Kline-Robach, Ruth

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12Embracing Information Technology:  A New Era for Water Resources Programm ingRuth Kline-RobachMichigan State UniversityIntroductionThe current dra matic g rowth in  the use ofinformation technologies worldwide provides educationalinstitutions with an unprecedented opportunity to expand theimpact of instructional programming a nd technology transfer.Largely underserved segments of the population areincreasingly becoming electronically linked with theseinformation technologies, and data and information that hastraditionally been out of reach of the general population isbecoming widely accessible.  With the explosion of technology,  however, comesthe challenge of providing site-specific data in an educationalcontext that is not only comprehensive, but usable by citizensand leaders who are ultimately responsible for makingdecisions that affect the quality of land and water resources.In addition, linking local com munities w ith water resourcesprofessionals and ass isting them  in accessing the enormousamounts of on-line information are also critical componentsfor the successful utilization of information.The Institute of Water Resea rch (IWR) at MichiganState University (MSU) seeks to utilize informationtechnologies to encourage electronic communications,increase information  exchange, and  enhance citizens' accessto land and water resources data.  By increasing outreacheducation  and water resources technology transfer throughadvanced information s ystems, IWR plans to lay thefoundation  for decision making based upon sound s cientificinformation, and to augment the water-related educationalprogramming offered throughout the state and region.Specifically, the IWR  will contin ue to build  uponwork in the following areas:  1) providing cos t-effectiveelectronic networking opportunities to local organizationswhich address water resources issues ; 2) expanding access toeducational resources via the Internet; 3) developing land andwater resources-related curricula to reach rem ote audiencesthroughout the state; and 4) developing and supporting multi-media educational opportunities for K-12 educators.Back groundWith a notable history in water resources technologytransfer and education, the IWR  has entered into the Landand Water Systems (LAWS) Partners hip, a coop erativerelationship with M SU's  Center for Remote Sensing (CRS).To help MSU strengthen its non-traditional education,outreach, and interdisciplinary studies in Michigan and thenation, LAWS dedicates its efforts to addressing currentproblems and issues.  Utilizing the multidisciplinary expertiseof both units as well as a multitude of resources, such as theCRS 's data archive of nearly 150,000 aerial photographs,LAWS assists organizations and individuals in makingdecisions that affect land and water resources.The development of on-line information resourceshas been a  natu ral p rogres sion  for the LA WS staff,  who haveproduced and supported a variety of information technologies.Activities have included developing C-Map , a GeographicInformation  System for data sharing, problem analysis andproblem solving; d eveloping a  Wetlan ds InformationManagement System  for ass essing w etlan d functions andtypes; and exploring data access, integration and a nalysisthrough environmental information systems.The IWR also provides networking  support for localand regional organizations.  In 1988, through a uniquepartnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the IWRlaunched  the Groundwater Education in Michigan (GEM)Program.  Initiated to explore opportu nities for changing theway Michigan citizens think and act about groundwater,GEM has supported  the development of more than 35 diversegroundw ater education and protection projects, with goalsranging from the develop ment of groundwa ter educat ioncurricula for school children to a ssisting  communities  in thedevelopment and implementation of local wellhead protectionprograms.GEM grantees have included many diverseorganizations, from local groups such as nature centers andhealth departments, to regional organizations such aswatershed  counc ils and cou ncils  of government.  Sixuniversities  throughout Michigan serve as GEM RegionalCenters, providing technical and program sup port to the localprojects.  As the GEM Program facilitator, the IWRencourages communications and networking among GEMgrantees and other organ izations wh ich deal with  waterresources and related issues.  A key to GEM's success hasbeen the informal information sharing among these groups.The backbone for this exchange was established with thelaunching of GEMN ET, an electron ic commun ications  toolfor the GEM network of organizations and individuals.13GEMNET:  Electronically Linking Michigan's WaterResour ces C omm unity Pooling knowledge and information can clearly beadvantageous for any resource professional .  Increa sin gly,"electronic communities" are being formed to assist interestgroups in addressing problems, establishing forums andseeking solutions.  Who knows of the latest wellheadprotection area delineation in  Michiga n?  What are theadvantages and disadvantages of a particular GIS system?What is the reason ing beh ind prop osed changes to aparticular piece of water resources legislation?  Questionssuch as these are routinely asked and discussed byindividuals utilizing GEM NET.  GEMNET is a user-friendly, menu-driven, PC-based electronic mail and Bulletin Board System (BBS),designed  to allow users to quickly become proficient at usingthe system's capabilities.  Originally supported for GEMProgram grantees, the system has expan ded to provide cost-effective communications to a variety of individuals andorganizations.  Similarly, the topical emphasis has alsoexpanded from primarily ground water to include s urfacewater and other environmental issues.  GEMNET allowslocal organiza tions which ma y not otherwise have access toelectronic mail or conferencing to access a user-friendlycommunications system.  The only requirement is a personalcomputer and a modem.  In addition to offering electronic mail ca pabilities  tousers of the system, G EMN ET provides  a forum fordiscussions on various topical areas through its SpecialInterest Groups (S IGs).  SIGs are a ven ue for conferencing onspecific issues, allowing users to air their views, shareexperiences, and request inform ation or advice in a bulletinboard format.  Since SIGs take on the role of an electronicperiodical related to a certain theme, new users may readthrough previously-posted messages.  Currently, all SIGmessages since 1991 have been preserved.The topics of the SIGs chan ge as needs  arise, andcurrently include forums for discussing environmental issues,planning and zoning for wellh ead protect ion, upcomingevents, and computer hardware and software technical issues,among others.  One of GEM NET's m ost active SIGs is GIS-Talk, which h as been  used as  a supp ort and d iscuss ion toolfor GIS users.  U sers share concerns and information  onsoftware upgrades, offer tips for dealing w ith GIS software orsimply discuss th e relative merits of a particula r GIS packag e.Mass mailings can be used as an alternative to posting SIGmessages, and are especially useful for messages  whosecontents need to be read immediately.  For specific interestgroups, customized system mailing lists may be set up by thesystems operator.  Personal mailing lists can also beconfigured for individual users.In addition, GEMNET has the ability to facilitatethe archiving and transfer of electronic files in most formats.File archiving and transfers can be performed in three ways:as e-mail and SIG attachments, direct SIG uploads anddow nloads , and archived i tems in  the file l ibrary.Until now, GEMNET has existed as a stand-aloneBBS.  However, the IWR will soon upg rade the system toallow for connectivity to the Internet.  Users will have accessto Internet e-mail and select newsgroups throug h a Unix toUnix Communications P rotocol host.  Depending upon auser's individ ual system, th e benefits may include: C send/recei ve electronic mail to/from any Internetuser; C log onto host computers (if the user has anaccount) anywhere on the Internet; C transfer files to/from host computers viaanonymous file transfer protocol (ftp); C access select Internet newsgroups;C enhanced int ernal GEM NET featuresReaders are encouraged to access GEMNET and sharetheir expertise.  At the host prompt, type:  telnetgemnet.rs.msu.edu.  The numerical address is 35.8.121.101.If direct access or a local number to access the Internet isunavailable, users may, using a modem with communicationssoftware, dial MSUnet at 517-353-8500 (300-2400 Baud) or517-432-3200 (9600-38400 Ba ud).  At the MSUnet promp t,telnet using the above address.  Long distance charges willapp ly.  Communications p arameters should be set to 8 databits, 1  stop bi t, no parity.Showca sing Materials and Services Via World Wide WebAnyone with access to the Internet knows of thevoluminous amount of information  currently available.Where else can res ource professionals chat on-line withresearchers and specia lists from around  the world, trans fertext and graphics files, or download the latest software?  Linking these resources provides a tremendous opportunity toshare information and expand educational programming.GEMNET has been particularly attractive toorganizations which m ay not have the equipment or softwarethat is necessary to access and display graphical information.However, the annotation a nd graph ics capabilities that areavailable through the World Wide W eb (the Web) greatlyenhance the "Internet experience."  To capitalize upon thedynamic capabilities  of the Web, LAWS is currently in theprocess of developing its home page (see Figure 1).14Providing new access to the IWR and CRS has been theinitial goal in the developm ent of the LAWS home page.  Byintroducing educational materials that are available from theIWR and CRS , providing clickable images for educationalpurposes, and hyper linking  to other sources of information,LAWS is able to offer users instant access to information thatotherwise might take days or weeks to obtain throughtraditional channels.Further, since the LAWS  home page p rovideshyperlinks to other sites and sources of information, includingPurdue University's WETNET, the Universities  WaterInformation  Network, the N ational Instit utes for WaterResources  and others, users a re continually exposed to newinformation and resources.  Currently under construction, the LAWS home pageintroduces the four functional areas of the Partnership,including:C Knowledge Generation/Applications;C Advanced Technology Development;C Data A cces s an d In formation Technology;C Training  and Ed ucationGeneral information about the IWR and CRS, samples ofeducational materia ls and  basic ed ucationa l informationregarding water resources are available.  The home page also provides an index which catalogsaerial photography and other spatial data in M ichigan w hichare currently housed at the CRS.  Aerial photos that areavailable on a  coun ty by county basis are  indexed using ahierarchical classification system.  Users will be able tobrowse the information, determ ine if the aerial photographthat they require exists in the archive, and immediatelycontact LAWS on-line for more information about obtainingthe photo.Updates are continually being made to the home page,and suggestions from users are welcome.  To explore theLAWS h ome page,  the address is: http:\\ww w.rs .msu.edu/Future Efforts of the Institute of Water ResearchConsidering the hypermedia capabilities of the Internet,the use of information  technologies  to teach a va riety ofcourses is becoming a feasible addition to traditionaleducation.  The IWR is working to develop water-related curricula for use by diverse, non-traditional audiences,targeting areas of the state not routinely visited by theunivers ity.In cooperation with Purdue University's WaterResources Research Cente r, the IWR will  developeducational modules which address land use planning andwater iss ues .  The  mod ules will b e produced by creatingnumerous hypertext markup language (HTML) documentswhich can be accessed and displayed throu gh a W eb client.Using the Web's capacity to handle graphics, sound, text,video and an imation , the modules will be multi-media  innature, and w ill draw  upon the extensive data andinformation holdings at LAWS.  Initially working with threeeducational institutions in Michigan, the IWR hopes toexpand both the developm ent and  use of these modules in thefuture.  These educational modules may also be offered in aCD-RO M format.Universities  are certainly not the only educationalinstitutions "catching the wave!"  Increasingly, K-12educators are becoming involved and seeking to link up withothers to share experiences and data.  In cooperation with aMath and Science Center in Michigan , the IWR will helpteachers integrate ground water and  surface water stu dies andmonitoring data with on-line resources.  Priority future goalsinclude providing technical support to teachers  as theydevelop water-related databases, offering networkingcapabilities  within and outside of particular school districtsand helping to identify and access w ater-related informationover the Internet.  In addition, the IWR will work with theMath and Science Center to provide site-specific spatialinformation and GIS training to teachers, and as sist them inintegrating the information with their surface andgroundw ater studies to enha nce the learning  experience fortheir students.Further, LAWS will continue to expand the informationthat is available via  its home pag e, potentially includingadditional graphics, animations and other educationalmaterials.  Hyperlinks to other home pages  and in formationsources will be expanded on an ongoing basis, and on-lineordering capabilities and other options will be added.  Inaddition, GEMNET itself may potentially serve as a stand-alone Web server, with hyperlinks to the LAWS home pageand other related resources.Summary               Information technologies are propellingthis generation into a data-rich world, and  theopportunity  for  educa tional institutions to both reachnew  audiences  and enhance instruction is excellent.The  linkages  available  through   these  technologieswill expand the flow of information across universitiesand allow them to capitalize on the strengths andexpertise of water resources organizations  worldwide.  These interactions will ultimately lead tomore comprehensive information dissemination andsynergistic programming efforts.   The MSU Institute ofWater Research will continue to utilize the dynamiccapabilit ies of the Web and other technologies to supportwater resources professionals, reach non-traditionalstudents, and provide ready access to data andinformation that will help citizens make more informedland and water resource decisions.Ruth Kline-Robach is the GEM Program Director at theInstitute of Water Research and currently serves as aWater Quality Coordinator for Michigan State UniversityExtension.Figure 1.  The Land and Water Systems (LAWS) Partnership Home Page

Embracing Information Technology: A New Era for Water Resources Programming

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Embracing Information Technology: A New Era for Water Resources Programming

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