Extended Abstract (16K)3.2
Web Weather for Kids: Online inquiry and learning about dramatic weather phenomena for middle school students
Susan Q. Foster, UCAR, Boulder, CO; and K. Petty, T. Chace, L. Barker, and C. Calvin
Web Weather for Kids is an Internet site developed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to interest middle school students in dramatic weather phenomena - clouds, thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards. Students visiting the site will find easy-to-do science inquiry activities, interactive questions, well-illustrated explanations, stories, and games created to convey and re-enforce basic science concepts essential to understanding meteorology. Although students are the site's target audience, educators, youth group leaders, and parents can use it as a science education resource accessible from the classroom and the home. Visitors of all ages can test their knowledge of meteorology by participating in Web Weather for Kids' online weather forecasting contest. A teachers tip section provides background information and suggestions for how to adapt activities and align content with National Science Education Standards. The site was initiated by a partnership between UCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Colorado-Boulder's Science Discovery and ATLAS programs, and the Boulder Valley School District. Numerous enhancements are currently under way thanks to an NSF Geosciences Education grant to UCAR's Office of Education and Outreach. In this presentation, we will tour the web site, reviewing its goals, content, pedagogical assumptions, assessment, and plans for further expansion and dissemination.
Session 3, Educational Activities at UCAR
Tuesday, 15 January 2002, 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
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