GWG Train the Trainers Workshop

iDigBio GWG first Train the Trainers Workshop:
Expanding the Biodiversity Natural History Collections Georeferencing Community

October 8 - 12, 2012 Gainesville, Florida
iDigBio Offices, 105 Classroom Building

The Train the Trainers Workshop is organized by the iDigBio Georeferencing Working Group and hosted by the Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) HUB, a National Resource Center at the University of Florida and Florida State University. The workshop is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) Programs.

Reading Materials:

1. Georeferencing for Dummies
2. Best Practices Guide to Georeferencing
3. iDigBio Georeferencing Wiki https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Georeferencing

Bring your Datasets:

Software to download if wireless access needed. (Kevin)

Overview:

Biological specimens vouchered in natural history collections document the historical and modern occurrence of plant and animal species--and most of what we know about the diversity and distribution of life on earth. This workshop addresses a need in the natural history collections community to expand the number of individuals available and able to train natural history collections students, volunteers and staff how to turn text-based locality data into the best georeference possible.

Teaching those with georeferencing experience to teach others begins with the recognition of differences in locality data that exist between specimen preparation types due to their physical properties and discipline-specific handling, collecting and preservation methods, curatorial and conservation practice, storage environments, data conceptualizations, and data label techniques. Georeferencing locality data recorded on tags tied to vertebrate skins, on labels encircling snakes submerged in solutions of alcohol, on the lilliputian labels of pinned insects, and on the large, verbose labels glued on flat sheets of plant specimens, presents specific constraints and opportunities in each case for efficient georeferencing.

Goals of the Workshop:

1. To teach the best effective practices for georeferencing biological specimens for the purpose of creating georeferenced digital database records for publication and for new research applications of the biological, geospatial, and temporal information associated with specimens.
2. To discuss and dissect the dimensions of specific georeferencing needs based on the discipline involved and how to teach others the georeferencing nuances for a given collection type.
3. To engage the community in further dissemination of georeferencing skills and best practices.

Workshop Objectives:

1. To train a group of professionals from the biological sciences to become georeferencing trainers, via:
   a. Exploration of and experience with the key concepts and best practices of georeferencing using paper maps, online resources, semi-automated, and collaborative tools.
   b. Training in workflows, processes, and techniques needed to prepare data sets for georeferencing and improving data quality and fitness for use.
   c. Discussion and insight into how to plan and prepare for the presentation of a georeferencing workshop for others in the biodiversity and digitization communities.
2. To provide georeferencing support to Thematic Collections Networks involved in the digitization of data for the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program of the National Science Foundation through:
   a. Identification and examination of potential roadblocks and impediments to the the georeferencing process.
   b. Provision of solutions and recommended workflows, processes, and tools to meet the goals of the TCNs.
   c. Discussion of the inputs and costs necessary to create successful and efficient georeferencing projects at scale.
3. To establish an updating resource for the TCNs and the broad community within the biodiversity sciences, via:
   a.Creation of a roster of georeferencing “experts” able and willing to provide to support to individuals and groups within their geographic region and professional discipline.
   b. A resource for said “experts” to share their experiences (successes, failures, and recommendations) for the benefit of the broad community.

Desired Outcomes:

1. Participants’ georeferencing skills are enhanced after the workshop. (leave knowing more than when they arrived).
2. Each participant presents a georeferenced data set at the end of the workshop to the group.
3. Participants provide feedback - for the further development of this course.
4. Participants plan / outline a georeferencing workshop - share the plan with the group.
5. Participants share their future plans for when and where they will conduct their first training.
(post to iDigBio)
6. Participants fill out a post-workshop survey to assist in evaluating the workshop and contribute suggestions for the next workshop.
7. iDigBio Georeferencing Working Group utilizes outcomes / survey results to help shape future efforts and the next Train the Trainers Georeferencing Workshop.
8. Report back to NSF about survey results and workshop outcomes for future planning.

Informal Reception at (TBD) for any arriving on Sunday evening, 7 PM, October 7th.

Schedule of Events

Day 1, Monday October 8th

Time	Activity	Presenter
9:00	Welcome & iDigBio Overview	iDigBio PI Deb & Gil
9:10	Meet iDigBio - PI’s and Project Managers PI: Pam Soltis, David Jennings, Joanna McCaffrey (5 minutes each)	Paul
9:25	Trainer Introductions	Bloom
	Participants Introductions - InvertNet
	Participants Introductions - SCAN
	Participants Introductions - Paleoniches
	Participants Introductions - Macrofungi
	Participants Introductions - LBCC
	Participants Introductions - TTD
	Participants Introductions - MNEV
	Participants Introductions - Other Projects
10:00	Workshop Overview, Introduction to Georeferencing, and Thinking like a Trainer	Bloom/ Wieczorek
10:20	Train-the-Trainers Georeferencing Pre-workshop Survey Report	Shari Ellis
10:35	Break (Pascals)
11:00	Collaboration and Automation	Wieczorek
11:30	Geographical Concepts	Rios
11:50	Point-Radius Method and Best Practices	Bloom
12:10	Darwin Core Standard, Key Terminology	Wieczorek
12:30	Lunch
13:30	Georeferencing for Dummies, Locality Types, and Georeferencing Template	Spencer
14:40	Georeferencing Calculator	Wieczorek
15:30	Break
16:00	Georeferencing Calculator Example and Exercises	Wieczorek
17:00	Day in Review and Considerations for Trainers-to-be (Trivia Question - Paul)	Bloom
17:30	End

Optional Evening Activity is:
Oct. 8 | 6:30 p.m. Work out where the Gators play. 60 minutes of interval training inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Hosted by the world famous Florida Track Club: floridatrackclub.org

Day 2, Tuesday October 9th

Time	Activity	Presenter
9:00	Review and Questions	All
9:20	Meet iDigBio PI Larry Page	Paul
9:30	Internet Resources - Where to Begin?	Spencer
10:00	Exercises: Internet Resources	All
10:30	Break
11:00	Exercises: Internet Resources (continued)	All
12:15	More Online Resources (resources used by/requested by participants)	Bloom
12:30	Lunch
13:30	GPS Exercise Introduction	Wieczorek
13:45	GPS Exercises (outside)	All
15:15	Group Photo (outside)	All
15:30	Break
16:00	Georeferencing Using Paper Maps, Paper Maps Handout	Bloom
17:00	Day in Review and Considerations for Trainers-to-be (Trivia Question - Paul)	Bloom
17:30	END

Optional Evening Activity is:
Oct. 9 | 7-8:30 p.m. Water Sustainability: Public Challenges, Private Choices, with Pierce Jones, Ph.D., Professor and Director, UF Program for Resource Efficient Communities; Joe Delfino, Ph.D., Professor, UF Environmental Engineering Sciences; and Wendy Graham, Ph.D., Carl S. Swisher Chair in Water Resources and Director, UF Water Institute. The Water: Discovering and Sharing Solutions exhibit is open 6-7 p.m.
Location: Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road - Desserts and cash bar available.

To help plan for this free program, please RSVP at least one week in advance of the café date with your name and the number attending by emailing aerickson@flmnh.ufl.edu or calling Amanda Harvey, 352-273-2062.

Oct 9 | 7-10p.m. Team Trivia: The Laboratory : http://thelaboratorycafe.tk/

Oct 9 | 6:15 p.m. Campus 4 Miler. A group from the Florida Track Club meets at the north end of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to run a scenic 4 mile route through the UF campus. The pace usually ranges from 8-10 min/miles, although runners of all abilities are encouraged to participate!

Day 3, Wednesday October 10th

Time	Activity	Presenter
9:00	Review and Questions	All
9:20	Meet iDigBio PI Gregory Riccardi	Paul
9:30	Exercises: Using Paper Maps	All
10:30	Break
11:00	Exercises: Using Paper Maps (continued)	All
12:30	Lunch
13:30	Exercises: Using Paper Maps (continued)	All
14:40	Examples and Discussion: Process, Workflows, and Collaborations
15:30	Break
16:00	Process, Workflows, and Collaborations (continued)	Wieczorek
17:00	Day in Review and Considerations for Trainers-to-be, Volunteers for Training Demos (Trivia Question - Paul)	Bloom
17:30	Specify and Georeferencing: Tools and Workflows	Video
18:00	End

Optional Evening Activity is:
Downtown Gainesville, Union Street Farmers Market, 4 - 7 PM. Food and live music.
http://unionstreetfarmersmkt.com/index.php/vendors

Day 4, Thursday October 11th

Time	Activity	Presenter
9:00	Meet iDigBio PI Bruce MacFadden	Paul
9:10	Results: Paper Maps	Spencer
10:00	Paper Maps Review	Wieczorek
10:30	Break
11:00	Good and Bad Localities, Field Locality Handout	Bloom
11:15	Introduction to GEOLocate Project	Rio
12:00	Lunch
13:00	Using GEOLocate: Basics (Web Application)	Rios
13:30	Using GEOLocate: Batch Processing (Web App and Excel)	Rios
14:10	Using GEOLocate: Collaborative Georeferencing Administrative Portal	Rios
15:10	Using GEOLocate: Web Client	Rios
15:30	Break
16:00	Prioritizing Data: Getting the most bang for your buck, Picking low hanging fruit	Rios
16:15	Advanced GEOLocate: Taxon validation, Web services & integration, Building end to end georeferencing workflows	Rios
17:00	Day in Review and Considerations for Trainers-to-be (Trivia Question - Paul)	Bloom
17:30	Symbiota and Georeferencing: Tools and Workflows	Video
18:00	End

Evening Activity is: Group Dinner, Leonardo’s 706, 7PM

Day 5, Friday October 12th

Time	Activity	Presenter
9:00	Meet iDigBio PI Jose Fortes (5 minutes)
9:07	BioGeomancer Georeferencing Workbench	Wieczorek
9:45	BioGeomancer Workbench, Batch Processing	Wieczorek
10:30	Break
11:00	Data Set Preparation/BioGeomancer Project Exercises	Wieczorek
12:00	Open Work Session - Participant/TCN Georeferencing Projects (use those data sets)	All
12:30	Lunch
13:30	Open Work Session (continued)	All
14:30	Volunteer Training Demos	Trainees
15:50	Break
16:00	Workshop Evaluations	All
16:30	Day in Review and Considerations for Trainers-you-now-be	Bloom
17:00	Workshop Summary	Wieczorek
17:30	End

Optional Friday night activities:
free concerts downtown (same location as the wed night farmers mkt) - http://www.gvlculturalaffairs.org/website/programs_events/plaza_series/plaza.html