Educating Schools and Families with ToxRAP over MPEG-4

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of the STTR program "Educating Schools and Families with ToxRAP over MPEG-4" is to educate teachers, school-age children and their families on the identification and evaluation of environmental health problems so that they have the knowledge and skills to reduce their exposure to potential pollutants and prevent environment-related illnesses and diseases. Environmental health education materials for the classroom and home will be developed for distribution over the Internet, and potentially other channels, using the recently internationally ratified MPEG-4 format, which supports a greater audiovisual quality, interactivity, personalization, and distribution diversity among current multimedia standards. To avoid this education initiative from becoming "yet another web site," this collaboration will build upon the innovative and award winning ToxRAP (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution) curriculum series for K-9th grades that is currently being used in 3,500 classrooms in 22 states. The program will enhance the use of ToxRAP in the classroom and extend the ToxRAP lessons and concepts directly into the home for families. The content will be tailored on-demand to the individual learner (teachers, students and families), and will be designed to measure learner performance, and be interactive and accessible from a broad range of school, residential and community information technology assets. In Phase I, Creneaux and EOHSI/UMDNJ-SPH will demonstrate the feasibility, appeal, and accessibility of ToxRAP extensions and home activities in an online MPEG-4 format. A scale model website will be developed demonstrating the unique features of MPEG-4 ToxRAP to teachers, students, parents, and others in the community who will provide feedback prior to developing the full model website in Phase II. The current classroom ToxRAP program provides the infrastructure for Phase III on-line ToxRAP activities including teacher training, while the underlying MPEG-4 platform is applied to additional on-line curriculum. By using a ratified rich media standard, developments in MPEG-4 authoring and delivery mechanisms, including the forecasted adoption of MPEG-4 by wireless and broadcast providers, will also benefit ToxRAP and future curriculum using the underlying platform.