Ideas for using the IDV in Education
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The GEON IDV can make
marvelous displays of Earth science data for educational uses.
You can see inside the Earth and the atmosphere.
The IDV was not made for education. It is a data exploration tool for research in the earth sciences. It is not "easy" to use, though it is as easy to use as is possible, given all that it can do. Getting anything out of the IDV requires a little training or practice, and reading the instructions. Once you are familiar with it you can do things no other software can do. Quality assurance The IDV is used by hundreds of scientists worldwide with no security problems. The software is created and prodived by NCAR a major US research laboratory in meteorology, with NSF funding. Easy Installation The IDV runs on all modern computers and usually is installed in less than 10 minutes. Disk usage is about 80 MB. You need more than 1000 MHZ cpu speed and more than 1200 MB RAM for good performance; most recent computers have twice that or more. Here are some ways the IDV can be used in education: 1. Lesson Material Preparation: The Skilled Educator / IDV User A skilled IDV user can prepare displays (image files) and movies (Quicktime and animated gif files) of earth science data to be incorporated in lesson materials including lessons, posters, printed matter, power point documents, web sites, and so on. 2. Pre-scripted "Live" Displays The IDV can capture and replay any sequence of display changes including 3D rotation, time animation, etc., and play it back again. This feature can be used to make standalone demos of earth science, including kiosks or booths in museums. 3. The Skilled Educator / IDV User in the Classroom In the classroom a fairly skilled IDV user could show live, interactive IDV sessions using a projector. This may also require some skill using the IDV. It would be possible to provide canned lesson plans showing how to use the IDV for a limited purpose in such a way that the classroom teacher need not be a highly-skilled IDV user. 4. Student Use in the Lab The IDV cam be used by students. High school students have found the IDV online and installed and used it on their home computers. However patience and training is required to use the IDV. Unidata IDV training classes take two to four days. The IDV was not designed for pre-college classroom use. It is not nearly so obvious as, say, Google Earth. If Google Earth is a bicycle, the IDV is a private airplane. It goes more places and flys in 3D. Flying it well takes training and experience. You are ready to solo only after a few hours. The more advanced and focused the student; the better this will work. It is excellent for advanced undergraduate geophysics major homework, and high school students have discovered it and learned it on their own at home, but it probably would be simply confusing in many settings. |
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