Entries from March 2014 ↓

Whew, the data entry, checking and editing are largely done and procedures written for adding in more materials.  Perhaps a better way to think of the sabbatical progress to date is to consider a new house under construction,.  The structure is built, the roof is on, doors hung, windows in,  siding is up, and the electrical and plumbing are installed but not inspected.  The house is liveable, but there is a bit to go yet before it becomes a home.

All three objectives of the sabbatical are met.  But all three objectives still need polish to become truly functional and autonomous, meaning user-friendly.  Several thousand lines of data are compiled, more than a thousand pictures are shot, and the software interfaces are in place.  The roles of the various software can be summarized as follows:

data collection   Excel:  data entry and compilation, verification and text output

data reduction and analysis   Google Earth Pro: data input via Excel text files, geo-editing, geo-locating, and KML generation

data display, inquiry and outreach  Layered Earth: KML display in a data-rich and visually enhanced setting

Please watch the new YouTube video showcasing the touchtable!

( if it doesn’t appear try this URL   http://youtu.be/U7p2J9P8kDw)

I do not have much to report, unless I were to describe the daily sweat of chasing down and polishing everything.

In the heavy lifting department all the Ryan Museum specimens are plotted on the globes of Google Earth and The Layered Earth.  I have started better location resolution of the specimens using a variety of other data sources to pin down locations more precisely.   United State Geological Survey maps are readily available in KML format for all states and CONUS.  Data proofing audits are started.  Interface development is underway and data entry and edit programs are being refined.

Still to go are the guestbook, locations of specimens in the Museum, specimen images, and external links to more information, such as webmineral.com.

Whew, do I have enough to do?   Yes, but what a rewarding project.  I expect to have some middle school student in the Museum in early April to do some beta-testing of the table

Next update will have some YouTube videos of touch table operations.