During the Spring 2006 Semester students in various courses were provided learning opportunities as part of their coursework that involved the use of technology and an application of research methods. Students consisted of science and non-science majors, as well as education majors, in three separate courses: Observing the Earth, Introduction to Meteorology, and Research and Technology. In each course students were responsible for using hand-held sensors to observe and monitor outside conditions of the atmosphere (and in some cases the local hydrosphere and lithosphere) in order to depict conditions on campus. The intent was to aid student understanding of quantitative versus qualitative measures, develop an appreciation for the complexities of measuring the outside environment, assist their learning of the nature of and need for metadata, examine how data may be analyzed in time and/or space, and assess the relevance and need for comparisons between varying observation sites and instruments. These are crucial not only in a network sense, but also when monitoring and assessing the local environment, particularly in an urban ecosystem setting. The pedagogy (e.g., multiple learning levels, styles, and learner types) and the logistics behind this endeavor, and how these relate to course and student outcomes, are examined. The experiences are also useful in modeling the responses expected during outreach to K-12 audiences using the same approaches.