Zoosigns

An account of the development of the QUEST ZOOSIGNS datafile by two Year 8 students at Dawlish School, Devon.


The enclosure signs at Paignton Zoo were a datafile waiting to be written.  Here were collated facts on a topic of interest  to children of all ages and for us, in Dawlish, there was the added value of local interest.  An educational visit could be followed up by practical research where the chore of sorting and selecting would be left to the classroom workhorse - the computer!

Andrew and Eddie were both in the first term of Year 8.  In Year 7 they had followed a core IT module which had taught them the skills of data retrieval but this was their first real encounter with such skills as choosing fieldnames, deciding on field structure and keying in raw data.  The problem of data collection was solved by Paignton Zoo's Zoology Centre who had produced a booklet containing photocopies of the signs to be seen outside the various enclosures.

Initially the structure was based directly on this booklet but very soon they realised that what sufficed for the visitor strolling from cage to cage often lacked the essential consistency necessary to allow electronic manipulation.  Gestation period was sometimes quoted in weeks, sometimes in months; locations sometimes listed countries, at other times regions.  

Then too was the problem of what to do with some of the often anecdotal information found under "Behaviour", or in another box given over to fascinating items of information that did not fit neatly under any single heading.  There was a temptation to edit these out but we rejected this for two reasons.  Firstly such comments were often among the most interesting snippets of information and secondly to exclude them seemed to be making the structure of the datafile more important than the contents - something we felt had to be wrong.  The solution was to have two "free text" fields, one to cover behavioural aspects and the other to encompass anything else under the non-committal name of "Details" .

To begin with any field containing figures was made an integer field.  Rightly Andrew and Eddie questioned the risk of a false picture being given by standardising the entries to fit the fields.  What single figure does one give for the Abyssinian Colubus whose gestation period varies from 140 to 220 days?  And what does one make of the ostrich where up to 6 hens lay in the same scrape, and the "major" hen incubates up to 20 eggs of which fewer than 12 may be her own!  We decided the best solution was to use all string fields rather than risk subjecting data to misinterpretation by over simplifying it.  In fact, later, the Advisory Unit asked us to include some number fields and the final revision retained the detail in string fields while adding further  number fields to contain average gestation period and number of young.


Once the most suitable field structure was agreed and sufficient records entered to ensure a consistent approach the boys split the records in two and worked independently.  Breaks, lunchtimes and brief spells at end of school were used.  Keying in became almost competitive unless a piece of non-standard data was encountered when they would discuss the best solution, usually only referring it to me for my agreement!  At weekends the two files were printed out and taken home to be proof-read.  A list of inconsistencies was built up so that we could refer them back to the Devon Zoology Centre.

The final record was entered and the append utility used to join the two datafiles.  I was presented with a thick wad of fanfold paper and went home in some trepidation (my role had been very secondary) to proof read and to turn my mind to designing some worksheet materials to provide a platform to introduce the datafile into the classroom.  We phoned the Zoology Centre with a request for additional material where gaps were apparent and to arrange an afternoon to demonstrate the datafile.

On 22 November we loaded a computer into my car and drove over to Paignton for the afternoon.  I don't think either Rob Lovell off the Devon Zoology Centre or ourselves anticipated such a long, fruitful and fascinating session but for nearly 3 hours we ran queries and discussed animals.  Rob quickly spotted a couple of errors which were highlighted by QUEST's ability to sort and present data.  We logged them for the next editing session while he ruefully made a note to have the original signs amended!  But Andrew and Eddie's work had drawn attention to far more interesting anomalies.  For example, we had decided that an interrogator might want to know which animals were vegetarian and accordingly we had decided to include the word "meat" where relevant in both the wildfood and zoofood fields.  This identified several animals whose tastes appeared to differ depending on whether they were in the wild or captivity.  In a couple of cases this turned out to be an omission in the original data but, more interestingly, it became apparent that, in an attempt to rationalise its huge catering problem, the zoo had found it possible to amend an animal's natural diet provided that essential minerals and vitamins were supplied through supplements.

Several more sessions were required before the project was complete.  We had to amend entries on the advice of the Devon Zoology Centre,  to add user-friendly field explanations, to trial the worksheet "Wildlife Safari" and to revise the field structure to include number fields at the request of the Advisory Unit.  

For me, as an English teacher, the greatest satisfaction was in watching Andrew and Eddie extracting and summarising data in a way which both met the demands of the database structure and retained the essential interest of the zoo signs.  The project also caused me to revise the data management module of our Year 7 core IT course for I was made aware of how much better was students' understanding of the concept of a database when they created it themselves rather than beginning with interrogation.  A lot of time and effort had been dedicated over several weeks (probably as much in editing as in originally keying in data) but we were left with a real sense of satisfaction.  Another advantage in these days of the proscribed curriculum is the substantial number of National Curriculum attainment targets which use of the datafile achieves across a whole range of curriculum areas.



Tony Leigh
Dawlish School
Feb.'92

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Documentation for ZOOSIGNS.QST

This QUEST datafile was produced by Eddie Gore and Andrew Jones, two Yr 8 students at Dawlish School, from the Paignton Zoo booklet, "ZOO SIGNS".

The datafile consists of 67 records with entries in the following 15 fields:

serial (record number)	animal (name) 
latin (scientific name)	class 
order 	habitat (natural environment)
where (geographical origin)	wildfood (wild diet) 
zoofood (zoo diet)	behave (distinctive behaviour)
young (No. : gestation period.)	detail (other interesting details)
danger (whether endangered )	breed
gest

Are you a new user?

PULL DOWN the Help  menu and SELECT About  Fields, then CLICK ON the fieldname in the list for an explanation of a field's contents.

To get a feel for the type of data held in a field:

PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT All  Fields
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT To Screen: Start

Refer to your ORIEL manual for a full explanation of commands but you may like to work these 3 examples to get a first taste.

1.	You want to list all the mammals and their latin names in 2 columns.  (We shall include a 3rd column showing class to confirm a correct selection has been made.)

PULL DOWN the Query  menu and SELECT Simple
When the dialogue box appears:
	CLICK ON CLASS
	CLICK ON containing
	Type mammal
	CLICK ON OK
	CLICK ON OK again
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT Select Fields
When the dialogue box appears:
	CLICK ON clear
	CLICK ON CLASS, ANIMAL and LATIN in the list box
	CLICK ON Check Fields
	CLICK ON OK 
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT In Columns
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT To Screen: Start
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT Next Page


2.	You want to select those animals which are vegetarian in their zoo diet.  Because of the size of the fields we shall display records down the screen not in columns.

PULL DOWN the Query  menu and SELECT Simple
When the dialogue box appears:
	Scroll down the list and CLICK ON ZOOFOOD
	CLICK ON NOT
	CLICK ON containing
	Type meat
	CLICK ON OK
	CLICK ON OK again
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT Select Fields
When the dialogue box appears:
	CLICK ON clear
	CLICK ON ANIMAL, and ZOOFOOD in the list box
	CLICK ON Check Fields
	CLICK ON OK 
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT In Rows
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT To Screen: Start
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT Next Page

3.	You want to select those desert animals which are endangered and display animal and area where found in columns.

PULL DOWN the Query  menu and SELECT Complex
When the dialogue box appears:
	CLICK ON HABITAT
	CLICK ON containing
	Type desert
	CLICK ON AND
	CLICK ON DANGER
	CLICK ON containing
	Type y
	CLICK ON OK
	CLICK ON OK again
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT Select Fields
When the dialogue box appears:
	CLICK ON clear
	CLICK ON ANIMAL, and WHERE in the list box
	CLICK ON Check Fields
	CLICK ON OK 
PULL DOWN the Display  menu and SELECT In  Columns
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT To Screen: Start
PULL DOWN the Go  menu and SELECT Next Page

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Dawlish IT Challenge
Wildlife Safari




To complete this challenge you will have to use QUEST and the datafile "ZOOSIGNS" which is based on Paignton Zoo's book of zoo signs.


Your task is to act as guide to a wildlife safari in North and West Africa which leaves Exeter Airport one damp and cool day.  Your clients not only expect you to transport them to the correct places but also to answer their questions about the wildlife you observe.


First you travel by plane heading south.  You make a stop-over in Gibraltar where you are delayed for half a day.  Your clients expect you to show them some local wildlife.  What animal can you find? 


When was it first taken to Gibraltar?


What one item of food would you suggest your party takes as "bait" to lure these animals close enough to photograph?


This ape takes its name from the North African coast of the Mediterranean which, for 300 years up to 1830, was the home of pirates.  

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Taking off again next day you fly over the hot, arid plains of North Africa to land on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.  Hardly have you left the airport behind and headed into the rocky desert by Land Rover than someone cries out, "Goat!"  He is wrong.  This animal is named after the same coast as the ape in Gibraltar.
What is it?


During your drive you see several of them, mostly resting in the midday heat, but twice you notice two males fighting.
Explain why this is.



How many young will be born and after what gestation period?


One of your party, a Japanese called Aki Moto, doesn't speak English and so for his benefit you mention its latin name.


Rounding a bend suddenly, you disturb one which has been resting on the track.  With remarkable agility it leaps away up the boulder-strewn hillside to the admiring gasps of your party.
How high can it jump?


You pass a caravan of well-laden camels.  What sort of camel is it?


Besides being a beast of burden why else is it highly valued?



If it didn't have to work this camel could survive for up to 10 months without drinking!  It extracts sufficient moisture from the vegetation on which it browses.  How has its face evolved to combat the punishing desert sandstorms?



You have just explained that it is no longer found in the wild when the Prof laughs and points at a distant dust cloud, "There's a wild camel!".  You recognise a bird (class = aves) and realise it is a play on this animals latin name which you tell to Aki Moto.


You are now on the very fringe of the desert and there are more signs of the vegetation this bird eats.


If the barbary sheep was a good jumper, this bird is a fast runner, a skill it uses to evade its enemies.  What speed can it reach?


Its giant 6" - 8" egg is the largest of any bird.  How many does it lay at one time?


You are now leaving the arid scrubland behind and crossing grassland dotted with clumps of bushes and trees.  The ostrich and the giraffe are both found in this type of habitat.  What is it called?


Besides the giraffe which other African mammals might you see here?




The first of these you spot is a herd - about 200 strong - of deer-like creatures, trotting along.  What are they?


What strange ritual do they follow to establish status?



Off to your left you spot a more extensive clump of trees where giraffes might browse.  You creep closer and sure enough you see two giraffes standing flank to flank and taking it in turns to beat each other's neck and chest with their horns.  What is this called and why are they doing it?



You must have made a sound for suddenly they stop browsing and then gallop off.  Their height and strong eye-sight make them ideal look-outs for other animals which purposefully graze with them.  What height can a fully-grown male measure?



The sun is going down over the vast, empty savannah and you pitch camp for the night.  Suddenly it is dark and as you lie in your sleeping bag you know you are not far from a watering hole as from time to time you hear the bellow of an elephant, the roar of a lion or the terrified scream of a victim.  Closer to hand there is a snorting and growling by the embers of your campfire and you are glad you are secure inside your Land Rover.  The savannah feels a very lonely and unfriendly place.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Next morning you are up early - but others have beaten you to it.  Aki Moto is gesticulating towards the campfire where the bones from your barbecue have been gnawed by your last night's visitor.  
What animal could it have been?


You explain that it gnaws bones to sharpen its teeth, an activity common to all members of this order.  Which order does it belong to? 


Looking around you notice a trail, marked by faeces and quills, leading off towards a natural hollow upwind of you.  You motion for your party to follow - silently - because although Hystix cristata has poor eyesight he has good smell and hearing.  Sure enough, in the hollow you find your last night's visitor.
What do we call an animal whose behaviour is to come out at night?


Someone's camera must have made a noise for suddenly you realise it is alarmed.  What two actions tell you this?



Which quills does it rattle to make its alarm call?


It quickly disappears down a nearby burrow from where you can hear squeaks from its young.  Like all rodents the porcupine is a prolific breeder.  How many young?  

What gestation period?  

How many times a year does it breed?

So far all the animals you have seen have been fairly common and now your party is anxious to see an endangered species.Name two endangered species you might see in the savannah of Central Africa.



Both like well-wooded grassland so you set off for a more densely forested area.  On the journey you see vultures circling overhead and on the ground a magnificent adult male lion gorging himself on the remains of a zebra?
Which zebra is the victim likely to be?


You explain it is unlikely that the lion has killed the zebra himself.  Why?



What is the name of the order to which meat eating animals belong?


Name two other larger animals of the savannah that are preyed upon by the lion.



Like the camel, barbary sheep, eland and giraffe, the zebra is a hoofed animal.  What name is given to the order of hooved animals?


How does the zebra differ from the other four?



Like all horses the zebra has a long gestation period but young are able to stand and walk within an hour of birth.  How long is the gestation period?


How many foals are born to the mare?

Now the savannah is becoming more and more wooded and suddenly you encounter your first endangered species - a tribe of chimpanzees.  It is a large group.  What size groups can you expect to find chimpanzees in?


Many of the females are carrying young on their backs for the young chimps don't rely on their own feet until 7 years of age.  Females start to breed when they are about 15 and only breed every three years.  
How many young do they have?

What is the gestation period?

Like humans they rely more heavily on learning than on instinct.  What detail about their behaviour illustrates this?



Which other African primates are endangered species?


Chimpanzees at rest are very playful and you could sit watching all day.  But time is going on and as the environment becomes more wooded and you get deeper into the forest, your chances of sighting more animals increases.

Suddenly Aki Moto says, "Loxodonta Africana!"  Browsing among the trees you see . . . what?


It is a fine specimen of the largest land mammal, standing 12 feet high and weighing almost 8 tons!  Its long trunk gives the order its name.  To which order does it belong?


Although it has few predators, young ones occasionally stray from the herd and can be attacked by which animals?


The tusks of the male can grow to 3 metres and weigh over 90kgs.  The chief reason for the African elephant becoming endangered is hunting by poachers for this valuable ivory.Once upon a time there were many types of elephant, including the hairy mammoth, but now only one other remains besides the African elephant.  Where is this found?


What is its latin name?


Is this animal also an endangered species?

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Finally, after several more days during which you move into the dense tropical forests of West Africa there is only one more animal you are keen to observe.  It belongs to the order of primates and is an endangered species.  What is it?


In what habitat do you advise your party to look for it?


High overhead you hear screaching and spot a group of 4 of them.  Are they probably a travelling or resting group?


They are raising their tails, lowering their heads and throwing branches.  What could explain this threatening behaviour?



What other African primate lives in tree tops and might be trying to steal its food supply?


-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Well, your safari has come to an end and you must return with your party to the damp and cold of a British winter.  As you drive towards the airport you wonder which African animal could best survive in the cold and the wet?  Maybe it's one that eats fish?


And sadly, that too is an endangered species!
