Empowering Women in Hydrography 2024: Kimberly’s Experience

Kimberly’s first week on site with IC-ENC

IC-ENC were delighted to participate for the second time in the IHO Empowering Women in Hydrography initiative, with a project focused on eLearning. Kimberly Mason (BSH, Germany), the EWH successful candidate, began her secondment with IC-ENC virtually throughout August, before joining IC-ENC Headquarters in Taunton, UK, in September to lead on this continuous project as part of Production Support. Kimberly’s focus was on creating bitesize eLearning content on S-100 related topics to be uploaded to the IC-ENC Learning Management System (LMS).

During her time with IC-ENC, Kimberly recorded her experience and learnings which are shared below:

Ruth White, IC-ENC Production Support Officer and Kimberly Mason

Week 1

During the month of August, I worked on the project virtually on Monday and Thursday afternoons. My main task during this time was to prepare a survey to send to Members, asking them what eLearning topics they would be most interested in undertaking.

In the first week, I started thinking about what S-100 topic would be useful for Members along with questions to put in the survey. I met with Ruth White (IC-ENC Production Support Officer and secondment lead) virtually for the first time, to discuss the project, organisation of the secondment and travel arrangements. My Request for Visit – the document required for me to be able to travel to IC-ENC headquarters - was finally approved and my flights to the UK could be booked!

Week 2

I had a virtual meeting with Ruth to discuss my draft of the survey before it was finalised and sent to Members. I then met with Suzanne Lewis (UKHO Digital Learning Advisor) virtually, who gave me an introduction to Articulate360 - the software I would use to create the eLearning course. It was clear that Suzanne had extensive knowledge of Articulate360, and she provided valuable advice on how to effectively use the software to present course content in an engaging way. I was impressed by the design of the courses built with Articulate360 and quickly realised there was much to learn, given the software's wide range of features.

Week 3

By week 3, I began receiving responses from the survey, allowing me to start analysing the results. Clear trends emerged from the initial batch, revealing some insightful ideas. Based on these trends, I updated the survey to include these as potential eLearning topics. Additionally, I spent time watching video tutorials on Articulate360 software to better understand the range of course content that can be created.

Week 4

I had a virtual meeting with Laura Tyzack (IC-ENC S-100 Support Officer) to discuss the survey results and brainstorm potential eLearning course topics. With her extensive experience working with IC-ENC Members, Laura offered valuable insights, including a suggestion to focus on complex features like bridges. After reviewing 44 survey responses, it became clear that Members favoured short eLearning courses to accommodate their busy schedules, and that S-57 to S-101 conversion was a priority for many. These insights guided my research into the most popular topic suggestions.

Week 5

On September 1st, I travelled to Taunton, UK, to continue my project at IC-ENC Headquarters (United Kingdom Hydrographic Office) for four weeks. I received a warm welcome from the IC-ENC team on my first day in the office. Ruth provided a comprehensive overview of IC-ENC’s activities, and I also met with Suzanne, who offered valuable advice and inspiration for planning my eLearning course using Articulate360. During the week, I set up my Articulate360 account and began exploring the software through tutorials. I completed the analysis of the survey results sent to Members in August and selected a topic for my eLearning course. By the end of the week, I had drafted an outline, identified information sources, and started planning the course content.

Week 6

In my sixth week, I focused on adding course content to Articulate360 and began considering the overall design of the course. I also started drafting quiz questions to include at the end, aiming to make the course more engaging for Members. On Monday, I had a catch-up meeting with Ruth to review project progress and plan the upcoming week. I also met with Suzanne again, who answered my questions about Articulate360 and gave helpful advice on writing a clear course introduction, ensuring the content would be easily understood by learners.

Later in the week I met with Sarah Finch, UKHO International Training Officer, who develops many eLearning courses. She shared valuable tips on designing eLearning courses, particularly for presenting technical content. I also had a meeting with Laura, where we reviewed the course together, and she provided helpful suggestions to further improve the content.  I then had the opportunity to tour the UKHO archives, where hundreds of thousands of hydrographic documents and charts are stored. It was fascinating to see some of the historical charts and artifacts on display, including the oldest chart from the 1600s. As someone who enjoys charts, I found this incredibly interesting!

Kimberly and Rear Admiral Angus Essenhigh OBE

Week 7

I met with Oliver Parkhouse, UKHO International Training Officer, who has experience developing and delivering S-100 training courses, including topics on bridge conversion. He pointed me to useful resources and provided good examples of bridges that I could incorporate into the course. I also had another meeting with Suzanne, where we reviewed the course together, and she gave excellent advice on improving its accessibility and clarity. Laura assisted by creating CARIS screenshots of a bridge and its components to include as examples in the course. I spent time preparing the course for review, and Ruth shared a draft with the Production Support Working Group for valuable feedback. Realising I had quite a lot of content, I decided to develop an introductory course on features and attributes separately, rather than combining it with the bridges course.

Week 8

My time at IC-ENC Headquarters in Taunton flew by! As my final week began, I reviewed all the feedback from the Production Support Working Group, Laura, and Suzanne, making the suggested changes. I also added examples and worked on formatting and editing the course.

I was invited to present my secondment experience to the UKHO Data Acquistion team and UKHO National Hydrographer, Angus Essenhigh, sharing insights from the survey results and the courses I developed. Toby Pascoe, IC-ENC Data Validator, wrapped up my time at IC-ENC by providing an overview of the entire ENC validation process.

Final thoughts:

I am very grateful for the opportunity to take part in an EWH secondment at IC-ENC. The team was incredibly welcoming and supportive, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of creating eLearning courses. IC-ENC provided me with the freedom to lead the project and shape it according to my interests, which was both empowering and challenging, especially as it was my first time developing eLearning content. Through this experience, I learned a great deal about how to present information effectively to learners. Additionally, I deepened my understanding of S-101 and conversion processes, particularly when it comes to bridges. Although the eLearning course I developed focused on the specific topic of bridge conversion, I hope it serves as a useful resource for understanding the Data Classification and Encoding Guide. I believe the knowledge gained from this course will be valuable for the conversion of other features as well.

Kimberly presenting her course and experience to UKHO Data Acquisition team (in person and virtually)