E-LEARNING TOOLS FOR CHEMICAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) New Leaf Interactive Media, working with the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute at Kirkwood Community College will, over a 2-year period, use cutting-edge technologies to produce and pilot-test three (3) DVD videos that are multi-platform, video-interactive, and customized for training three separate audiences. DVD technology has not been used to date for interactive training that creates simulated environments in which the user makes real-world choices and then realizes the consequences of those choices. The DVDs will consist largely of menus (choices) and video (results of choices). These E-learning tools will use new technologies and teaching paradigms to reinforce serious subject matter. They can be widely disseminated and are easily packaged and replicated in a commercial run of any desired quantity. The DVD-video is playable on inexpensive consumer DVD players and on personal computers equipped to play video DVD. The intent of the project is to, 1) minimize the "digital divide" by providing a product playable on a $100 consumer device, and 2) explore the interactive capabilities of video DVD. Content will include environmental health and safety refresher and recertification materials for workers and managers. Participants will be tracked and scored based on time and materials used in responses. They will be tested for competency attainment in a variety of ways including pen and paper, disc, and website-based tests. By the end of the 2-year period, the project will have produced and pilot-tested three Master DVDs and will look toward commercialization in Phase II. The three DVD Exercises may be completed in 15-20 minutes, with 8 correct decisions, or in several hours, if poor choices are made for a total of 26 unwise decisions. The Exercises include the following: The Mystery Drum Exercise in which participants learn to identify and contain a spill of an unknown chemical. In the Lock-out Tag-out in a Confined Space Exercise, participants are presented a set of problems related to making a safe entrance through lockout procedures, entry procedures, and choices in ventilation and respiratory protection. This exercise will not have one "right" answer, but multiple routes to the successful entry and rescue of an injured worker. In Brownfields, participants plan to redevelop a four-block site previously occupied by 10-12 businesses that contaminated the area in different ways with PCB-contaminated electrical equipment, asbestos-containing building materials, and drums of disregarded hazardous waste. Participants will research printed historical documents, walk through the area noting potential safety hazards, and then develop a clean-up plan through a series of menu-driven choices.