Libris Britannia 4/science library(b).zip/science library(b)/ENGINEER/H486.ZIP/GRNDWTR.ZIP/REPORT

Text File | 1991-09-04 | 15KB | 257 lines

                      The Groundwater Education System

                     James Gurganus, Knowledge Engineer
                          Agricultural Engineering
                             Purdue University

     "The Groundwater Education System" software was designed on the
KnowledgePro (TM) development system along with PC Paintbrush.  KnowledgePro, by
Garden Software, is a hypertext development system that allows a programmer to
enter information in hypermedia form.  PC Paintbrush, by Z-Soft, is a graphic
editor used to construct the pictures used by KnowledgePro.  The Groundwater
Education System is designed to educate society of the nature of groundwater,
how it is important, how it is contaminated, and the steps that should be taken
if their groundwater becomes contaminated.
     Hypermedia makes this program easier to use as well as more educative.
Hypermedia is the new form of computer media in which users can read information
and then select additional information on a related topic by following "threads"
or "links."  In this program, both pictures and textual information are
accessible by the user.  Just as in regular text, the figures have threads from
picture to text and from picture to picture.  Additional information is
available to the user through these links.  For varying input, menus and type-in
responses are available.
     When the program is first run, the title screen and credits are shown in
graphic form.  Immediately after this, the user is presented with a brief
summary of the hypermedia commands used in KnowledgePro.  Also, in this
explanatory screen, a sample hypertext link is provided to give the
inexperienced user some practice with using the mouse and/or keyboard.  After
the practice screen, another title screen is shown (in text) with hypertext
links available.  This particular sequence of screens was done in order to
insure that the computer illiterate person could access ALL available hypertext
options - including the textual title screen.
     After the title screens, the main program is initiated...Groundwater.  The
groundwater section of the program is (of course) the central focus of the
entire program.  It was designed to answer the following questions:
     1.  What is groundwater?
     2.  Why is groundwater important?
     3.  What contaminates groundwater and how?
     4.  What if groundwater becomes contaminated?
Notice how each question becomes progressively more complex.  This method allows
better education of the user and creates extra interest.  In establishing these
questions, it was fairly easy to structure the main program into four, smaller
sections.  At first, all the data in each section were available to that section
only.  Once the program started becoming larger, this "nesting" (see example 1)
had to be modified so that each section had access to its fellow sections.  This
allowed unconfined links throughout the program.

     (Example 1.)
     Example TOPIC:

         topic 'Definition of Groundwater'.
              say ('Groundwater is any water below the ground surface.').
                  do ('Groundwater Picture').
This Topic   topic 'Groundwater Picture'.
   is   --->      picture (grndwatr).
 "Nested"         end.
                  end.

     Groundwater includes the bulk of the data and includes both text and
graphic data.  The text data was simple to input into the program.  The picture
information took quite a bit longer.  KnowledgePro's "picture" command (see
example 2) is complicated and only operates correctly on the most recent
versions of the program.  On other programs, displaying pictures with data is
not so difficult.  One nice feature with "picture" is the hypertext capability.
On pictures such as the groundwater-defining picture, hypertext links were
utilized.  It is probably best only to use the hypertext on pictures where the
"hotspots" are easily recognizable.  (Incidentally, the graphic "hotspot" is was
one of the deciding factors in choosing this development system.)  Although
KnowledgePro can put little dots on the hotspot areas if wanted, boxes and other
symbols provide a clearer message.  A disadvantage of showing the hotspots is
the fact that the "hot" area can't be directly on top of the area wanted to be
linked.  In other words, one can't put a hotspot on text if the hotspot is to
be visible.  Also, because of this problem, if the hotspots are to be visible,
they must be apart from the text, therefore causing some confusion in pictures
with many hyper-active areas.  Using hypertext in text (see example 3) is very
simple involving only two characters on each side of the linked text.

     (Example 2.)
     Example PICTURE:
          topic 'Groundwater Picture'.
               select is element (picture ('grndwtr',black,lightgray,Y,
               ['aquifer recharge area',t,300,152],
               ['rain gage',t,276,43],
               ['consolidated layer',g,124,92]),2).
               if ?select <> "" then do (?select) and
                    do ('Groundwater Picture').
               end.
          topic 'aquifer recharge area'.
           say ('That is an aquifer recharge area.').
               end.
          topic 'rain gage'.
           say ('That is a rain gage.').
               end.
          topic 'consolidated layer'.
               say ('That is a consolidated layer.').
               end.

     (Example 3.)
     Example HYPERTEXT:

          topic 'Groundwater Contamination'.
               say ('Groundwater can be contaminated easily
                     through #maquifer recharge areas#m.').
          topic 'aquifer recharge areas'.
           say ('Aquifer recharge areas are places
                     where water can enter an aquifer.
                     Contaminates dissolved in the water
                     will enter as well.').
               end.
               end.

     In this figure, when the user selects the text "aquifer recharge areas,"
the user will be presented with the information under that topic.

     After the groundwater portion of the program, a menu appears.  The menu
lets the user do several things:
     1.  Groundwater     (Go through the Groundwater program.)
     2.  Graphics        (Display all available graphic information.)
     3.  Current Events  (Read current events in groundwater.)
     4.  Further Reading (List groundwater related books and pamphlets.)
     5.  Questionnaire   (Short questionnaire for groundwater testing.)
     6.  The Quiz        (A quiz designed for educational purposes.)

     The "Groundwater" option simply lets the user go back through the
groundwater program in case there was something missed the first time.  This
option is provided since there is no way with KnowledgePro to go backward
through sections of the entire program.
     The "Graphics" choice is a routine that displays the available graphics in
the program.  The user can look over a menu and choose a graphic image to be
displayed.  Since some of the pictures are embedded deep within the Groundwater
Education System's hyperlinks, this option was created to allow the user to
easily see all of the graphics.
     The "Current Events" option provides a list of the articles available for
reading and lets the user choose and read one.  This section uses external files
for its data.  One file tells the program the articles for reading and the
filename of that article.  The other files are the actual data in the articles.
The trickiest part of this section was programming it to recognize the article
name with the article filename.  The format of this section, however, allows
anyone to easily maintain the articles by simply changing the information in the
two files using text entry software.  Articles can be entered by adding a
synopsis line and the article's filename for reference to the file
"ARTICLES.DAT".  The article's filename portion points the program to a ASCII
text file that contains the article itself.  Articles can be deleted by simply
removing the synopsis and filename line in the "ARTICLES.DAT" file.
     The "Further Reading" option is a list of the main sources of data used in
the program.  It also lists the groundwater related information available in the
Purdue Cooperative Extension services.
     The "Questionnaire" option is a list of questions designed to inform the
user whether or not they should have their water tested.  All of the questions
are supposed to be answered "No" with water testing not being recommended.  If
any question is answered "Yes," then the program responds by telling the user
to start a program of regular water testing.
     "The Quiz" option is a full scale quiz that tests the user's knowledge
about groundwater based upon the program's information.  Before the quiz starts,
the option to review any section of the groundwater program is presented to the
user.  "The Quiz" option is another section that utilizes external files for
data.  This section reads all of the questions and answers from an external
file.  The quiz consists of twenty-five multiple choice questions which can all
be modified using a file editor (see figure 4).  Questions and answers are
entered with the question first, four answers, the correct answer, and a blank
line.  A special feature of this part of the program is the creation of a record
of grades from the quiz.  The user types in their name at the prompt and after
the quiz, their number wrong, number right, and percent correct are saved into
a simple ASCII external file.  Despite the detail of the file manipulation in
this option, the "Current Events" option was much more difficult to program.

     (Figure 4.)
     Example QUIZ QUESTION:

     Question:           What is evaporation?
     Answer 1:           The process of a liquid converting to gaseous form.
     Answer 2:           The process of ice converting to liquid form.
     Answer 3:           The process of ice converting to gaseous form.
     Answer 4:           The process of a solid melting.
     Correct Answer:     The process of a liquid converting to gaseous form.
     Blank Line:

     In the actual construction of "The Groundwater Education System", several
steps were taken.  First, the author had to become acquainted with hypermedia
concepts and KnowledgePro's language.  This task was fairly easy as commands
were generally straightforward with little or no complex syntax except for disk
accessing commands.  The next step was to gather as much information as possible
for input into the system.  Since the program must satisfy everyone's interest
in groundwater, just about anything related to the topic was entered including
books, pamphlets, extension publications, conference proceedings, etc.  The
actual programming was next.  Programming the information was simple once the
material was isolated into general areas ... definition, importance,
contamination, etc.  Even once the bulk of the groundwater information was in
the system, more ideas can be entered thanks to the hypermedia concept.  The
final step was possibly the most difficult: polishing the program for its
application...education.  This step is where ideas such as the quiz and current
events were implemented into the program.  Polishing included everything from
plain overhaul by reorganization to tiny details such as the color of the
windows.  Once polishing was complete, the only thing left was testing.
     Individuals who have looked at the program are pleased with its unique
approach as an educative system.  Most people have little to say as far as
criticism toward the hypertext concept.  Suggestions are usually toward the data
in the program as being incomplete or misleading.  Since more information is
easily inserted into the program, these comments are satisfied quickly.  One
particularly recurrent criticism of the program is lack of directions.  This
problem has been fixed to a certain point.  Simple "press the spacebar to
continue" and "more on next page" messages have been inserted to alert the user
of available information via the spacebar or the paging keys.
     Another problem non-related to the program itself (except in its size) is
memory collection.  KnowledgePro insists upon having nearly every byte of memory
to itself and its applications.  This problem along with the Groundwater
Education System's large size presents annoying "Garbage Collection" messages
frequently at the bottom of the screen.  The most evident solutions to the
problem such as removing memory resident programs have seemed to alleviate some
of the garbage collection.

     An estimation of the time for each step in construction follows:

     Learning KnowledgePro:  6 hours
     Gathering Information:  1 week
     Programming (Total):    (3 weeks, 2 days, and 3 hours)
          Text:              2 weeks
          Pictures:          3 hours each ( X 17 pictures = 51 hours)
          Extra features:    2 hours each ( X 5 features = 10 hours)
     Debugging:              10 hours
     Polishing:              1 week
     User Documentation      5 hours
---------------------------------------
TOTAL (Approximately):       6 weeks

     Hypermedia worked well with the concept of this program.  Environmental
issues and other topics would easily be implemented in hypertext.  Suggestions
of other application topics include the greenhouse effect, acid rain, clean air,
water quality, etc.  Any topic can be consolidated into hypertext form.
Improvements of the Groundwater Education System could be made as well.  Such
improvements would include increased range; the program would cover broader
topics related to groundwater.  Also, a special expert system could be
implemented that would assist the user in determining their need for water
testing.  Another feature along the same lines would be an expert system to help
design a farmstead and locate and create a proper well.

     The machine requirements for the program follow:

     IBM or IBM Compatible Computer
     640Kb RAM minimum
     360Kb 5.25" Disk Drive with Hard Drive
         or 1.2 Mb 5.25" High-Density Disk Drive
         or 720Kb 3.5" Disk Drive
     EGA Display Card or equivalent
     EGA Monitor or equivalent

     In summary, "The Groundwater Education System" is truly a large program.
Taking almost an entire high-density disk with the main program, pictures, and
the runtime KnowledgePro unit.  The system fulfills its expectations.  The
pictures take up the majority of the space, occupying over fifty percent of the
program disk space.  The system is targetted for junior-high (middle) school to
high school environments due to the increase of the number of inquiries of
groundwater contamination.  However, the information presented in the program is
also of interest and at the proper level of detail for many adults.  Here it is
hoped to bring awareness of the groundwater situation into the minds of students
and into the home.