2008 USDA-CSREES National Water Conference Sparks, NV What Do You Know About Water Quality?

Text: "What Do You Know About Water Quality?" is a comprehensive educational program (ages 14 - adult) that includes the following sections. The Virginia's Watersheds section graphically presents twelve major watersheds and describes land-use and water quality issues within each. This section can be modified for use in other states. The Water Quality Indicators section presents seventeen water quality parameters, how they are measured and what the measures mean. The Special Topics section includes Invasive Species, Malaria, Nutrient Cycles and others. The Personal Action section provides information and resources for conducting environmental improvement projects. The program is in Power Point format, internally linked for easy navigation, Web-linked to additional resources and information and is correlated to the Virginia Standards of Learning. There are ten "jeopardy" style games that sequentially challenge students' knowledge of water quality processes and concepts. The program has been piloted in several school divisions and reviewed by a number of natural resource educators. The introductory sections and lower-level games are appropriate for middle school students and novice audiences, while allowing individuals the option of exploring higher-level activities. The games provide automatic feedback with in-depth discussion of correct answers.