MAPS-NET: educational meteorology

MAryland Pilot Earth Science and Technology Education NETwork (MAPS-NET) is an educational program that recognizes the need for broader education in the schoolroom on the subject of remote sensing and its interpretation. The authors set out to develop a pilot program to teach teachers in the engineering and science disciplines to be able to apply modern techniques in the classroom. They began with weather prediction and understanding. The local weather for any student is a very real part of his/her life experience. The local forecasts on radio and TV are part of everyday events. The ability of a student to interact directly with the satellite, interrogate the data, understand the meteorological principles, and to find out how the model works will stimulate new interest and indulge the student in new `hands-on´ science, engineering, and math experiences. Teachers were selected from middle and high schools from across the State of Maryland. The program was run during the summers of 1991,´92 and ´93. In 1994, the teachers were charged to prepare a textbook on the subject, entitled Looking at Earth from Space for other interested teachers. They also produced a glossary of terms which runs to several hundred entries. These text material are a guide for peers in their own profession. The course consists of both lectures and laboratory experiences. The lectures are divided into engineering and science. Engineering deals with the principles of satellite observations, on-board instruments, and the methods of storing the data