2006 Undergraduate Research Experience Multimedia Team (URE MMT)
Developing Standards and Practices for Digitizing and Archiving Multimedia Material from within the Undergraduate Research Experience Program and Other Associated Programs

The Undergraduate Research Experience Program at Elizabeth City State University is an umbrella for several funded projects. These projects include: The Center for Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER), The Northeastern Chapter of the IEEE-GRSS Society, The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), NOAA's Educational Partnership Program at ECSU, The Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean and Marine Science Program (URE OMS), as well as the Undergraduate Research Experience Program supporting undergraduate research at ECSU. These programs entail numerous special events that generate both video and photographic images. Reports and other documentation are also created to record the success and progress of each program.

With the advent of digital archiving, the majority of this information can now be stored for retrieval from sources other than paper, video tape, photographs, or other non-digital means. The addition of metadata to the created documents and files is needed though to ensure that once an item is digitized it is not lost in the system and is available to various query formats. This metadata will take the form of naming conventions for files and standardizing the nomenclature that references events and programs. A standard procedure for processing and outputting digital information is also required to ensure maximum compatibility as technology moves forward. File formats should be homogeneous guarantying the greatest usability for future researchers and managers.

The goal of the 2006 URE MMT will be to document the current practices utilized to archive information (reports, video, images, etc…).The team will then research the best method with which to digitize the current information and make recommendations for future changes in practice to ensure information can be quickly added to an archive and quickly recovered. This project will also necessitate researching Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software to explore the feasibility and cost of implementation to ensure the greatest return on investment (ROI).