July 31, 2011

National Leadership Council of the National Park Service Visits San Diego via HPWREN

By Susan Teel, Director, Southern California Research Learning Center, National Park Service

On a sunny February morning, from the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean, Tom Workman, Superintendent at Cabrillo National Monument, welcomes members of the National Park Service (NPS) National Leadership Council (NLC) to San Diego.

Superintendent Tom Workman, Cabrillo National Monument and Susan Teel, National Park Service, host a Sea to Shining Sea LIVE demonstration for the National Leadership Council.

The National Leadership Council (NLC) in a computer lab at the University of Maryland takes a LIVE tour of Cabrillo National Monument. The NLC is composed of the NPS Director, Chief of Staff, Deputy Directors, Associate Directors, Regional Directors, and other Washington Office staff which consult on major policy and program issues important to the NPS.

Susan Teel, Director of the Southern California Research Learning Center, led the NLC members on a whirlwind Live Interactive Virtual Explorations (LIVE) tour of the park, which included a quick dunk underwater in the tide pools to search for sea critters. Within moments, the group was experiencing the sights and sounds of waves crashing against the rock cliffs adjoining the tidepools. Pablo Bryant, San Diego State University, plunged the "camera on a stick" underwater and swished it around a tidepool for a few seconds then Nick de Roulhac, NPS, switched the video feed to views from the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) sitting on the rock cliffs.

A video "camera on a stick" was submerged to provide underwater views of the tidepools and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was placed on top of the rocks were waves crashed all around. Pablo Bryant braved the surf and operated both cameras.

After a minute immersed in high energy surf, the members of the NLC were transported back to the bluff above the tidepools to "bump into" 16th century Spanish explorers with weapons ready, arriving on shore. The last segment of the Sea to Shining Sea broadcast was a sampling of the living history program regularly offered by Cabrillo National Monument staff Robert Munson and Tavio del Rio. Behind the scenes, Jim Hale, High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network staff, set up and provided technical expertise to ensure flawless LIVE broadcasts and Rick Jenkins, NPS, coordinated staff and equipment.

The Sea to Shining Seea team on stand-by waiting for the signal to begin the LIVE broadcast.

The SCRLC, HPWREN, and CABR staff worked with Computer Science faculty at the University of Maryland (UMD) to conduct a series of four short LIVE tours for the National Leadership Council (NLC). The NLC is composed of the Director, Chief of Staff, Deputy Directors, Associate Directors, Regional Directors, and other Washington Office staff which consult on major policy and program issues important to the National Park Service.

The National Park Service National Leadership Council participates in a Live Interactive Virtual Exploration (LIVE) demonstration.

NPS Ranger using the LIVE backpack to conduct a LIVE program from the tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument.

After each LIVE tour, members of the NLC peppered Tom and Susan with many inquiries about LIVE including what software is used, what equipment is used, the cost of equipment, and how transportable the LIVE system is to other parks.

An inexpensive backpack system ($700), developed by the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN), allows park interpreters and scientists to easily move about in the field while broadcasting LIVE distance education programs. The instruction manual can be found at: http://seatoshiningsea.org/news.html. The video conferencing software used was Skype which is free, however Jon Jarvis suggested that the team try using WebEx, as it is approved for use over the NPS network.