• Introduction to the Site
• Site Structure and User Interface
• Pop-up Windows
• Recommended Windows Display Settings
• Recommended Web Browsers
• Additional Software
• Development Team
  

SEER's Web-based Training Modules

SEER's Training Web Site provides web-based training modules for cancer registration and surveillance. When the site is complete, it will comprise about 30 training modules, each covering a particular cancer registration training subject. The site development started in September, 2000 and is still under continual development.

In addition to these training modules, up-to-date information related to cancer registration and surveillance will also be provided and listed under the Information Modules area of the site's main menu page.

Site Structure and User Interface

Despite the differences in interface design and color schemes among the training modules, the look and feel of the navigational elements (menu items, buttons, etc.) are similar and consistent throughout the whole site. The following is a typical navigational bar located at the top of each page. The listed explanations correspond to the numbered areas in the illustration. Please familiarize yourself with this part of the interface design.

1. The SEER's Training Web Site logo takes you to the "shell" page.

2. The Module icon takes you back to the module main menu page.

3. This area hosts the first level menu items (unit names), listing the main topics covered in the module.

4. Unit or section names are placed in this area.

5. This area is reserved for the content page navigational buttons, which take the user to the previous, next, and one-level-up page.

6. This is the "utilities" section where several icons are linked to the Search page, the Glossary page, the Help page, and a printer-friendly version of the current content page.

7. At the bottom of the navigation bar is the area for the second level menu items (listing the names of sections under a certain learning unit). Note that this area is absent when a unit does not contain sub-level sections.

Pop-up Windows

Pop-up windows are frequently used to display additional information. Close the pop-up window as soon as you finish using it to clean up your desktop. If there is no Close button available, you can always click the Close button at the right end of the Title Bar to close a pop-up window.

Recommended Windows Display Settings

The graphic elements used for this project are created with true color (24 bit) and saved in either GIF (8 bit) or JPG (24 bit) format. These images look best when the display of your computer is set to True Color. If you have a graphic card in your computer supporting only 8 bit color, you will see colors not intended by the designer and you will also see heavy dithering effects where fine gradations occur in the image. If your display's setting is at High Color (16 bit), the appearance of graphics will improve, but some dithering is still visible.

Today, chances are that you will have a graphic card in your computer that supports true color. If you see strange colors or heavy dithering on these Web pages, you may want to check if you can change the display settings so that you can get the best viewing experience. To set your monitor to display true color in the Windows environment, do the following:

1. Right-click anywhere on your computer desktop and select Properties in the pop-up menu.

2. In the Display Properties dialogue box, select Settings panel.

3. At the lower-left corner of the panel, there is a drop-down menu labeled Colors.

4. Click the downward pointing black triangle at the right end of the menu and select True Color (24 bit).

Note that limitations on the memory of the graphic card may require that you reduce the resolution of your display.

Recommended Web Browsers

We recommend you use either Netscape 4.x or Internet Explorer (IE) 6.x., since earlier browsers don't support JavaScript and Style Sheets, which have been implemented on this Web site. To download the latest version of Internet Explorer go to the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web site. The current versions of Web browsers from Netscape are available on the company's Browser Download Center.

Additional Software

Since small Flash animations are used in some pages on STWS, a Flash player is required to view them. The software (plug-in), with the installation instructions, can be downloaded free of charge from the Macromedia Download page. Note that the new versions of the Internet Explorer support Flash natively and you will be provided with a choice for the Flash player when you download the new versions of the Netscape Web browser.

To check if your Netscape Web browser has the Flash plug-in, go to the Help menu and select the About Plug-ins command. If you see ShockWave Flash is listed as one of the installed plug-ins, you are all set for Flash animation.

To read and print PDF files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may download Acrobat Reader from Adobe's Web site.

Development Team

John L.Young, DrPH, CTR
Director, Georgia Center for Cancer Statistics
Emory University

April Fritz, RHIT, CTR
Manager of Data Quality
NCI SEER Program

Gonghua Liu, Ph.D.
Instructional Technologist
Emory University

Kathleen Thoburn, CTR
New York Dept. of Health

Jan Kres, MSN, CTR
Editor, Georgia Center for Cancer Statistics
Emory University

Steven Roffers, BS, CTR

Technical Advisory Group Members

Rosemary Dibble, CTR
Dianne Hultstrom, RHIT, CTR
Annette Hurlbut, RHIT, CTR
Patrick Stevens, CTR
Valerie Vesich, CTR
Carole Whitehead, CTR
Dianna Wilson, RHIA, CTR

Questions or comments about this site should be directed to Margaret (Peggy) Adamo, RHIT, CTR at National Cancer Institute (e-mail: seertraining@imsweb.com)

Click here to go back to SEER's Web Training Site home page.