instructor-none-2 – Page 193 – CI Keys

The data…the data…

April 16, 2015/in data entry, Woodlands /by Sean Anderson

Posted from Camarillo, California, United States.

Entering Data into our master data file in the old GIS lab at CSU Channel Islands.

Key to our efforts to restore the bottomland hardwood forests in coastal Louisiana is rigorous science. And that mean rigorous data. And that means rigorous quality control.

Typing in band transect data in the old GIS lab in Bell Tower at CSU Channel Islands.

The challenge with bringing large groups of folks into the forest and divvying them up into distinct data collection teams has always been (and always will be) the integration of the data products at the end of the effort.

While our trip is over, our data QA/QC (Quality Assurance and Quality Control) and data formatting journey has not yet ended. This year we have run into several struggles with Google Sheets. Apparently as we thought we were nearing the finish line, we discovered that our large data files were getting trimmed/truncated do to a quirk in the spreadsheet layout. This seems to have resulted in us effectively losing several band transects-worth of data. As everyone was burned out (and also a few mysteriously suffering due to the pizza I bought for dinner), we called it a night.

We will reconvene next week to then hopefully finish up our data. Somehow I suspect that it might take longer than I hope…

January Santa Rosa Island Video

April 15, 2015/in Uncategorized /by Sean Anderson

Watch the highlights from our trip to Santa Rosa Island in January

CI Computer Girls hosting a Coding Boot-camp on 4/18 and 4/25

April 14, 2015/in CI Computer Girls /by Anna Bieszczad

The Coding Bootcamp is a series of day-long Saturday workshops hosted by the CI Computer Girls club at Ojai Hall 1952 on 4/18 and 4/25 from 9am to 5pm where students can learn some computer programming without having had any prior experience. This event is led by current CI students and is open to all CI students. Students can sign up for 1 or 2 workshops, each designed to introduce them to fun programming concepts. We will also have speakers present who will talk about their experiences working in tech. Students will learn how to create their own webpage and make it interactive as well as use CI Keys in order to build their own space online in a dynamic and friendly environment! Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Students must register online to attend the event at http://tinyurl.com/CodingBootcamp . Space is limited and selection will be based on a first come first served basis. Contact csuci.computer.girls@gmail.com for more information (participants and volunteers are welcome).

twitter: @CIComputerGirls
instagram: @ci_computer_girls

2015CodingBootcamp-CIComputerGirls

Crossing the Channel STEM program

April 12, 2015/in Uncategorized /by Sean Anderson

We are very passionate about getting kids excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Currently we run mentoring programs at three K-12 schools: a VEX Robotics Competition club at Briggs Middle School, ROV design and construction modules with Frank Middle School and Channel Islands High School. The ROV modules are part of the marine sciences academy of the two respective schools. The program is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is titled “Crossing the Channel”. It combines CSU Channel Islands faculty, students, and professional mentors, to teach the K-12 students about the Channel Islands, marine and environmental science.

Last week we spent two days with Channel Islands High School and reviewed the uses of ROVs in research. We covered all of the projects that the team is currently participating in, and some of the preliminary results. This got the students very excited because they had the opportunity last year to build PVC ROVs. Our research projects allowed them to see the real applications, and helped to link the topics in marine ecology and biology that they have been learning. Our team then reviewed the basics of designing ROVs, and eight teams designed and constructed their own.

Being that the program is based on hierarchal mentoring, the high school students disassembled their ROVs and made them into kits, complete with instructions for their counterparts at Frank Middle School. Our team will be at Frank Middle School all next week, constructing the ROVs, applying buoyancy, ballast, motors, electronics and then piloting!

The following week, we will be taking both Frank Middle and Channel Islands High school students to Santa Rosa Island to visit our research station! We will be heading out aboard the NOAA research vessel, the R/V Shearwater, and along the way, members of our team will be deploying our OpenROVs in a research project, which will allow the K-12 students to witness real research being done with ROVs, and have the opportunity to actively participate!