{"id":2994,"date":"2013-05-29T09:38:05","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T14:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/?p=2994"},"modified":"2014-03-19T16:11:50","modified_gmt":"2014-03-19T21:11:50","slug":"an-early-vision-for-earth-system-science-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/articles\/2994","title":{"rendered":"An Early Vision for Earth System Science Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"johnson2\"<\/a>

Donald R. Johnson. Credit: SSEC.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS<\/a>), SSEC\u2019s revolutionary software package, burst onto the scene in the early 1970s. With its introduction came an unparalleled era of visualization in satellite meteorology and an excitement about the new ability to see how the atmosphere moves over space and time.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The emergence of SSEC\u2019s McIDAS system, the first tool of its kind to visualize satellite data, ignited discussions among Professor Don Johnson and his meteorology colleagues at UW-Madison, Frank Sechrist, Lyle Horn, Tom Whittaker and Tom Haig.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Recognizing the great teaching possibilities in using visual imagery to see and explain atmospheric properties, a team, led by Johnson, developed a plan to create a series of video-based Educational Modules for the Atmospheric Sciences \u2013 another first in meteorology.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve always placed a high regard on universities, teaching and interacting with young people,\u201d explains Johnson.<\/span><\/p>\n

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Johnson\u2019s team developed a new vision and method to deliver atmospheric science education.\u00a0 Five modules were created, each of which included a videocassette and text book, to cover the topics of:<\/span><\/p>\n