Watch and Learn
WeatherNet Makes Keeping an Eye on the Weather an Educational Experience

Connecting WeatherNet across rural Nevada. SBC Nevada Bell President Marsha Lindsey and Bob Bass, SBC Nevada Bell external affairs manager, examine the company's service area map to locate the rural school districts involved in the WeatherNet program. Lindsey's positive experience with WeatherNet in San Diego was a major impetus for establishing the program in rural Nevada. Bass' area assignment is rural Nevada, and his knowledge of the area helped to facilitate the installation of the schools' WeatherNet sites.

If you think about it, the weather probably disrupted, rather than enhanced, your early education: irresistible puddles that made the walk to school much longer; warm spring breezes that made it impossible to focus on geometry or social studies; and, of course, snowstorms that (hurrah!) preempted school altogether. The weather, in short, seemed to work contrary to the learning process. For some rural Nevada students, however, that's begun to change.

Thanks to a grant from the Nevada Rural Improvement Plan—the result of a joint stipulation between the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and SBC Nevada Bell to modernize and improve rural communications capabilities—to the Desert Research Institute, the students now have WeatherNet. And WeatherNet means learning about the weather hands-on, day-to-day, and locally (very locally) from meteorological equipment installed right on the roofs of their schools. What's more, students are connected via the Internet to a network of five thousand similar stations at neighborhood schools throughout the nation. To make it even more exciting, WeatherNet sites are linked to television weather reports, giving teachers and students high-profile acknowledgment of their work.

The WeatherNet equipment includes Air Watch Weather Systems (AWS), Insta Cams for live video from the sites, and dedicated computers with all the related software. AWS are state-of-the-art, real-time weather monitoring stations that measure a host of meteorological information like temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, rainfall rate, and light intensity. The raw data are processed by WeatherNet software, so teachers can apply the information to their daily lessons using AWS science curriculum. To make the WeatherNet system as user-friendly as possible, researchers from DRI's Western Regional Climate Center help train teachers to work with the equipment. DRI staff and AWS trainers also work together to make certain that teachers are well-prepared to make the best use of the systems in their classroom activities.

DRI's WeatherNet program will eventually bring this interactive, hands-on technology to at least 30 schools—representing a combination of elementary, middle, and high schools—in rural Nevada. Credit for the program idea goes to Marsha Lindsey, president of SBC Nevada Bell, who partnered with KNSD, the NBC affiliate in San Diego, to initiate a WeatherNet program in that city. To supplement the grant from the Nevada Rural Improvement Plan, Lindsey helped obtain funding from the SBC Foundation to pay for teacher training and DRI staff time. She believes strongly in the program. "A good project is a catalyst and makes systemic changes," says Lindsey. "By encouraging interaction among teachers and DRI researchers, schools and the news media, and students and the latest technology, WeatherNet can help make those kinds of changes."

While WeatherNet is new to rural Nevada schools, it is an idea already going strong in southern Nevada. In Clark County, KLAS TV Weather Anchor Kevin Janison has been instrumental in establishing forty WeatherNet sites throughout the Las Vegas Valley, most privately funded and most at area schools. "Essentially, we were looking for a better way to tell the weather story," explains Janison. "Because our geography and topography contribute to really varied pockets of local weather, the best way to know what's going on is to get current, real-time data from those areas. What better way to do that than through on-site weather stations in different neighborhoods?" Since opening the first seven sites in 1994, WeatherNet has been hugely popular, and, Janison says, everybody wins. "The benefits are really multiple-fold. From our standpoint, we've improved our understanding of local weather patterns and that's helped our forecasting. As for the schools, they love seeing their sites highlighted on TV, and the educational opportunities are really only limited by each school's willingness to take advantage of the program."

WeatherNet school curriculum planning. With their teacher Lee Anne Kimpton watching, a committee of Alexander Dawson School seventh graders plans science lessons based on the WeatherNet data available on their internet-linked notebook computers. Counterclockwise from top are Allex Abraham (in light blue top), Alex Zara, Taylor Byorick, and Nick Dalaimo.

Most are more than willing. Late last autumn, Lee Anne Kimpton, a science teacher at the Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas, found herself in the midst of an unexpected snowstorm—a snowstorm that Kimpton had predicted for her specific location based on WeatherNet data. At Dawson, says Kimpton, WeatherNet data can be accessed from computers in each classroom, allowing teachers to seize the opportunity to observe and discuss the conditions behind such atypical weather events. Besides aiding in such impromptu weather lessons, WeatherNet is also a big part of her science curriculum, which covers second through seventh grades. For instance, Kimpton's third-grade students use the network of WeatherNet stations to check conditions where relatives live. Fifth graders investigating extremes in weather use it to look at the hottest or coldest spots around the nation, or to track an extreme weather event in progress. And by seventh grade, the students are actively predicting the weather, posting their forecasts on the school website.

Kimpton tends to start her weather units in January or February, teaching students basic weather concepts and principles so they will be able to recognize what is happening when "our really dramatic weather starts happening, usually sometime around March." But, she says, a better understanding of the weather is not the only thing they stand to gain. "Truth is, it gets the kids to look up, to look around, to notice what's going on around them, and that's a really important goal of science education."

Statewide weather discussion. KLAS TV Las Vegas Weather Anchor Kevin Janison, left, a longtime DRI supporter, and KOLO NewsChannel 8 Reno Weather Anchor and meteorologist Pete Giddings, discuss opportunities to incorporate WeatherNet into their weather reports. They're standing under the WeatherNet meteorological station on the roof of the Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas. A number of the new rural WeatherNet sites have become part of Janison's Las Vegas-based system. Others are part of a new system led by Giddings.

A number of the new rural WeatherNet sites have become part of Janison's Las Vegas-based system. Others have become part of a new system led by Reno KOLO TV, Channel 8 Meteorologist Pete Giddings. Giddings, a long-time proponent of K-12 weather education, believes the WeatherNet sites will be a great boon to the students using the systems. "From working with school kids for more than thirty years, I can tell you that there are few ways that offer more opportunities to get kids interested in science than studying the weather," said Giddings. "Meteorology will take them to math, physics, chemistry, geography, and even into the social sciences to consider how we respond to the weather. And, best of all, it's reinforced every day; it's happening right where they live, and they can see it on television!"

The new WeatherNet principals and teachers agree. According to Tom Brannan, principal of Eleanor Lemaire Elementary School in Battle Mountain, Lemaire teachers are enthusiastic about having the opportunity to integrate WeatherNet data and activities into their classrooms. "Our students will not only gain a better understanding of the weather, they will also enhance their math and computer skills. Computer skills, especially, are important job skills today, and we are always looking for new and better ways to educate and train our students."

Richard O'Larey, principal of Pershing County High School in Lovelock, says teachers there are equally enthusiastic. O'Larey points out that Lovelock's position in central Nevada in a large valley and rain shadow means that storms that look "formidable coming down from Alaska sometimes don't do anything in Lovelock." With WeatherNet's help, Pershing students can now "figure out why that is." Pershing County High School also has its own television station, and forecasts based on WeatherNet data will become part of the student-run broadcasts.

Cathy Hackler, a teacher at C. C. Meneley Elementary School in Gardnerville observes, "My students are very excited about the WeatherNet technology and the fact that their information will be used to more accurately predict weather in a very unpredictable area. They will also love to see their school site on TV, and some of them might even start wearing jackets when they should!"

Hackler says her school will have the WeatherNet computer in the school library so as many students as possible can have access to the technology, and a student-led daily weather report will become part of the morning announcements. And she is planning to integrate WeatherNet into her own classroom in many different ways. "In my classroom, we will use all sorts of math in calculating temperature changes, humidity percentages, and the effect of wind on temperature. WeatherNet also ties with geography, especially in the United States, and that is a big part of the fifth grade curriculum."

When DRI's WeatherNet program brings these educational benefits to rural schools, there is the added bonus of making the schools' internet connections up to 24 times faster than before. And for Esmeralda School District, WeatherNet brings with it the first readily available internet connection ever. "Esmeralda School District has a total of approximately 100 students," says Bob Bass, area manager for external affairs at SBC Nevada Bell. "Economically, it just has not been feasible for the county to connect on its own." But for rural districts, separated by so many empty miles from the state's main population centers, connectedness matters. "For these schools to have this kind of technology, and the expertise to back it up, is really a terrific opportunity," says Bass. "DRI is their technical support staff! It doesn't get any better than that."

Which leads to why DRI, a place where Ph.D. scientists and graduate students abound, has gotten so involved in a K-12 education program. In DRI President Stephen Well's assessment, the answer is easy. "The Institute has a strong and ongoing commitment to the earlier stages of education, recognizing that successful science-based education programs lead to successful scientists," says Wells. "In particular, our Western Regional Climate Center staff is enthusiastic about working with the teachers and students and benefiting from all that data."

For those reasons, Lindsey saw DRI as the perfect partner for the WeatherNet project. "To use a very non-scientific term, it was a 'no-brainer'," she laughs. "Like SBC, DRI has a commitment to math and science education, so, with DRI's reputation and expertise, we knew the program could really stand out."

Because of her experience in San Diego, Lindsey knows firsthand what it takes to make a project like this work. "I've seen the excitement that teachers and students have around the project, and I'm personally excited to see it come to rural Nevada." She believes the breakthrough for the program came with the somewhat unconventional idea of using Nevada Rural Improvement Plan funds for the project. "WeatherNet and the Rural Improvement Plan were not an exact fit," says Lindsey. "I really have to commend the Public Utilities Commission, the Bureau of Consumer Affairs, the Attorney General's Office, and the Attorney General herself for their commitment and vision, and for being willing to recognize that the program could really have a positive impact in the rural areas."

While it probably won't mean an end to spring fever and snow days, WeatherNet should go a long way toward making school and the weather much more compatible partners in education.

-Jackie Allen

Rural WeatherNet Sites

Eagle Valley Middle School - Carson City Churchill County High School - Fallon Lundy Elementary School - Mt. Charleston Virgin Valley High School - Mesquite Menely Elementary School - Gardnerville Mountain View Elementary School - Elko Wells High School - Wells Independence Valley Elementary School - Tuscarora Dyer Elementary School - Dyer McDermitt Combined - McDermitt Lowry High School - Winnemucca Eleanor Lemaire Elementary School - Battle Mountain Pahranagat Valley Elementary School - Alamo Caliente Elementary School - Caliente Panaca Elementary School - Panaca Yerington High School - Yerington Fernley Intermediate School - Fernley Hawthorne Elementary/Junior High School - Hawthorne Beatty Elementary and Middle School - Beatty Clarke Middle School - Pahrump Pahrump High School - Pahrump Duckwater Elementary School - Duckwater Pershing County High School - Lovelock White Pine Middle School - Ely Pyramid Lake Junior/Senior High School - Nixon Great Basin National Park