Enhancing weather and climate data use in the classroom with multimedia modules

Meteorology in the 21st century would be unthinkable without large weather and climate data sets. How can we bring this "firehose" of data into the classroom without drowning the students and even the instructors?

Rapid improvements in computer technology are now making high-end video capability a reality for PC users. Can we combine this new capability with the wealth of weather and climate data to achieve educational objectives?

To answer these questions, we have created a multimedia module on the El Nino-Southern Oscillation for use in introductory college classes in weather and climate and physical geography. Museum-quality video techniques are combined with remote sensing data sets to give students a rich, educationally meaningful understanding of the ENSO phenomenon.

At the talk, excerpts from the module will be shown to illustrate the approach. Results from pre- and post-module student evaluations will also be presented to illustrate the advantages and challenges of the data-intensive multimedia module approach.

Time permitting, initial results for a similar multimedia module on the stratospheric ozone hole will be presented.