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By Paul Schreilechner - February 2003
Paul Schreilechner reports on new ways of presenting ecological insights by combining multimedia technologies with geographic information and database systems. Via TREBIS, a biodiversity information system, the Vorarlberger Naturschau, a natural history museum in Austria, opens up its digital archives.
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In the TREBIS project [1], the Vorarlberger Naturschau [2], a regional natural history museum opens its digital archives to the public, attracting visitors by presenting on-site information about current processes in nature: the distribution of animals and plants, biodiversity, endangered species and ecological facts. An interactive multimedia user front end including a geographic information system is tested and evaluated in the context of querying information stored in a museum's client-server database system.
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| Figure 1: Start screen of the TREBIS software |
Natural history museums across Europe own vast treasures of our cultural and natural heritage. Some of this heritage has been catalogued, very little has been digitised and presented via the World Wide Web. All in all, very little information on biodiversity has been made available to the public until now. In the TREBIS trial, up-to-date information is made accessible to museum visitors, in contrast to the traditional approach of presenting non-dynamic, sometimes even historic data without context. Recent developments in nature and their very own dynamics are taken into account through regular updates of the data.
What sets this project apart is an approach that goes beyond existing information systems: namely the integration of technologies such as a database management system, a desktop mapping system/geographic information system (GIS) and multimedia technologies.
The structure of TREBIS is based on a didactical concept which addresses the main aspects of teaching biodiversity. Via a multimedia interface the user can navigate through the different modules of the information system which are designed to address different personal interests. Whether you are interested in specific conservation issues or whether you just want to enjoy the beauty of nature, TREBIS allows you to approach biodiversity from your personal viewpoint.
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| Figure 2: Interactive maps help you to discover biodiversity hotspots |
| W. Barthlott et al., Department of Botany and Geography, University of Bonn. |
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| Figure 3: An interactive quiz about the ecology of Lake Constance |
During the trial visiting school classes as well as ordinary visitors tested the software and by so doing participated in an accompanying evaluation study which centred on motivational aspects. This study was carried out by the Department of Didactics for Biology at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich [5]. Initial results from the evaluation show that knowledge acquisition is enhanced by the interactive aproach to the topic. The design of the instruction process was shown to provide visitors with increased confidence as well as enjoyment, interest and excitement during their use of the program. Comparison with a control group, which watched a film instead, indicated that the information system provided equally effective learning outcomes but motivated its learners more. Other results indicated that younger students showed higher content-related and computer activity-related motivation than older students. Girls showed higher content-related, program-related and computer activity-related motivation than boys.
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| Figure 4: School children testing and evaluating the software |
This is a selection of comments from teenage students:
"The program is well built and I like the graphics. There is lots of information about nature. I especially love the content of the different topics and the quiz." (female student, Bundesgymnasium Lustenau, 4b)
"The program is very interesting. There are lot of things to look at and the design is good. I am not really interested in nature, but I really can imagine using the program during a visit to the museum." (male student, Bundesgymnasium Lustenau, 4b)
"The program design is excellent. You can find lots of information about characteristics of animals and plants. I could not even get through all of it. I definitely would use the program again when coming to the museum next time." (female student, Bundesgymnasium Feldkirch, 3e)
"I think the program is funny and instructive. It is also understandable for young people. But most of all I liked the quiz." (female student, Bundesgymnasium Feldkirch, 3e)
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The TREBIS partners are strongly committed to an extension of TREBIS-trialled technology. This would involve crossing national (and language) borders in a further stage, once the technology and the feasibility of the principal approach have been extensively tested and evaluated. Subsequently, the software and its user interface will not be limited to museum use, but also made available to the wide array of institutions involved in biological distribution issues and collections. This includes, for example, research organisations, botanical gardens, national parks, botanical stations, cloisters, archives and environmental groups. The trial will also show to what extent TREBIS technology may be applied directly in schools and universities, eventually contributing to the improvement of curricular and learning techniques.
Paul Schreilechner
Manager
Biogis Consulting GmbH
5071 WALS-SIEZENHEIM (near Salzburg)
Dr.-Hans-Lechner-Str. 6
Austria
Tel: +43 662 452216
Fax: +43 662 452216 22
URL: <http://www.biogis.at>
Email: paul.schreilechner@biogis.at
Paul Schreilechner is manager of Biogis Consulting GmbH which he founded in 1996. He is the coordinator of the TREBIS project. Over the last years he has managed several software development projects including BioOffice, a combined GIS and database software solution for managing biological distribution data.
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For citation purposes:
Schreilechner, P. "TREBIS - A biodiversity information system", Cultivate Interactive, issue
9, 7 February 2003
URL: <http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue9/trebis/>
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Related articles:
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< - TREBIS - natural history museum - multimedia - GIS - geographic information systems - evaluation - computer-based learning - motivation - interest - knowledge acquisition - >
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