Summary of the December 13, 2010 ICCARS PLC Teleconference

Equipment Used: Audio—Phone Conference provided by Wayne RESA; Video—Adobe Connect, provided by Wayne RESA

You can listen and view the Videoconference by visiting:
http://remc.adobeconnect.com/p47275523

4:15 – 4:30 – Login

4:30 – 6:00 – Teleconference

Attendees: John Bayerl, Lynn Bradley, Wanda Bryant, Russell Columbus, Erica Conley-Shannon, Greg Dombro, Jennifer Gorsline, Tom Green, Dan Neil, Kathleen O’Connor, Deena Parks, John Rama, Darcie Ruby, Bruce Szczechowski, and Yichun Xie.

Absent: Laura Amatulli and Caroline Chuby

Hosts: David Bydlowski and Andy Henry



Agenda and Notes:

1. Audio Test

2. Update on our participation in the Michigan Climate Coalition and Kathleen O’Connor’s participation in the Condition 1 project.

3. Update on iPad Update to 4.2.1 and the use of RSS Readers.

4. Review of Units that were turned in on December 10.

a. Theme, Time Span, Alignment to Standards, Identification of Key Knowledge and Skills

b. Units are posted at: http://geodata.acad.emich.edu/iccars/ in Resources and then Lesson Plans

5. Next Assignment – Write the Driving Questions for each unit. Due January 7.

6. Group Sharing

a. Kathleen spoke about her participation in Condition 1.

b. No major issues with the iPad Update or RSS Readers

c. Many groups commented on their units. A few questions were asked about Driving Questions. In particular—how many driving questions are appropriate within a unit.

7. Information about Climate Change based on the Yale Report-America’s Knowledge of Climate Change and the presentation given at the 2010 UN Climate Conference.

a. It was recommended that participants download the report and possibly use some of the questions with their students. It also provides a way of getting a better understanding of the misconceptions associated with climate change.

b. http://environment.yale.edu/climate/news/knowledge-of-climate-change

c. Yale presentation at the UN Climate Conference: http://environment.yale.edu/climate

d. Global Warming’s “Six Americans.” – What they think, why they think, and the questions they would ask.

8. Group Sharing—participants said the information was enlightening and informative.

9. Information about Remote Sensing

a. Remote Processing Process – Statement of the problem; Identification of In Situ and Remote Sensing Data Requirements; Remote Sensing Data Collection; Remote Sensing Data Analysis; Information Presentation

b. AEROKATS TwinCam Image Processing/Classification Steps – Acquire Imagery from Sensor; Preprocess Imagery; Process Imagery-Supervised Classification

c. John Rama spoke to the problems that he has had in the process to help others see what problems can arise.

d. MultiSpec Tutorials

e. Earth Observation Systems – NASA Global Climate Change Website and NASA/JPL Eyes on the Earth 3D

f. http://climate.nasa.gov/index.cfm

g. http://climate.nasa.gov/Eyes/eyes.html

h. Categories of EOS Missions—14 Satellites (8 atmosphere; 2 oceans; 4 land)

i. EOS Data Sources – NASA/GSFC Global Change Master Directory; CEOS Climate Diagnostics; USGS Earth Explorer; USGS GloVis and MODIS Web

j. http://gcmd.nasa.gov

k. http://idn.ceos.org

l. http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer

m. http://glovis.usgs.gov

n. http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov

10. Group Sharing—Majority of the discussion centered around the difficulty of the process and that many had a general understanding but not a working understanding. It was also stated that there is a disconnect between remote sensing and climate change, in terms of understanding. Some participants suggested that we meet over the Holiday Break to work on Image Processing and related issues. Wednesday, December 22 from 9:00 – 3:00 was selected as the date to do this, at Wayne RESA.

11. Next PLC Teleconference will take place at 4:30 (EST) on January 10, 2011.

Editors Note: The PLC teleconference went pretty smooth. The major problem was that it went 30 minutes too long. As hosts, we have to work on working within the time constraints. But special thanks go out to all of the participants who not only stayed on, but actively participated. It is also very impressive that the group wanted to meet on their own time, to improve their skills and understanding.