Multimedia ArcView Research and Teaching Help Assistant (MARTHA)

TitleMultimedia ArcView Research and Teaching Help Assistant (MARTHA)
Faculty/College/UnitArts
StatusCompleted
Duration3 Years
Initiation04/01/1999
Completion03/31/2002
Funding Details
Year 1: Project TitleThe Virtual T.A. – A Web-Based Knowledge Based Help Assistant
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year1999/2000
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorBrian Klinkenberg
Year 1: Funded Amount25,000
Year 1: Team Members

Brian Klinkenberg, Geography, Faculty of Arts

Year 1: Summary

(Summary unavailable)

Year 2: Project TitleMultimedia ArcView Research and Tutorial Help Assistant (MARTHA)
Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2000/2001
Year 2: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorBrian Klinkenberg
Year 2: Funded Amount15,000
Year 2: Team Members

Brian Klinkenberg, Geography, Faculty of Arts

Year 2: Summary

The objective of the project is to develop a virtual Teaching Assistant to aid in the learning of a Geographic Information System (GIS) software program (ArcView) that is currently widely used on campus by undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty in Departments such as Archaeology, Epidemiology, Forest Soil Science and Zoology. Using a web-based interface, multimedia help/answers will be provided to users across campus and, eventually, to extension students off campus. The rationale for the project is that presently over $20,000 is spent every year on campus on this GIS program alone. The technical sophistication of the program means that few people on campus can master it, qualified T.A. support is difficult to obtain, and the teaching of off-campus extension courses is severely restricted by the inability to provide software support or knowledgeable T.A. support. None-the-less, the program is increasingly being used on campus and support must be provided if UBC students and researchers are to remain competitive. The methods used to develop the product will be student-based: students will develop the knowledge-base predicated on their own experiences with the GIS program. The knowledge-base will be populated with more than just text answers-multimedia solutions will be created illustrating not only the solution to the problem but also the concept behind the question. The Multimedia ArcView Research and Tutorial Help Assistant (MARTHA) program will be supervised and maintained by a graduate student using knowledge-based software and other programming tools.

Year 3: Project YearYear 3
Year 3: Funding Year2001/2002
Year 3: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 3: Principal InvestigatorBrian Klinkenberg
Year 3: Funded Amount22,192
Year 3: Team Members

Brian Klinkenberg, Geography, Faculty of Arts
Sally Hermansen, Instructor, Geography, Faculty of Arts

Year 3: Summary

The objective of the project is to develop a virtual teaching assistant to assist in the learning of a Geographic Information Systems software program (ArcView) that is currently widely used on campus by undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty in Departments such as Archaeology, Epidemiology, Forest Resource Management, Geography, Landscape Architecture, the School of Community and Regional Planning, Soil Science and Zoology. Using a web-based interface, multimedia help/answers will be provided to users across campus and, eventually, to extension students off campus. The rationale for the project is that presently over $35,000 is spent every year on campus on these two GIS programs. The technical sophistication of the programs means that few people on campus can master them, qualified T.A. support is difficult to obtain, and the teaching of off­-campus extension courses is severely restricted by the inability to provide technical assistance. Nonetheless, the programs are increasingly being used on campus and support must be provided if UBC students and researchers are to remain competitive.