Name of project
Science Pirates: The Curse of BrownBeard

 

Purpose

This USDA-funded project, led by NMSU, was designed to communicate food safety knowledge to mid-school youth nationwide, while creating an online environment fostering scientific exploration.   Original game design called for online gaming simulations through which youth would design their own experiments, draw conclusions and make recommendations. However, early testing of prototypes revealed the lack of experience youth have in conducting experiment design, and the instructional challenge of preparing students to adequately perform this important science process. The educational goal of Science Pirates shifted from one of understanding food safety issues through science processes, to one of understanding science processes to better change food safety behavior.

 

Marketing/Promotion

Demand for Science Pirates is growing, particularly as it is freely downloadable online. Team members have already presented the game at thirteen conferences (including those emphasizing science education, technology education, game design and health education), and are currently submitting articles to peer-reviewed journals on the design process, and the effectiveness of the game for use in or out of classrooms.

 

Role

• Jeanne Gleason, EdD - Executive Producer
  
• Barbara Chamberlin, PhD – Executive Producer and Instructional Designer
  
• Pamela N. Martinez - Project Manager
  
• John ‘C.C.’ Chamberlin - Lead Programmer/ 3D Developer
  
• Elizabeth Sohn - Senior Multimedia Designer
  
• Matt Byrnes - Senior Multimedia Designer
  
• Gerritt McGill - Animator/Illustrator
  
• James McVann - Animator/Illustrator
  
• Logan Ilcyzcyzn - 3D Modeler & Animator/Illustrator
  
• Kyle Fitzpatrick - Flash programming
• Jeremey Riopelle - Audio recording, editing and F/

 

Goals/ Objectives

This project was our small development team's most ambitious project yet.  Shooting for a complex, engaging, and immersive 3D game which could compete with commercial edutainment titles (in both fun and teaching effectiveness) was a tall order, especially with such a small budget and a target platforms used on typical school computers.  Yet with creative use of 2D animation, low-polygon 3D modeling, original songs, and engaging gameplay, we were able to make a game that not only looked good and was fun to play, but also successfully and reliably taught kids the science and food safety concepts we wanted to convey.  Teachers, students, content experts, and parents all have told us that this sort of science education software is groundbreaking - no one is producing content like this, even in the commercial edutainment market.  We met our goals with flying colors.

http://www.sciencepirates.org

Name of project
Science Pirates: The Curse of BrownBeard

 

Purpose

This USDA-funded project, led by NMSU, was designed to communicate food safety knowledge to mid-school youth nationwide, while creating an online environment fostering scientific exploration.   Original game design called for online gaming simulations through which youth would design their own experiments, draw conclusions and make recommendations. However, early testing of prototypes revealed the lack of experience youth have in conducting experiment design, and the instructional challenge of preparing students to adequately perform this important science process. The educational goal of Science Pirates shifted from one of understanding food safety issues through science processes, to one of understanding science processes to better change food safety behavior.

 

Marketing/Promotion

Demand for Science Pirates is growing, particularly as it is freely downloadable online. Team members have already presented the game at thirteen conferences (including those emphasizing science education, technology education, game design and health education), and are currently submitting articles to peer-reviewed journals on the design process, and the effectiveness of the game for use in or out of classrooms.

 

Role

• Jeanne Gleason, EdD - Executive Producer
  
• Barbara Chamberlin, PhD – Executive Producer and Instructional Designer
  
• Pamela N. Martinez - Project Manager
  
• John ‘C.C.’ Chamberlin - Lead Programmer/ 3D Developer
  
• Elizabeth Sohn - Senior Multimedia Designer
  
• Matt Byrnes - Senior Multimedia Designer
  
• Gerritt McGill - Animator/Illustrator
  
• James McVann - Animator/Illustrator
  
• Logan Ilcyzcyzn - 3D Modeler & Animator/Illustrator
  
• Kyle Fitzpatrick - Flash programming
• Jeremey Riopelle - Audio recording, editing and F/

 

Goals/ Objectives

This project was our small development team's most ambitious project yet.  Shooting for a complex, engaging, and immersive 3D game which could compete with commercial edutainment titles (in both fun and teaching effectiveness) was a tall order, especially with such a small budget and a target platforms used on typical school computers.  Yet with creative use of 2D animation, low-polygon 3D modeling, original songs, and engaging gameplay, we were able to make a game that not only looked good and was fun to play, but also successfully and reliably taught kids the science and food safety concepts we wanted to convey.  Teachers, students, content experts, and parents all have told us that this sort of science education software is groundbreaking - no one is producing content like this, even in the commercial edutainment market.  We met our goals with flying colors.

http://www.sciencepirates.org

Name of project
www.conservewatergeorgia.net

 

Purpose
Georgia has been experiencing an extreme drought. In response to the first ever state-mandated watering restrictions for municipalities, ultimately affecting all water utility provider users including residents, businesses, government entities, and industry, UGA Cooperative Extension partnered with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to create and disseminate a unified message about how to conserve water.  Conserve Water Georgia is a water conservation online informational clearinghouse with timely tips and tools for individuals, students and teachers, business and industry representatives and community leaders.

 

Without water conservation, Georgia will not be able to meet its water demands of the future. To meet the expectations of Georgia's leaders and citizens, UGA Cooperative Extension and the state Environmental Protection Division, along with other state agencies, are pursuing a coordinated and aggressive approach to water conservation.

The project’s objective is to provide relevant, timely information and easy to use tools for the public, educators, students, business, policy makers, legislators and local government officials and personnel.

 

Audience
The target audience consists of county governments, business and schools. Secondary audiences include policy and decision makers, legislators, potential program sponsors and local government officials and personnel.

 

Marketing/Promotion
Marketing and promotion of the website happens in several ways. All news stories which reference information from UGA or EPD reference it. A series of radio and television public service announcements (recorded by notable celebrities like UGA football coach Mark Richt and gardening guru Walter Reeves) promote it in conjunction with our 1-800-ASK-UGA1 encouraging people to contact their local Extension offices to learn more about water conservation or to go to the website. County agents from all over the state have written newspaper columns and hosted radio talk shows referencing the website address.  The site is also promoted through a supporting online newsletter.

 

Goals/Objectives
During 2008, the site received over 85,000 visits from over 70,000 unique visitors. The client has been thrilled with the end result. He reported a very enthusiastic reception to the site’s new look. Please see attached letter from client, Deron Davis. Though interest in the drought and watering restriction have waned over the fall and winter with the receipt of badly needed rainfall, there continue to be many questions from residents about the status of water restrictions and from those trying to find ways to help conserve water. See enclosed Google analytics for statistical overview.

 

Role

Highlights of the redesign include:

• Improved identity: logo/type-treatment that is recognizable and distinct, look-and-feel distributed to supporting online newsletter
• Interactive elements: helpful tips on home page rotates, a quiz is provided for visitors to test their water knowledge
• Increased usability: consistent, distilled information is carefully organized and easier to navigate; page titles and site map help users locate where they are in the site
• Focus on specific audiences: the primary navigation distinguishes between types of users
• Highlights specific programmatic info: the secondary navigation includes internal information, news room, waterSmart and WaterSense programs
• 508 compliant content: meets federal accessibility requirements via HTML mark-up, organization of information, image identification, and special features to skip navigation

Emily Pitts served as the web designer for the project. She provided an assessment of their existing website, met with the client throughout the redesign process and developed a template for the client to continue to add content and updates to the new and improved website. Please see letter enclosed from the client, Deron Davis our state water conservation contact with the EPD.

 

Marketing materials

• Conserve water magnet w/ indoor reduction tips - 40,000 distributed during 2008
• WaterSmart magnets w/ outdoor reduction tips - 40,000 distributed during 2008
• Rain gauges - 5,000 distributed during 2008
• Brochure - 50,000 printed and distributed beginning in 2008

http://www.conservewatergeorgia.net

Name of project
Information Technology/Communications "Working Smarter" Training Series

 

Purpose:
New and innovative technologies and techniques have transformed the workplace, yet not all employees are aware of the most efficient and effective ways to accomplish specific job duties.  The LSU AgCenter IT and Communications staffs developed a day-long training program dedicated to answering specific organizational needs and personnel requests in regards to best management practices in the areas of information technology and communications. The “Working Smarter” program consisted of topics such as “Making the Most of Microsoft Outlook,” “Creating e-Newsletters,” “Email Protocol” and “Writing for Local Media.” Six sessions were conducted across the state to make sure that all employees had access to the training within a reasonable driving distance.

Specific Objectives of the training included raising competencies of AgCenter employees, highlighting best practices, offering sessions throughout the state to ease travel burden for field employees, and providing training on topics that an AgCenter survey deemed the most requested and needed.
The sessions featured:

• IT and Communications personnel and Extension and Research personnel with extensive experience on the training topics
• Wireless Internet capabilities at training sessions
• Instant end result surveys conducted at training
• IT regional tech support available for hands-on assistance
• Resources (agenda, handouts and presentations) posted on the Web for review before, during and after the sessions.
• Aarchived training on the Web for future viewing.

 

Audience
This project spans all individuals with full or partial LSU AgCenter appointments and was open to every level of employee from Extension, Research and administrative departments. The training was made mandatory for Extension personnel by the Extension director.

Marketing/Promotion
An email announcement was sent by the LSU AgCenter Vice Chancellor with an over view of the training and with directions to register online, and the LSUAgCenter IT Training Website had an announcement of the training on the front page with links to online registration and the agenda. There were also numerous follow-up emails from the Vice-Chancellors of Research and Extension encouraging employee participation, and reminders were posted to the main intranet site.

Goals/Objectives
The project has been considered by the LSU AgCenter administration to be a great success. All major goals and objectives were met. Surveys sent out at the end the end of training gave a successful picture of the impact of the program and will be used to tailor future sessions to maximize impact.  We hope to offer this training several times a year.

 

Role

• Fred Piazza, CIO and presenter
  
• Sandy Fiser, IT Manager and project planner
  
• Tanya Ruffin, training coordinator and presenter
  
• Page Langlois, administrative coordinator            
  
• Frankie Gould, presenter
  
• Linda Benedict, presenter
  
• Tobie Blanchard, presenter
  
• Mike Carl, presenter
  
• Dave Woerner, presenter
  
• Bruce Garner, presenter