Transforming Field Data Collection with Digital Pens and Peninized Forms

1. Digital Pen & Peninized Forms By: George Teachman National Soil Survey Center USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Lincoln, NE Digital Pen and Capturx for Excel Webinar 21 May 2013

2. Digital Pen & Peninized Forms • ¡YOU DON’T NEED SPECIAL PAPER! • Application: primarily, field data collection • Collect information on paper maps and forms using pen • Import data from pen into standard soil survey applications • Benefit: create usable digital data directly from a paper map or form

3. Analog Data to Digital Data • Data is stored in the pen • Except as a backup, the paper map or form and ink become superfluous • Analog data recorded by the Pen is downloaded to the computer and imported into an Excel ‘peninized’ form as digital data • Digital data can be manipulated like any other digital data

4. Requirements - Hardware • Digital Pen and Dock • USB cable can be used to charge the pen with a car plug-in adapter • Supported Color Laser Printer

5. Requirements - Digital Pen • Easier to carry and use in the field than a tablet or laptop computer • Short-cut to usable, digital spatial and tabular data compared to manual digitizing and data entry

6. Requirements - Printer • Four-color • CYMK – cyan,magenta, yellow, black • Postscript Level 2 • High resolution • Laser • 256 MB memory minimum • List of supported printers available

7. Requirements - Printing Capability • A4: 14” x 14” • Letter & legal; 8½” x 11”, 8½” x 14” • Maps and forms; field data collection • A2: 23.4” x 23.4” • Tabloid; 11” x 17” • Maps and forms; field data collection

8. Requirements – Software • Capturx for Excel v 1.2.1 • Add-In to Microsoft Excel • Adds Capturx toolbar to the Excel ribbon • Capturx Pen Manager v 3.4 • CCE certified • Supported for Windows XP and 7

9. WorkflowCapturx for Excel 1.2.1 Workflow Save as Supporting Doc

10. Peninized ‘Field Note’ Form

11. Printing With Capturx

12. Printing With Capturx Choose a supported printer Set the number of copies Click OK

13. Printing With Capturx Printed through Capturx on a supported printer Printed through Excel on a supported printer

14. Importing from the Pen

15. Importing from the Pen

16. Importing from the Pen

17. Importing from the Pen

18. ‘Field Note’ Form With Ink

19. QC of ‘Field Note’ Form

20. QC of ‘Field Note’ Form – Circle Invalid Data

21. QC of ‘Field Note’ Form – Circle Invalid Data ` `

22. Capturx Forms for Excel 1.1 Handwriting OCR Corrected

23. Capturx for Excel • Keys for reliable OCR and high quality data • Form design • Setting field data validation rules • Setting field to correct data type • Choice lists • Setting appropriate ranges • Field concatenation (of mixed alpha – numeric fields) • Pattern matching (to a limited few special situations) • Field design conveys obvious intended content • Fields big enough to completely contain handwriting • Penmanship • User training and practice

24. Capturx for Excel • Keys for effective QC • Cell formatting • Validation criteria • Numeric ranges and precision • Text length • Wordlists (domains; choice lists) • Custom expressions

25. Next Steps to the Finish(Run 2 Macros) • Click on the Macros Icon on the Developer ribbon. • Double click on CleanStyles • Double click on Rename_filledform

26. Next Step to the Finish(Run Error Check)

27. Workflow Summary • Digital pen  Excel  NASIS workflow • Record observations on paper form with pen • Import pen data into Excel workbook • Validate and correct data • Excel tools • Capturx for Excel tools 4. Import Excel workbook into NASIS

28. Anecdotal Time Savings • P. Finnell reported it is faster entering TUDs into NASIS using peninized 232 form than using NASIS or Pedon PC. • An SSO reports entering a pedon into NASIS is 2.5 times faster using peninized forms than any other way. • An RSS reported saving about 1.5 hours of office time per wetland determination using peninized forms rather than transcribing handwritten forms

29. Forms Available for Use • Soils  NASIS • 232 (Organic, Mineral, SAS) Ledger and Legal size • SSO Lab • Generic Field Note • Transect – ledger and legal size • Penetrometer • Soil Stability • Wetland Determination • Alaska • Arid West • Atlantic & Gulf Coast • Caribbean • Eastern Mts & Piedmont • Great Plains • Midwest • N. Central & N. East • Pacific Island Area • West Valleys & Coast • Ecological Site Inventory* • CA Releve’ • Forest Plot * Not yet sanctioned (done as a demo)

30. Wetland Determination Forms

31. Where Do Forms Come From? • Two basic types of forms • Ones used to import data into a corporate database • Soils forms – 232s, Field Notes, ESI, etc • Ones used as supporting documentation • Wetland Determination, map unit description, other program areas • Anyone with Capturx for Excel can create a form • To import into NASIS requires a NASIS import script • Intervention from NSSC • Those to provide Program support have fewer requirements • To date, I have acted as the Peninized Form Czar • I work with an experienced user of the existing form • Let me know if you need another type of form

32. Support? • Digital Pen and Forms – USDA Connect Community • Moderated community – Can request to join or I can add members • Forum – Members can submit questions and answers • Files – All the various forms and supporting documentation are there • Contact me at: • George.Teachman@lin.usda.gov • 402-437-5504 • Adapx Technical Support • techsupport@adapx.com • 866-208-9673

34. Digital Pen & Peninized Forms • Familiar, ‘low-tech’ data collection solution • Pen & paper (no computer needed in the field) • Short-cut to usable digital data compared to manual data entry • Less capital outlay • Each SSO already has hardware/software • License fees paid by NSSC

35. Future of Digital Pens • Depends on field staff using the tool. If the demand is there the pens/forms can be there. • Currently the SSD centrally funds yearly license fees for about 200 licenses. • Unless there is a significant rise in users we may do a strategic reallocation of the funds marked for license renewal.

36. Digital Pen & Peninized Forms