Public Forecast (Prototype)

I have worked on the Google Docs forecast I mentioned in my last post. I believe I have a working solution. It works on Blogs and on Google+, and I believe I could easily get it to work in Florida Online. What follows is what the post would look like (I might start to write my own summarized discussion):

FXUS62 KMLB 280207
AFDMLB

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
907 PM EST THU DEC 27 2012

.DISCUSSION...

...COLDER TEMPERATURES AGAIN OVERNIGHT WITH PATCHY FROST POTENTIAL
INLAND...

TONIGHT...AS EXPECTED...THE LIGHT WINDS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES LED
TO A NOTABLE TEMPERATURE DROP WITH SUNSET THIS EVENING WITH HIGH
TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S THIS AFTERNOON NOW DOWN INTO THE UPPER 40S
AND LOW 50S.

MAIN CONCERN TONIGHT REMAIN THE LOW TEMPERATURES/FROST POTENTIAL
ACROSS THE REGION. TWO FACTORS ARE NOW WORKING AGAINST LOWER
TEMPERATURES (AND THEREFORE HIGH FROST COVERAGE): THE LIGHT ONSHORE
FLOW THAT DEVELOPED ALONG THE COAST THIS AFTERNOON RAISING DEWPOINTS
AND THE UPPER LEVEL CIRRUS THAT HAS STARTED MOVING ACROSS THE
REGION. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW A POOL OF UPPER LEVEL
MOISTURE OVER THE GOMEX THAT WILL STREAM ACROSS THE PENINSULA
OVERNIGHT...PROVIDING JUST ENOUGH CLOUD COVER TO PREVENT IDEAL
RADIATIONAL COOLING. WITH DEWPOINTS NOW CREEPING INTO THE UPPER 30S
AND LOW 40S (AND EVEN A FEW MID 40S ACROSS THE TREASURE COAST) IT
APPEARS THAT OVERNIGHT LOWS IN MOST LOCATIONS WILL BE IN THE LOW 40S
AS WELL...WITH A FEW UPPER 30S ACROSS LAKE AND NORTHERN VOLUSIA AS
WELL AS OTHER NORMALLY COLDER LOCATIONS ACROSS THE INTERIOR.

WILL CONTINUE THE MENTION OF PATCHY FROST OVER PORTIONS OF THE
INTERIOR...BUT CUT BACK ON THE COVERAGE ACROSS THE REGION.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
FRI...WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING WILL SHIFT EASTWARD INTO THE
WESTERN ATLANTIC WITH THE APPROACH OF A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
DEVELOPING OVER EAST TEXAS AND LOUISIANA. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT
UNDER 10 MPH AND WILL VEER TO EAST OR EAST-SOUTHEAST. AFTER ANOTHER
CHILLY START TO THE DAY MAX TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO RECOVER
INTO THE UPPER 60S ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-4 CORRIDOR AND NEAR 70
DEGREES TO LOWER 70S FURTHER SOUTHWARD...EXCEPT FOR A FEW MIDDLE 70S
POSSIBLE IN SOUTHERN OKEECHOBEE COUNTY AND MARTIN COUNTY. CONDITIONS
WILL REMAIN DRY...THOUGH THE AIRMASS WILL BEGIN TO MODERATE.

FRI NIGHT-SAT...MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES
IN FRIDAY NIGHT. FORCING LOOKS GOOD FOR SHOWERS WITH MAYBE A FEW
EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS STARTING LATE FRIDAY NIGHT NORTH AND
SPREADING SOUTH THROUGH SATURDAY. WITH THE LOW PRESSURE MOVING
FARTHER NORTH AND EAST ON SATURDAY LOCAL WINDS WILL SHIFT TO OUR OF
THE SOUTHWEST BRINGING IN WARM MOIST FLOW. DUE TO THE WARM AIR
ADVECTION HIGH TEMPERATURES SATURDAY WILL SURGE WELL INTO THE 70S
WITH EVEN A FEW 80S AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH LATER IN
THE DAY. DESPITE THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...TEMPERATURES SATURDAY NIGHT
WILL ONLY DROP TO AROUND CLIMO...MOSTLY UPPER 40S WITH SOME 50S
SOUTH AND PARTICULARLY ALONG THE COAST.

SUN-WED (MODIFIED PREVIOUS DISCUSSION)...COOLER AND DRIER BEHIND THE
FRONT SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEFORE GRADUALLY SLIDING
EAST AND OFFSHORE THE CAROLINA COAST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL
BRING SLOWLY MODERATING TEMPERATURES AND KEEP RAIN CHANCES BELOW
MENTIONABLE VALUES. HIGHS SLOWLY RISING FROM THE 60S SUNDAY TO THE
LOW/MID 70S NORTH AND MID/UPPER 70S SOUTH ON NEW YEARS DAY (TUE).
LOW TEMPS RANGING FROM UPPER 40S NW TO UPPER 50S SOUTHEAST SUN
MODERATING TO THE LOW 50S NW TO LOW 60S SE BY TUE...JUST A BIT
WARMER BY WED WITH FLOW VEERING SWLY AHEAD OF NEXT FRONTAL SYS.

&&

Public Forecast (ideas for my Meteorology Class at DSC)

Saturday 12/22/2012

I have an idea for those who want to learn more about forecasting. I may not have all the time in the classroom I need to teach the skill, but if I do it online, then I will have more time.

My idea and end goal is to have a blog where I can post a weather discussion (my own or from the NWS), and then allow a discussion on the weather. There will also be a survey to take each participator's forecast, then find a statistical forecast and compare it to the NWS forecast and the actual values. (Possibly I could use HTML coding and create a form to submit to) Theoretically, I could also keep this running for the general public to contribute to.

This would be a great blog or program to keep running, but it may take a while to develop. So, in the meantime, I can use Florida Online to do the job. I can set up a discussion every day, and require at least 5 replies on the discussions. I can also have a series of "quizzes" each day for students to enter their forecasts. The statistical values would then be calculated automatically. There would be 5 forecasts required for the course. The required portions would probably be later on in the semester, after we finish talking about the basics (chapter 8), and we'll probably be able to include one lecture on forecasting (chapter 9).

UPDATE: 12/23/2012
Lars just informed me of a way to easily do this on a blog and on Google+ using Google docs. I think this will actually do very well for my class and eventually for the public. I can easily set up each forecast to allow 5 entries: today's high, tonight's low, tomorrow's high, chance of precipitation, and if it is for credit in my DSC meteorology class, one last space to enter a CARS ID (or an ID of my choosing).

Meteorology optics

The focus of my meteorology class at Daytona State will be on weather phenomena and storms. However, I'd really like to include some of the fun things you see all around instead of just the big stuff. There is a board just outside of my classroom here at USU that has lots of pictures of optics. There are some thatvwould be absolutely fun to show. Perhaps I can start my semesters as an attention getter, then something else half way through.

New job

I have just been hired at Daytona State College as an Associate Professor of Physics and Meteorology. I hope to renew this blog now to share my thoughts on teaching. In addition, I'd like to start recording ideas for teaching my classes. So, stay tuned for that!

Teaching Techniques: In-class quizzes

I have just learned of a very interesting technique used to teach classes.  In this technique, the professor generates a 3-question quiz for the class.  Each question is made in a way to summarize one of the 3 points planned for teaching in that day.  If a large percentage of the class gets it wrong, then the lecture continues until it is finished, when the second question is posed for the second point, and so on.  If a large percentage gets it right, say about 95% or more, then the topic is skipped, and the second question is presented.  If slightly fewer people get it right, say about 85%, then the students have an opportunity to discuss it with each other, and the percentage rises to the 95% level or so, then the lecture for that topic is skipped for the day, because the students obviously understand it well enough already.

Interesting idea.  This was developed by a professor at Harvard.  It seems to work very well in idea.  The question is, how do you get the students to actually read the material beforehand in order to understand the topics and pass the quizzes?

Teaching Statement

I commit myself to actively helping those I teach to

Learning responsibility and creativity
Learning the value of community service
Keep lessons and material as plain and simple as possible to encourage learning.
Develop an interest in learning and in the world around them.

Prayer

When's the last time I prayed for my class? When's the last time I really thought about their needs? When's the last time I prepared my lesson according to the answers I got for these questions?