From: Geoffrey Haines-Stiles
LIVE FROM THE STORM * Updates #9, April 9, 2000
Expose your students to the ELEMENTS...
1) Welcome and Overview
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The P2K Mission:
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1) Welcome to LIVE FROM THE STORM!
Just 2 days to LIVE FROM THE STORM program 2, which will originate live on
April 11 from the sites which form the "NOAA WEATHER PARTNERS" in Norman,
OK. This UPDATE will give you a sneak peak at the program content--but
since it's live it's always subject to change, in this case partly because
of the weather! And in part it's because YOU and YOUR STUDENTS can help
shape the program by your e-mail interactions. Via the LFSTORM website and
the INTERACT section you can send e-mail questions about all kinds of
weather topics to our panel of experts in Norman and elsewhere. All of the
questions will be answered online... and some of them will be selected to
be answered live and on-air!
In case this UPDATES is being forwarded to you the LIVE FROM THE STORM
website is:
http://passporttoknowledge.com/storm
You're invited to circulate UPDATES to any and all colleagues who may be
interested. This and all subsequent editions are also accessible at the
LIVE FROM THE STORM website.
In this UPDATE, you'll also find BIOgraphy excerpts from several of the
researchers appearing live or on tape in the upcoming program, and
reminders about how to use ON-AIR and URL POST, and links to NSSL and SPC,
sites for our live program.
If someone forwarded this UPDATES to you and you wish to subscribe
directly, send e-mail to listmanager@passporttoknowledge.com
and in the message body write only: subscribe updates-storm (See below for
more details about how to subscribe.) You can also subscribe to both
UPDATES and DISCUSS right on the LIVE FROM THE STORM website.
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***IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE*** (now also featured on the Home page of the
project website, with links to key NOAA, FEMA and Red Cross online
publications, providing full emergency preparedness information.)
Please repeat to your students at every opportunity that "Mother Nature" is
not to be trifled with. They should, for example, leave the ball field when
thunderstorms are imminent. Taking a video camera to the beach to wait for
a hurricane's landfall is not to be encouraged. On a hike when there's
heavy rain? Be on the lookout for places where flash floods might become
deadly. Follow the authoritative advise of weather experts, not what you
happen to see on TV: do not, for example, wait out a tornado under a
highway underpass. There's a good chance you'll be blown out and killed,
rather than left in safety.
The LIVE FROM THE STORM Guide will have several research and writing
Activities which will expose students to emergency preparedness issues, and
we'll provide--in this and subsequent UPDATES--web sites with sound
information. Our materials will repeat these necessary warnings until, we
hope, they're "second nature" for your students.
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2) Teacher Tips: How to Watch a program like LIVE FROM THE STORM
In case you missed this section of the previous UPDATE, here's some words
of wisdom about the special character of instructional/educational TV.
Using a video in class is NOT like watching sports or drama or sitcoms at
home. PBS researcher Faith Rogow gave us permission to reprint her 2-sided
distillation of key points in the Guide, so we'll just hit the high points
here. We encourage you to check out her full comments, and add your own:
they'll be in EDUCATORS/TEACHER TIPS and in the Guide.
"Television can be a powerful educational tool, but if we want our students
to absorb specific content from what they see, we need to give them a model
for viewing that's is active and critical. For starters:
In addition:
1) Think about what you are trying to accomplish. If you can achieve your
goal without using video, you may want to reconsider your use of TV.
However video can help accomplish things you can't do any other way. TV
does the following very well.
i) Spark interest in a new subject area. Imaginative and quick paced video
can inspire your students to pursue a subject.
ii) Demonstrate something you can't show any other way, such as a
satellite's view of changing weather patterns... the sights and sounds of a
rainforest... (see why P2K likes Faith's comments?)
iii) Enrich content by demonstrating new applications or insights.
iv) Practice a skill such as note taking, problem solving, predicting,
listening, etc.
2) View Actively. ...Would you be satisfied with a class that sat and
stared at you for 30 minutes without responding or interacting? The TV
can't act as teacher if students aren't active. Interactive viewing
requires 3 simple steps:
PREPARE: Let students know why they are watching, what to look for,or what
you will ask them when the video is over. The younger the student the more
detailed the description should be of what they are going to see. (And
hence our publication of as much of the script as possible: we're no 60
Minutes, seeking to surprise you with content.)
PARTICIPATE: View interactively. Sing along, answer questions aloud as they
are posed, pause to discuss possible outcomes...
CONNECT TO OTHER ACTIVITIES: Bring the video lessons off the screen and
into the classroom or home by choosing follow-up activities that connect
the viewing experience to hands-on exercises or real-life experience. With
younger students, be sure to explain the connections between the video and
the activities you do."
We simply could not have said that better--but Faith has a Ph.D. as well as
speaking wisdom! Her remarks are copyrighted Insighters Educational
Consulting, 1997, and may only be reprinted by contacting her at
faith_rogow@wskg.pbs.org
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3) LIVE FROM THE STORM Instructional Materials for School or Home
~Teacher's Guide Pack (64 pages), with copy masters of student worksheets,
and oversize full color poster
includes shipping (US priority mail standard) and handling $30.00
~The LIVE FROM THE STORM Teacher Resource Kit: includes all above
includes shipping (US priority mail standard) and handling $59.95
~Each video program, $29.98; both videos $59.95
~PASSPORT TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE Multiple Media Kit--available summer 2000
Questions about any instructional materials? E-mail:
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4) BIOgraphy excerpts:
Each UPDATE we feature some of the men and women who study weather and
climate, in their own words. We hope these tales of how they got into
science and what excites them about their careers both informs and
motivates students to realize that what they learn at school can indeed be
a "passport to knowledge", and a life where work and play aren't two
separate and conflicting realms. You can find the full and fascinating
BIOgraphies on the website (WHO/BIO) along with some photographs to put
faces with pictures. We think your students will enjoy knowing a little
more about the people appearing on screen: also please check out Geoff
Haines-Stiles JOURNAL about the December 2nd, 1999 tornadoes to meet Dennis
McCarthy--another of our on camera guests, and take the NWS Norman
Forecast Office SITE TOUR to see another member of the NOAA WEATHER
PARTNERS. (Remember, these are excerpts, with edits for space indicated by
... )
***
Daphne Zaras
"All things are delicately interconnected."
Hi, my name is Daphne Zaras and I'm a research meteorologist at the
National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. I am on the Web team
for the Lab, still do a little bit of research and am part of a team that
creates training materials for National Weather Service forecasters. I
bring teaching, communication, and computer skills to our Web team, which I
find very fun. A big part of our website is to communicate our science to
people interested in learning more about it! It took me a long time to get
where I am, and to figure out how to combine my interests into a job I
would love.
In junior high and high school I planned to be a teacher. At first I
thought I'd teach math, but after taking physics my senior year I changed
my mind. Teaching physics would be a lot of fun! However, my parents are
both teachers so they encouraged me to initially go for the physics major
itself in college (rather than major in education and take some physics
courses) and be sure I found out what else there was to do with a science
degree before deciding teaching was for me. This decision was the beginning
of my journey, but key in me being able to get where I am today.
...As it turns out, my time here in Norman, Oklahoma has been a
continuation of my career soul-searching journey. I finally figured out
that it was more than just the subject of research that was important to
me. It was also the culture and nature of the job. Since I was one of only
two people with satellite expertise at the NSSL, I felt isolated. My days
were spent working alone most of the time, whereas in previous jobs I
interacted with others a lot to do the work I was doing. So although the
subject was interesting, I also needed more social interaction... So when
our Webmaster left for another job, I quickly asked if I could move into
her old position. In addition to being Webmaster, she talked with visitors
to the lab and answered questions about severe weather and tornadoes from
anyone who called or wrote to us. Many of the Web pages on our site have
educational material or information about our research projects. It seemed
like the perfect job where I could still work with computers (including
programming, which I enjoy), be around science and scientists, but could
also use my natural teaching skills to communicate science and interact
with people.
I have really enjoyed the change and am now looking to further my
schooling, perhaps by earning a Ph.D. in science education. I say Ph.D.
because I work with highly educated people who are experts at what they do.
I've always known I was capable of earning a Ph.D. in science, but wasn't
sure just what I wanted to study for the degree. Science education seems to
be the perfect combination of science and communication and I want to truly
be an expert at doing what I love to do.
Sincerely,
***
Deirdre Jones
My name is Deirdre Jones and I am serving as Chief of the Engineering
Branch at the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) Operational
Support Facility (OSF). The OSF provides maintenance support for the
nation's Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD).
Since the time I started the eighth grade, I wanted to be an engineer.
During the summer, my family vacationed in Orlando, Florida. We visited the
Kennedy Space Center. There was an exhibit that described the careers of
all the people who worked at the center. I entered the booth labeled
"engineer" and pressed the button. They described an engineer as an expert
at whatever he did. (Of course they said "he", but that didn't stop me.)
From then on, I focused on that goal. I took math and science every year
n high school and applied to one of the top engineering schools in the
country. In addition to being accepted to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI), I was awarded a Bell Laboratories Engineering Scholarship.
...The job I have now, Engineering Branch Chief, matches the vision that I
had when I decided to be an engineer back in the 8th grade. When I attended
my 20th high school reunion, one of my friends said, "You always wanted to
be an engineer and now you are, Wow!" I really like my job, even though it
gets very hectic and stressful sometimes. Every time severe weather
strikes, I listen for the report of how the NEXRAD radar performed. When a
warning is issued well before severe weather hits (tornados, for example),
and there are very few, if any, lives lost or injured by the storm, the
more proud I am of the OSF and the work we do. In the Engineering Branch,
we make hardware and software changes to the system, document and test the
changes, and provide field engineering support in the event there is a
question that cannot be answered quickly. What keeps the job interesting is
the constant change. We have to treat all facets of NEXRAD to resolve a
failure or site problem. OSF Engineers have to address, radar, computer and
peripherals, tower and site issues. Sometimes we have to scratch our heads
and hit the Internet to find answers, but our crew at the OSF, in fact in
the entire Weather Service, is very talented. Everyone has to pitch in to
do their part to keep the radars working for the forecasters.
***
Don Burgess
My name is Don Burgess and I am a meteorologist who trains other
meteorologists. I was born in Okmulgee, OK (a small town south of Tulsa) in
1947. In 1952, our family moved to Stillwater, OK, and, in 1957, we moved
to Oklahoma City where I attended high school. I grew up interested in the
weather, and there was always plenty of it to see in our state! I got up
each morning and looked out the window to observe the weather; I would come
in from the playground to watch the weather on television (once my family
got a television); and I read everything I could find on weather. My
favorite book was Tornadoes of the United States, by Snowden D. Flora. I
read and reread it many times. My younger-years fear of storms and
tornadoes changed to interest and fascination with them. When I graduated
from high school, I knew that I wanted to be a meteorologist and learn more
about weather and storms/tornadoes. I began attending college at the
University of Oklahoma (OU, in Norman) in 1967. While in high school, I was
alone in my liking of weather and pursuit of information about it. After I
began at OU, I learned that there were other people as fascinated with
weather as I was. We called ourselves "weather freaks" because we wanted to
be around weather observations and weather forecasting 24-hours-a-day.
I am Chief of the Operations Training Branch of the NEXRAD Operational
Support Facility (OSF) in Norman, Oklahoma. NEXRAD is the acronym for the
"NEXt generation weather RADar" program, a new United States Government
network of 160 weather radars around the United States and at military
bases in other parts of the world. NEXRAD Weather Surveillance Radars,
1988, Doppler (WSR-88Ds) supply radar information to three government
agencies: the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Agency
(FAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD; Air Force and Navy). Our branch
trains NWS forecasters to operate the radars and to use the radar data
(with other weather data) in the issuance of weather warnings and
forecasts. Previously, we trained the forecasters only in residence courses
here in Norman. Since 1998, we have begun using distance learning
techniques (CD-ROMs, Teletraining, and the Internet) to train forecasters
faster and with less interruption to their jobs: they now can stay at their
forecast offices and receive the training during their normal workdays. Our
challenge is to better train more forecasters, but with less available
resources, money and people for training. I like being involved in training
the forecasters, and then observing the excellent warnings and forecasts
they issue, in part, from the training we gave them.
...In my spare time, I enjoy listening to bluegrass music; I enjoy chasing
storms that are close to Norman, just to see the awesome power and beauty
of nature; and, in summer, I enjoy trout fishing in Colorado, another
expression of the beauty of nature.
***
Harold Brooks
My name is Harold Brooks and I'm a research meteorologist at NOAA's
National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma. Right now,
I'm involved in two primary areas of research: 1) severe thunderstorm
climatology and impacts (when and where they occur around the world and how
they affect people) and 2) forecast evaluation (what is a good forecast?).
Officially, I'm also the "technical supervisor" for a small group at NSSL,
but as my group members would testify, I don't do a whole lot in that role
and the only part of my job I don't like is the employee evaluation at the
end of the year.
I loved math, science, and sports from the time I was young. I started
learning how to do long division because I needed to know how to compute
batting averages and earned run averages. By the time I got to college, I
knew I wanted to be a scientist and I majored in physics and math at
William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. While I was there, I got the
opportunity to go to Cambridge University for a year and study Archaeology
and Anthropology, which was quite a lot of fun, but I don't think I'd want
to do it for a career.
...When I finished at Illinois, I got a National Research Council
post-doctoral appointment at NSSL and continued working on modeling of
supercell thunderstorms. I started doing more and more with operational
forecasting problems and in 1992, I became a full-time employee of NSSL.
Since then, I've worked on a number of problems, including observations of
the environments of supercells, the distribution of heavy rain in the
United States, forecast evaluation, how we use numerical models in weather
forecasting, and I've been a part of forecast support for field
experiments. I'm interested in a wide range of problems, so I'm never sure
what I'll be doing next. Besides my research, I've been involved in
training forecasters and severe weather spotters and I spend quite a bit of
time doing public presentations about severe weather, both to the general
public and via the media.
PERSONAL STUFF:
I play golf occasionally, basketball (horribly), and I've played softball
for the last 23 years on a variety of teams. I really enjoy reading
history. Some of my favorite books I've read recently are Barbara Tuchman's
"A Distant Mirror," Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy, Antonia Fraser's
"Faith and Treason," and John Barry's "Rising Tide." I love touring
battlefields, particularly from the US Civil War.
Thanks, Daphne, Deirdre, Don and Harold, and all the other NOAA, NASA and
university staffers who have volunteered to contribute BIOs and JOURNALS.
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5) Websites of the Week:
Each UPDATES we bring you links to some of the best websites relating to
the weather and climate, with potted reviews from working educators. If you
have your own suggestions, please share them with your peers and PTK via
DISCUSS-STORM, or e-mail them directly to eb@passporttoknowledge.com
This week, once again the LIVE FROM THE STORM site:
Click on URL POST (live Monday p.m.) to find websites providing more
information relating to the content of the broadcast.
Check out WHAT and WHY for information on hurricanes, tornadoes, winter
weather and thunderstorms.
To find out more about the National Severe Storms Lab, check out:
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov
From their home page you can link to some great educational materials,
background on the VORTEX project we feature during the video, lots of
tornado information, and much more.
Background on the Storm Prediction Center can be found at:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov
There are live images form space and surface radar for experts and
students, lots of links to safety information, and much more.
More great links next time! You can find links to breaking weather and
climate news in the WHAT'S NEW section of the website.
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We hope you'll continue to use UPDATES to keep abreast of LIVE FROM THE
STORM news, and DISCUSS to let the PTK/LFSTORM team and your colleagues
know what's on your mind. Weather and climate affect us all, every day.
Onwards and Upwards!
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"PASSPORT TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE" and the "LIVE FROM THE STORM" specials
are made possible, in part, by support from NOAA, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, through the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research (OAR), the National Weather Service (NWS), and the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, (NESDIS.)
Additional support comes from UCAR, the University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research, and from NASA, through its Education Division and the
Earth Science Enterprise.
Support for streaming video comes from IBM and Avid Technologies, with
online hosting by Yahoo! Broadcast.
Classroom Videos / In-service Videos / Implementation Guide / Hands-On Activities / Worksheets / Website / National Standards
Subject: LIVE FROM THE STORM * Updates #9, April 9, 2000
Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2000 12:22:07 -0400
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE (P2K) presents...
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of science, math and the Information Age!
2) Teacher Tips: How to watch...
3) Instructional Materials for School or Home
4) BIOgraphy excerpts from on-camera guests:
Deirdre Jones, Harold Brooks, Daphne Zaras, Don Burgess
5) Web Sites of the Week: passporttoknowledge.com/storm
~to enliven the curriculum by connecting real world research to essential
science concepts
~to facilitate interaction between leading scientists and K-12 students and
teachers
PLUS...
60 minute Teacher Resource Video with activity demos by master teachers
Preview of video programs showing PEOPLE, PLACES and PROCESSES
Animations of hurricanes, tornadoes, El Niņo
"Welcome to the Project" from NOAA Administrator James Baker, and more
ptkinfo@passporttoknowledge.com and we'll be back to you in a flash!
Research Meteorologist, NSSL/OAR/NOAA
Jenny Holzer, contemporary American artist
Daphne
Chief, Engineering Branch, WSR-88D Operational Support Facility
National Weather Service, Norman, OK
Chief, Operations Training Branch, NEXRAD Operational Support Facility (OSF)
NWS/NOAA, Norman, Oklahoma
Head, Mesoscale Applications
National Severe Storms Laboratory/OAR/NSSL, Norman, OK
I've been married since 1987 and have two kids, Sarah (8) and Christopher
(4). When I'm not working, I stay pretty busy. For the last six years, I've
taught a class of 3-year-olds in Sunday School at my church. I've written a
few articles on baseball (remember why I started doing division?),
particularly looking at the questions "Are there any clutch hitters?" (the
answer's no, at least by any useful definition) and "What happens to
players who don't take days off during the season?" (they don't hit well at
the end of the year).
http://passportoknowledge.com/storm
Eileen Bendixsen, Middle School Science Teacher, & Moderator, DISCUSS-STORM
Geoff Haines-Stiles, Project Director, PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE
