditions he or she is likely to experience, such as average and
maximum temperature, the probability of rainfall and the probability
of snow. The background data set provides the student with
adequate information on the matter.
 
Duration of the survey. The duration of the survey will affect the
results in two ways: the longer the survey, the more survey days are
present and hence the more area can be covered. On the other hand,
the longer the duration of the survey, the greater the fatigue of the
survey crew, since the environment is challenging. The student will
need to find a balance between the two. The simulation includes a
scaled 'penalty' if students plan to work for too long a period. If the
survey period is longer than 5 days, a fixed percentage of sites is
deducted, the identity of which is randomly allocated based on the
following percentages--Day 1-5: none of the sites; Day 6-7: 5% of the
sites; Day 8-9: 10% of the sites; Day 10-12: 15% of the sites; Day 13
and greater: 20% of the sites. In each case, when the student has
completed all the sites and is about to finish/start over, a screen will
be displayed telling the user, that x number of sites have been
missed on day 6, 7, 8, 9 etc. due to the fatigue of the crew.
 
Final review options. After the last site file has been viewed, the
student is given a number of options to review the environmental
data etc. Offered are the following options:
* Show me the environmental data again
* Show me the aerial photo again
* Show me the topographic map again
* Show me again the areas I surveyed
* Provide me with details on how to write up the report o
* Show me again the list of sites to be expected.
After the student has accepted or declined the options, he or she can
either finish the program or start over again. The final review
options, like the background data, is another hierarchy of static files,
except for the button which shows the areas surveyed by the user.
This requires knowledge of the user i.d. (identification); hence, the
final review page is a semi-dynamic document containing a link to
the user map file.
 
Portability. The coding for the program was kept as portable as
possible to allow porting of the software to other platforms. All code
is written in PERL or C, both of which are widely available on most
platforms. The underlying engine controlling the program was
designed to be as general as possible. This allows new applications
to be developed quickly and easily, using the same engine code and
tools, but different subject matter.
 
 
FUTURE ACTIONS & OPTIONS
 
In its current concept the program is designed as a tool to develop
skill in designing a meaningful and practically executable survey.
Unlike the initial concept proposed in the CAUT/DEET application,
the program will not consist of an assignment module, the
completion of which is necessary for students to have access to the
various options and to 'play' with various scenarios. Instead, the
student is tasked with planning and 'undertaking' three different
survey designs and to compare the relative merits of the surveys
thus conducted. The practical component will comprise a three-
day field trip to Mt.Wills to undertake survey's of areas hitherto
unsurveyed, thus adding to the simulation database.
 
Publication of the Program.
 
The publication strategy comprises a number of actions ranging
from posting the program on the world wide web on a test basis to
publication in a number of media. For example, the program has
been placed on the World Wide Web under the following URL
address:
http://life.csu.edu.au/~dspennem/MTWILLS/CICRIT.HTM. Please
note that the URL address is case sensitive. It will be included in
several relevant homepages, i.e., CSU HomePage, The Virtual
Past, ArchNet and the like. Thus it will be available--at no cost--to
anyone interested. Others are encouraged to include pointers to the
program on their home pages.
 
Elaboration and Improvement.
 
Creation of fictitious sites. Based on the student's experiences at the
1995 residential school, the site list may need to be extended. At the
moment, the data set represents the real site distribution. This
implies that a number of survey areas are 'blank'. In addition, even
though the total area surveyed comprises some 13 sq. kilometers,
not all of the area on the topographical map has actually been
surveyed. This expansion of the knowledge base is planned for
1996 and 1997. If the 1995 testing of the program shows that this is
a problem, then the hitherto non-surveyed areas can be 'stacked'
with fictitious sites, which could theoretically exist in the
environment. Once the real data become available, these can be
deleted, since it poses no problem to uniquely label the fictitious site
files for later elimination.
 
Increase of pictorial options. The initial design proposal gave the
student a number of options to assess the sites. It was intended that
the student could request various photos showing different angles of
the same site. In order to provide a working beta version in time for
the acquittal of the CAUT grant, the additional photo options were
deferred. These shall be added at a later point in time, if the present
configuration seems inappropriate or insufficient.
 
Expansion to include survey concept training. If the program
proves to be suitable for student training and if students accept
electronic delivery for this subject as the only means of instruction,
then it is intended to expand CICRIT by adding a different front
end. This addition will allow extension of the interactive method of
instruction to the mainstream of the subject package.
 
Cross-Cultivation and Proliferation.
 
The Subject. PKM 360 'Protected Area Planning' draws on the
Mt. Wills area as a standard survey area. Successive generations of
students have or will use the area as the main fieldwork location. In
addition to the cultural resources data information, vegetation plots
and faunal trap data exist. The background data set developed for
CIRCIT is eminently suitable for inclusion in the teaching of PKM
360. However, as the needs for PKM 360 are slightly different from
those for PKM 366, it is not sufficient to merely point to the central
node of the CICRIT background data tree. In the first step, the
material provided as the background data set shall be duplicated and
can become a stand-alone interactive background data unit to support
the study package PKM 360. The duplication and interlinking of this
section shall be such that once new or updated data are imported into
CICRIT, the PKM 360 data tree can be simply replaced with the
new data tree, thus ensuring that the data are in step with CICRIT.
 
Expansion to Include Botanical and Faunal Data. CICRIT can be
provided with a different front end, which will allow students to
choose between a cultural and a botanical resource inventory. The
same area selection engine can be used, this time drawing on
individual botanical survey plots rather than archaeological sites.
Data for real survey squares exist, and students can interactively
conduct a botanical survey to develop a vegetation map for
Mt.Wills. Once an electronic herbarium for Mt.Wills has been
created (moves are under way), the plant species in the lists can be
linked to the herbarium files. In the second expansion phase, data on
fauna traps and survey/spotting transects can be added.
 
Packaging on a CD-ROM. If it proves necessary, CICRIT can be
packaged on a CD-ROM and distributed in this fashion to students.
 
Monitoring Usage. A monitoring routine shall be written which
allows the systems administrator to monitor the usage of CICRIT
over the Internet, evaluating the average connect time and the point
of origin of the interaction.
 
 
REFERENCES
 
Clark, I. and James, P. (1993). The use of concept maps in the
teaching and learning of structural geology. In: J. Bain, E.Lietzow
and B.Ross (eds), Promoting Teaching in Higher Education.
Reports from the National Teaching Workshop. Griffith University,
Nathan, Qld.. Pp. 291-304.
 
Clark, R. and Craig, T. (1992). Research and theory on multi-media
learning effects. In: M.Giardina (ed.), Intercative learning
environments: human factors and technical considerations on design
issues. Berlin: Springer.
 
Gleadow, R., P.Ladiges, A.Dodds, K.Handasyde, J.Lawrence and
M.Burgman (1993) Innovative teaching methods in biology
incorporating self-study and multi-media programs, in: J. Bain,
E,Lietzow and B.Ross (eds), Promoting Teaching in Higher
Education. Reports from the National Teaching Workshop. Griffith
University. Pp. 305- 318.
 
Lynch, P.J. (1992) Teaching with multimedia. Syllabus 22, 2-5.
 
McKenna, S. (1995) Evaluating IMM-issues for researchers.
Occasional Papers in Open and Distance Learning. 17. Charles Sturt
University, Wagga Wagga. pp. 17-24.
 
Mikhelson, A. and G.Klease (1993) 'Unlearn Chemistry'-An
Australian Initiative for the independent learner. Distance Education
14, 297-302.
 
Spennemann, D.H.R. & Steinke, A.P. (1995). Computerised
Interactive Cultural Resources Inventory Training. A computer
program for survey training at Charles Sturt University. The
Johnstone Centre of Parks, Recreation and Heritage Report No- 32.
The Johnstone Centre of Parks, Recreation and Heritage, Charles
Sturt University, Albury, NSW. [URL
http://life.csu.edu.au/~dspennem/JC_REP_32/JC_REP_32.html]
 
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