Jaitun Patel came to Virginia Tech without much hiking and outdoor experience, but she jumped right in with OCVT (the Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech) on a spring break trip and subsequent maintenance trips along the Appalachian Trail. She got a hands-on view of what trail maintainers and hikers need, and she parlayed the interest and knowledge into a Master’s thesis–a tool for promoting collaboration and understanding between visitors to trails and the network of people who support those visits.
Jaitun’s research examined the role of information and communication technologies in promoting collaboration between trail agencies (like OCVT, RATC, and other 3-4 letter groups) and the hikers and other visitors that these agencies seek to support. Jaitun conducted social media analysis, interviews, and a design workshop toward crafting and testing a prototype online discussion platform called SmarTrail Board, which “centralized direct communication and streamlined information can support trail management on the AT”. Check out her thesis at http://hdl.handle.net/10919/116284
Jaitun was a big part of our group for two years, helping out with a great many projects and joining us on lots of adventures. Jaitun continues her outdoor research work as a Data Scientist at Washington State University, working with their AgWeatherNet group.
Technology on the Trail 