| Title | Multimedia ArcView Research and Teaching Help Assistant (MARTHA) |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Arts |
| Status | Completed |
| Duration | 3 Years |
| Initiation | 04/01/1999 |
| Completion | 03/31/2002 |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Title | The Virtual T.A. – A Web-Based Knowledge Based Help Assistant |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 1999/2000 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Brian Klinkenberg |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 25,000 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Brian Klinkenberg, Geography, Faculty of Arts |
| Year 1: Summary | (Summary unavailable) |
| Year 2: Project Title | Multimedia ArcView Research and Tutorial Help Assistant (MARTHA) |
| Year 2: Project Year | Year 2 |
| Year 2: Funding Year | 2000/2001 |
| Year 2: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 2: Principal Investigator | Brian Klinkenberg |
| Year 2: Funded Amount | 15,000 |
| 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 Year | Year 3 |
| Year 3: Funding Year | 2001/2002 |
| Year 3: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 3: Principal Investigator | Brian Klinkenberg |
| Year 3: Funded Amount | 22,192 |
| Year 3: Team Members | Brian Klinkenberg, 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. |