Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States, A Field Botany Course on CD, CD ROM, WPSEUS, is a computer based visual training program designed to rapidly and efficiently help users become experts in plant identification. Unlike novices, experts are able to quickly recognize patterns. This allows chess masters to recognize meaningful chess configurations, and field botanists to identify plants at a glance. WPSEUS helps users achieve this mastery in a fraction of the time that is normally required. It does this by adapting active learning techniques from the cognitive psychology literature.

WPSEUS uses active learning to promote holistic processing, the visual processing mode used by experts. Active learning has been shown to engage the brain areas associated with visual expertise, while passive learning does not. The training techniques are based on two key competencies of experts. Experts are able to recognize patterns, and have the ability to segment their perceptual fields in order to pick out relevant details. Acquiring these competencies is part of what it means to learn to see. WPSEUS is the only program that trains users in these competencies from its first use. It functions like a field course in plant identification.

PC Windows Version (not Mac compatible)