 |
Base Station Safari The oceans of the world can be likened to a complex organism, much like man himself. We are both made up of an intricate network of complex and interdependent systems that must work in harmony to ensure the survival of the whole entity and we are both succeptible to effects from outside influences. Today the oceans are suffering from overuse and disrespect. Scientists, using an ever-growing arsenal of scientific tools, are just beginning to scratch the surface in an effort to understand how they work. But if we are to save and protect the oceans, we cannot leave it up to just the scientists, we all need to get involved and become better informed. The new, interactive CD-ROM, Base Station Safari is a unique and very comprehensive look into the world of the oceans and ocean research.
As Cadets we are issued a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) which allows us to move throughout the different areas of the ship at will in order to access the various resources needed to accomplish our mission. For example, on the bridge we learn about navigation and the equipment needed to get us safely from point A to point B. Through inter-active displays, text and graphics, we are introduced to the mechanics of Radar, Sonar, GPS and the Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System (ECPINS). Cadets are also given a great deal of information on weather, how it is formed and the tools we use to predict it. In the Bio Lab we are introduced, through videos, graphics, audio and text, to biomes, wave harmonics, coastal geography, intertidal zonation and the various Phyla of animals found in the oceans. And on the dive deck we are briefed on dive gear, the history of diving and the effects of water pressure. At the ROV station, we are given an opportunity to pilot a virtual ROV and see, via videos, the different life we might encounter from nudibranchs to six-gill sharks. Cadets are also issued a pouch into which information can be stored for quick reference at a later date. Base Station Safari is not a game, although there are many educational and insightful games that can be accessed. As a cadet, I created my own fish and programmed it with a variety of characteristics such as breeding rate, intelligence level and aggres siveness and saw how it survived in the natural order of things. And at the Navigator level I was able to manipulate the popula tion dynamics of various species of marine creatures and observe the reaction throughout the food web. Base Station Safari is not a game that you play for an hour or two and then it's over. It's an exciting trip through the intricate world of the marine environment, the problems it faces and man's attempts to unlock it's secrets. It is an on-going project and as players are promoted through the ranks, from cadet through mission commander, they are introduced to more in-depth studies of the marine environment and given more challenging tasks. Occasionally there were areas of each room where we were denied access until we have been promoted to a higher level. There is a wealth of information on this CD-ROM as well as access to Internet Explorer and a built-in authoring tool with which students can create personalized multimedia projects. Anyone with a keen interest in the oceans will find Base Station Safari an invaluable source of reference. It will also be a very useful tool in the classroom - at all levels. DIVER Magazine would like to thank Ben Rabinovitch for his assistance in preparing this article.
|
Aboard the virtual vessel Base Station Safari
participants are introduced to the many facets of marine research and the tools
and techniques involved. We join the crew as Cadets and work our way up through a series of five promotions to the level of
Mission Commander and at each level there are a series of mission objectives and learning tasks that must be accomplished
before being promoted to the next rank.