Technology in Interpretation

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            The two training modules identified require varying styles of instruction.  While the digital presentation module focuses on a single program called Microsoft PowerPoint,  the desktop publishing module teaches four different programs and a variety of technology equipment.  Tutorials were developed for both training modules, but they differed in detail and coverage.  The PowerPoint tutorials, for instance, contained very specific and concise instructions that built off of previous tutorials.  Instructor-led sessions were also  part of both modules, but played a much more integral role in desktop publishing.

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   Digital Presentation Module

   PowerPoint Tutorials

   Desktop Publishing Module

   Desktop Publishing Tutorials

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Digital Presentation Module:  

Oral Interpretation Methods (NR 368/568) / Park Interpretation (NR 367/567)

Tutorials:  

            In the Oral Interpretation/Park Interpretation course, the tutorials focused on teaching students how to effectively use Microsoft PowerPoint.  Discussions with Dr. Michael Gross and Ron Zimmerman, instructors of the interpretation courses, led to the general agreement that reinforcement of the PowerPoint skills would benefit student learning.  However, between the traditional interpretive principles instruction and the student presentations, time was already very limited in the course.  Incorporating comprehensive instructor-led technology training would have been very difficult within the time restraints. 

            Therefore, the PowerPoint tutorials were designed as take-home assignments that students would complete on their own time.  It was essential that the tutorials be written very specifically with concise step-by-step instructions to guide students in their learning.  No instructor would be available to provide immediate feedback, although students were encouraged to e-mail the instructor with any questions they had while completing the tutorial. 

            Overall, four PowerPoint tutorials and one scanning tutorial were developed for the technology training.  During the first semester of the 2001-02 school year, students in NR 367/368 were given one tutorial each week.  The four PowerPoint tutorials were designed to chronologically develop skills, from very basic concepts to more advanced abilities.  To incorporate reinforcement, each new tutorial built off of skills introduced in previous ones.  At the end of each tutorial, students were required to create a small presentation based on the skills they had just learned.  In addition, they answered questions that were applicable to the interpretive profession.  These assignments were sent to the instructor via e-mail and graded.  The assignments proved that students had actually completed the tutorials and comprehended the concepts and skills, while identifying potential weaknesses within the training itself.   

            The following list describes the themes and topics that were incorporated into each tutorial.  Click here to view the actual tutorials:

·        PowerPoint Tutorial #1:  The first tutorial covered very basic concepts at a beginner level.  These included how to start PowerPoint, create a blank presentation, identify the different working areas of the screen, insert and resize graphics, and save the presentation.

·        PowerPoint Tutorial #2:  The second tutorial built upon the first by including more basic concepts like inserting more slides, moving slides, deleting slides, inserting and changing text, working with color options, and changing the background.

·        PowerPoint Tutorial #3:  The next tutorial begins to introduce more advanced skills, including layering elements, inserting pictures from the Internet, inserting pictures from a scanner, cropping pictures, editing the brightness and contrast of pictures, viewing the slideshow, and adding transitions.

·        Scanner Tutorial:  One of the requirements of PowerPoint Tutorial #3 was inserting a picture from a scanner.  A separate scanner tutorial was provided to the students with step-by-step instructions on how to successfully scan pictures for a PowerPoint presentation.  The tutorial provided general steps for scanning pictures on any scanner, but covered Hewlett-Packard scanners (available in the university library) in more detail. 

·        PowerPoint Tutorial #4:  The final tutorial provided training in advanced PowerPoint skills, including the use of custom animation, sound effects, music CDs, and movies. 

Interpretive Techniques Lecture:  

            Besides the take-home tutorials, one 50-minute class lecture was devoted to interpretive techniques using PowerPoint.  Although learning to create a PowerPoint presentation is a basic component of the course, developing an interpretive presentation, one that connects the interests of the audience to the meanings of the resource, is truly the overlying goal of the illustrated talks.  Many of these interpretive techniques were also included in the tutorials when introducing a new skill.  However, the instructors of the course decided that the actual demonstration of these techniques would result in a much more effective learning experience for the students. 

            The demonstration included topics such as telling the story through full-screen images, using high-quality pictures, creating unified and thematic backgrounds, adding appropriate transitions, limiting the amount of text to titles, captions, and quotes, choosing an effective font type and size, adding animation for mystery and surprise, and incorporating sound and video to elicit an emotional response.

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Desktop Publishing Module:  

Signs, Trails, and Waysides (NR 363/563) / Environmental Publications (NR 364/564)           

            A different teaching method was essential to successfully integrate the desktop publishing module into the interpretive courses.  Unlike the digital presentation module that focused on a single program, the desktop publishing module would teach four different programs and a greater variety of equipment.  The take-home tutorial teaching method would be ineffective for this module for two main reasons: time commitment and program complexity.  Many more in-depth tutorials would need to be developed for each program and piece of equipment.  This would not only take an enormous time commitment for the tutorial designer, but also for students completing the tutorials and for instructors grading the assignments.  In addition, the page layout and graphic editing programs are much more complex than Microsoft PowerPoint, causing a dilemma to novice computer users. 

            Due to the challenges presented by this teaching module, a separate laboratory session was added to the interpretation course to specifically address the technology training needs of the students.  The lab session was held in the Schmeeckle Reserve “Interpretation Computer Lab” (see Objective 3).  A combination of less detailed tutorials and more in-depth class instruction was chosen as the most appropriate teaching method for the lab session.

            The Signs, Trails, and Waysides (NR 363/563) and Environmental Publications (NR 364/564) courses can be taken for either 1 or 2 credits.  Environmental education and interpretation students are required to take the 2-credit version, which includes a final interpretive project for a real-world organization.  Forest recreation students, on the other hand, normally take the courses for 1 credit, and are not required to complete the final project.  During the second semester of the 2001-2002 school year, 26 students were enrolled in the Signs, Trails, and Waysides course, the Environmental Publications course, or both. 

The limited number of computers in the Interpretation Computer Lab was one of the major challenges to integrating technology into the course.  When the desktop publishing module was taught, the lab had a total of 7 computers available for student use.  The instructors of the course decided to provide the technology lab experience only to students taking the 2-credit version.  Seventeen out of the original 26 students would receive the training.  To increase the hands-on experience working with computers, the remaining 2-credit students were split into two lab session groups based on available time slots in their schedules.  Eight students joined the Monday lab session, while nine students joined the Friday session.  Each lab session was scheduled for an hour-and-a-half time slot. 

Overall, 5 lab sessions were developed for the desktop publishing training module that incorporated both tutorials and personal instruction.  In each session, the instructor guided students through the tutorial, describing steps in detail and making sure that every student was at the same stage.  The instructor was available to immediately answer questions and troubleshoot any problems that arose.  A digital projector hooked up to a computer was used to show the entire class how to complete a step.  At the end of each session, the students were given an assignment that was due before the next week’s lab.  The assignments were designed to test skills that had been taught in the lab session. 

For the benefit of the entire class, an additional 50-minute lecture was devoted to Microsoft Publisher, which was a program that every student used to create an interpretive poster.  The following list describes the themes and topics that were incorporated into each lab session.  Click here to view the tutorials and other worksheets:

·        Lab Session #1- Introduction:  The first lab session was an introduction to using computer technology in interpretation.  The students established rules for using the lab, which included no food or beverages, respecting the equipment, and limiting the amount of time on e-mail.  The instructor presented a PowerPoint program that described current applications of technology in the interpretive field, including exhibits, educational software, digital presentations, desktop publishing, and other daily tasks.  In addition, students were taught basic computer terminology and skills using the Microsoft Windows environment.  A definition sheet was provided for students to fill out (see Appendix B).  At the end of class, the students were given a tour of the computer lab and encouraged to explore several educational multimedia CD-ROMs. 

·        Lab Session #2- QuarkXpress Basics:  The first real computer program training was an introduction to QuarkXpress, the industry standard in page layout.  The session included topics like creating a new document, learning the tool palette, creating and formatting text boxes, adding frames, working with color, inserting and formatting images, changing the clipping and runaround of pictures, and layering objects.  For an assignment, the instructor created an interpretive sign panel using QuarkXpress.  Students were required to mimic this poster as closely as possible, using many of the skills they had learned during the lab session. 

·        Lab Session #3- QuarkXpress Design Fundamentals:  The second training session built upon the basic skills taught in the first QuarkXpress lab.  These more advanced skills included creating new colors, blending colors in a box, forcing text to follow a curved line, drawing arrows, transforming text into a graphic box, inserting different shapes, and working with pages.  In addition, students followed instruction sheets to scan an image using the flatbed scanners and take pictures using the digital cameras.  For an assignment, students were required to create their own posters using many of these advanced design elements, and incorporating scanned and digital camera pictures.

·        Microsoft Publisher Lecture:  Every student, including those taking the course for one credit, was required to create an interpretive poster using Microsoft Publisher.  Since only the 2-credit students were participating in the lab sessions, the course instructors decided that one 50-minute lecture period should be devoted to Microsoft Publisher.  Instead of creating a detailed tutorial, the instructor designed a simple outline that students could use to take notes on during the lecture.  Topics included creating a new properly sized document, inserting and modifying text, using Word Art for special effects, inserting and modifying graphics, and layering.

·        Lab Session #4- Paint Shop Pro Basics:  The third training session switched the focus of the lab to graphic editing.  Paint Shop Pro is an affordable graphic editing program that can be accessed from any computer on campus.  The session provided comprehensive skills development in such topics as cropping images, resizing pictures, mirroring and rotating images, adjusting the brightness and contrast, sharpening and blurring, cloning areas of an image, replacing colors, cutting out pictures, and using special effects.  For an assignment, the instructor cut out parts of already existing images, and combined them into a new graphic.  Students were required to mimic the new graphic as closely as possible, using the skills they had learned in class.

·        Lab Session #5- Adobe Photoshop Essentials:  The last training session continued to integrate graphic editing skills by introducing Adobe Photoshop.  This program is a complex professional system for working with graphics.  Due to the time limitations of the class, only a few important skills were taught.  These included adjusting the brightness and darkness levels of a picture, using special artistic filters, and working with transparency blends to create a faded background.  A poster and sign panel had already been assigned in lecture during this final lab session, so the students were not given a lab assignment.

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