Active Learning in a Distance Meteorology Class: Sky Watching with 360 Video

Weather and Climate of Alaska (ATM101) at the University of Alaska has been taught using distance techniques and active learning methods. The class allows students to base their understanding on weather they have experienced and to present their work as local experts from communities across Alaska. A major challenge is creating opportunities for the students to conduct independent investigations of a single shared event. With 360 video the instructors can provide a common sky watching experience for students. The instructors furnish the students with a 360 video recording of a weather event. The event is recorded over several hours in time-lapse mode. The resulting exercise serves as a scaffold for the students’ independent sky watching in their home communities. The exercise also allows students compare their sky watching techniques and refine them based on peer discussion and feedback. Students interpret the weather represented in the video with meteorological data and maps from the National Weather Service (NWS). In this presentation participants will have the opportunity to conduct a mini sky watching investigation based on a 360 video and associated NWS materials.