We've Got the Technology -- Now What Do We Do with It?
Part 2 - Teaching Earth Science with the Internet

by Michael J. Passow Earth Sciences Correspondent

Widespread availability of the Internet or World Wide Web certainly can justly be described as a revolution. A dream, a plan, a toy for a small band of computer "freaks" just a few short years ago, the Internet has become both big business and one of the most powerful tools ever available for teachers. Many students and educators competently, even routinely, use computer technology and Internet sites to obtain and transmit information at speeds and levels inconceivable even a year earlier. Many others are still groping through the Web. The purpose of this article is to share some ways to use the Internet to help students better learn, think, problem-solve, and present what they know about earth science.

Some of this information may already be familiar, some may be new. So much is available elsewhere about using the Internet that such a discussion will be omitted. (For example, see John D. White's "Mining STS Nuggets on the Internet" in our Spring 1996 issue.) However, it is sometimes helpful to know the nature of a web site creator, indicated (if you don't already know) by the suffix of the URL ("address"):

You can learn where to look for a web site in several ways. Participation in workshops at professional meetings or reading society journals are among the best ways to find out what's available, often from people involved in creating the sites.

A "web search" can also help locate useful sources of information. For example, typing in "earth science" and "education" produces a list of more than two hundred sources for students and teachers to explore. These are grouped into such categories as "Educational Web Guides" "Educational Products and Services," "Web Site Reviews," "Pictures," "Personal Home Pages," and "Commercial Book Sites."

Collecting "Real-Time" (or Near-Real-Time) Data

One of the great advantages of the World Wide Web is the ability to bring into the classroom information about events as they happen or shortly afterwards. Here are some examples of ways to tap the Internet.

What's the weather?

Take your pick of which weather information source you like. For "official" National Weather Service (NWS) observations and forecasts, you can go to their home page, www.nws.noaa.gov From there, you can find information about the many regional offices that provide data for local areas. For example, those of us in the New York City office service area (southeastern NY, northeastern NJ, and southwestern CT) can go to www.nws.bnl.gov to find the latest forecast, satellite, and Doppler radar images, and much more.

Other National Weather Service operations also provide valuable information about weather and climate. The nine NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction each have web sites. General weather information is available at the Climate Prediction Center (www.nnic.noa.gov/cpc). The Tropical Prediction Center (formerly the National Hurricane Center), at www.nhc.noaa.gov, provides the best information about Atlantic hurricanes. Tornadoes and other localized events can be studied through the Storms Prediction Center (National Severe Storms Labs) at www.nssl.ou.edu Climate information is available from the National Climatic Data Center at www.ncdc.nws.gov

Many of these sites provide surface observation, weather radar, and satellite images which will stimulate any student. Satellite images are also available from sites created by the U.S. Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Weather and ocean data for the Atlantic can be found at www.nlmoc.navy.mil For the eastern Pacific, use www.npmoc.navy.mil The best source for the western Pacific and Indian Oceans (including great images of Africa) can be accessed at www.npmocw.navy.mil

Weather makes for good business, so you can choose from among sites created by The Weather Channel (www.weather.com), USA Today (www.usatoday.com/weather), CNN Interactive (www.cnn.com/weather/), and many other commercial operations.

Some schools now include information obtained from the Web in daily announcements. This also provides the opportunity to slip in some science education, such as "The low pressure system moving toward us from the southwest will bring stormy weather for the next two days," or "We will have continued fair weather as a large anticyclone or high pressure system remains in place over us."

Students can use Web sites to collect data for long-term or special projects. They can easily make comparisons of weather and climate in different locations, or learn about techniques used to observe weather. They can develop presentations about remaining safe in dangerous conditions using these sites and through "Project Safeside" of the American Red Cross, a joint project with The Weather Channel and available through the education pages on their site (www.weather.com).

Hurricane and other severe weather studies provide great vehicles not only for learning science, but also for helping students make connections with students elsewhere. One example is the University of Michigan's "One Sky, Many Voices" (http://onesky.engin.umich.edu). Children across the country participated in "Hurricanes '97," a monthlong program last October which allowed them to use the Internet to learn more about hurricanes and typhoons, write e-mail to each other, and strengthen many other skills. Weather studies also are wonderful for interdisciplinary studies to help students increase knowledge and skills in geography, social studies, math, language arts, and other topics. Students composing a message that may be read by others across the country develop their self-esteem in ways not possible through any traditional projects.

Projects scheduled for 1998 include "Kids As Global Scientists -- Weather" in February and March and "Shared Air" in May. You can learn more about these and register either through the Onne Sky site or the University of Michigan's other weather education projects, www.blueskies.spril.umich.edu, or www.wunderground.com Two other university-based Internet sites useful for teaching about weather are http://wxp.atms.purdue.edu and http://meted.ucar.edu/

Sunrise, Sunset . . . .

Sun, moon, and tide patterns provide excellent examples of natural change. Some teachers use sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset times as a catchy class opening, having students keep daily logs. One good source of information can be found at the U.S. Naval Observatory's site, www.tycho.usno.navy.mil

The National Ocean Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, provides useful information about the times and heights of tides at many locations around the country at www.nos.noaa.gov These data can also help build computer literacy skills through graphing and spreadsheet activities when students use data from different coasts to show variations in tidal patterns.

Where In Space Is . . . .?

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency provides almost limitless information about our Universe at many web sites. Their main page is www.nasa.gov Much of what we have learned about other planets and Earth from space is available at sites created by the Goddard Space Flight Center (www.gsfc.nasa.gov) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (www.jpl.nasa.gov).

From a classroom anywhere, students can now also learn much by a "virtual reality" visit to the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington, DC, at www.nasm.si.edu Many space exploration interest groups also have created web sites.

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Minerals, Rocks, Fossils, and Other solid Earth Studies

The Internet also provides ways for classes to get near-real-time information about earthquakes and volcanoes. U.S. Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov) web sites present daily earthquake latitude, longitude, magnitude, and other data, allowing students to understand where and how common faults really are in ways far superior to maps in textbooks and other usual methods.

Volcanoes and other geohazards are also available at the USGS site, as well as through web pages created by colleges and universities with research interests. A web search is often the best way to find such programs that may have much valuable local application. Many individuals have also enthusiastically created web pages dealing with local geology. One excellent example is the Geology of Westchester (NY) site created by Thomas McGuire (www.home.computer.net/~tmcguire).

Information and virtual-reality displays about minerals, rocks, and fossils can be found at museum and nature center web sites. From the classroom, students can "visit" the American Museum of Natural History in New York (www.amnh.org); the Field Museum in Chicago (www.fmnh.org); the National Museum of Natural History in Washington (www.mnh.si.edu); and many other collections. Also useful are sites created by State Museums and Geological Surveys, such as www.nysm.nysed.gov

Several curriculum projects have been developed to provide Internet-based dissemination of ideas and exemplary programs. One of the best of these is the Athena Project (www.athena.ivv.nasa.gov), which has projects involving solid earth, oceans, atmosphere, and other themes.

Professional Organizations and Research Centers

Another good source for web-based information available to teachers and students are sites created by professional organizations. Some are very elaborate, created and maintained by full-time staff members, while others are handled on a spare-time basis by individual members through their home institution's site.

Several useful sites in the earth sciences include the American Geological Institute (www.agi.edu.org) and the American Meteorological Society (www.ametsoc.org). Helpful information can also be obtained through the Web pages of the National Science Teachers Association (www.nsta.org).

Many research-oriented institutions now have sites that can provide valuable information for studies. Examples of these include the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (www.ldeo.columbia.edu); the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (www.whoi.edu); and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (www.sio.uscd.edu). In come cases it is possible for students to communicate directly with scientists to get questions answered.

Much of what we should be teaching needs to be connected with national and state "Standards" that have been developing in the past few years. You can find out about these on the Web. The National Science Education Standards, developed by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, can be found at www.nas.edu State standards and other projects also are on the Web. In New York, you can find out much about the State Systemic Initiatives at www.nyssi.org and peruse the State Education Department's subject resources guides at www.nysed.gov

Conclusion

Once we classroom teachers and students had too little "real" information available and had to rely on what was presented in textbooks and lab workbooks. Now we can sit down to a feast of data, resources, and tools. Dig in! The sites listed should be considered only as starting points from which, as true scientists, you can delve as far and wide as interest take you.

(Editor's Note: Part 1, on CD-ROMs, was published in our Winter 1996 issue.)

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