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The Great Lakes Adventure CD-ROM teaches students about the five Great Lakes and the steps that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is taking to monitor and solve potential environmental problems. A special feature of this CD-ROM is an interactive tour of the ship that allows users to control the viewing direction. A Youth Activity Sheet and Teacher key is included on the Teacher CD.

An extensive planning phase determined the scope and sequence of the final product. This work involved University faculty, education consultants, and EPA administrative, technical, and scientific personnel. Director software (Macromedia) was used to create the program based on the outline determined in the planning phase. Frequent review by project directors and EPA personnel were utilized at critical points in the development. A draft CD-ROM was created and pilot tested with our target audience (middle school and high school youth) in both formal and nonformal settings. Evaluation results of the pilot tests were utilized to improve the program before the final CD-ROM was created.

Formal and nonformal educator response to the CD-ROM has been excellent. The Great Lakes Adventure CD-ROM received an ASAE Blue Ribbon Award in 1999 (Educational Aids division). The author feels that the time involved in the planning and development before beginning programming was critical to this success.