The GEOpod: Building a Navigable Authentic Immersion Environment to Enhance Student Learning

GEOpod is an interactive application that allows a user to navigate through a 3-D volume of observations, radar imagery, or gridded fields generated by a numerical weather prediction system (e.g., GFS, WRF, and NAM). As such, GEOpod is authentic and physically consistent, not a simulation. It significantly leverages the Unidata Program Center's open source Java-based visualization software, the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV), to import and render meteorological data. Key features of GEOpod include its engaging first-person interface; user-guided navigation with isosurface tracking; compass and attitude indicator; distance calculator; grid point display; customizable display panel with drag-and-drop capability for up to 19 user-selected parameters; integration of Google map technology for both forward and reverse geocoding; particle imager for viewing snow crystals and liquid droplets; dropsonde for vertical profiling; Web-based mission builder for user/instructor defined missions with learning objectives and assessments; flight recorder; and point-of-interest annotation. This presentation will demonstrate the GEOpod interface and functionality. This project is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF-IIS 0835411).