Progress 07/01/06 to 06/30/08
Outputs
AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc., Germantown, Maryland, introduced the WeatherBug Achieve software to a representative of each state Agriculture in the Classroom program during the 2006 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This software is used in conjunction with WeatherBug MotionCam to bring data from weather stations to the classroom. It includes time-lapse images of weather systems, cloud formations, sun and moon positions. AWS had approached the USDA National Program Leader about the potential for this program to partner with the Agriculture in the Classroom program to expand understanding of weather as it relates to agriculture. The WeatherBug program is more recognized in some area of the country than others. The District of Columbia and surrounding vicinity has great recognition of WeatherBug unlike other areas. The initial program would allow each state a one year complimentary subscription to this weather service. The responsibility of the state would be to find a school equipped with MotionCam so they could utilize the program. During the meeting, one WeatherBug Achieve Silver Package and Tracking system was awarded to New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom Program through a drawing. Teachers attending the conference and not the recepient of the one-year free subscription were eligible to register to win a free subscription. Thirty-one schools representing eighteen states and the District of Columbia utilized the program. Curriculum materials were planned that would interface the WeatherBug Achieve program to agriculture. Due to timing issues, the subscriptions for the service did not coincide with the availablity of the materials thus leaving it to the discretion of the teacher to make the agricultural connection. Some schools chose not to participate due to budgetary restrictions that would not make the renewal possible. Others expressed concern over previous technical problems with a similar program. Educators expressed concern over the addition of yet one more program to their already time-pressed schedule. One teacher, Carol Bohnert, Chicago, Illinois, did report extensive use of the program. A teacher in the gifted program at Benjamin Middle School, connected the Illinois curriculum for agriculture in the classroom to WeatherBug and integrated science and language skills through agricultural connections. Other teachers used the materials for weather information without linkage to agriculture. PRODUCTS: WeatherBug Achieve is a commercially developed program that utilizes weather data for classroom use. Students in one of the thirty-one classrooms adopting the program had access to additional information about weather. Some of the classrooms interfaced the materials with agricultural messages to connect the message about the important impact of weather on agricultural production. OUTCOMES: WeatherBug Achieve was implemented in thirty-one schools representing eighteen states and the District of Columbia. The WeatherBug program has recognition in regions of the country making it a more viable in some areas. It is very recognizable in the Washington DC and surrounding area while other parts of the county have no recognition and thus have a skepticism of the software. In contacting some school systems, state contacts were met with opposition due to a previous WeatherBug program that created technological problems. Schools without the MotionCam were not interested in the additional investment to bring the program to their school. Many schools expressed concern that they did not have the budget to sustain the program. Time pressed educators were also concerned about adding another project to their work load. Carol Bohnert, an instructor of gifted students at Benjamin Middle School, Chicago, Illinois embraced the program. She incorporated the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom materials with WeatherBug to integrate science and language arts to agriculture. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: WeatherBug Achieve software was offered through the agriculture in the classroom program to each state. Identified as a partner by the National Program Leader at USDA, this initiative was available to states that were willing to identify a school with the MotionCam and willingness to host the one-year free subscription. It was showcased at the 2006 National Agriculture in the Classroom Program in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Representatives of USDA and AWS met with state contacts in Illinois, Missouri, Tennesse and Utah to preview the program before initiating it nationwide. FUTURE INITIATIVES: WeatherBug Achieve is a commercial program that has limited visibility nationwide. Interest in the initial phase of the program was limited due to school budgets, time commitments, and lack of educational materials connecting it to agriculture. It is not recommended for future initiatives from the national perspective.
Impacts
WeatherBug Achieve software was adopted by thirty-one schools representing eighteen states and the District of Columbia during the two year course of this grant. Although intended as a national initiative, it became apparent that WeatherBug was not recognized equally across the country and the renewal costs were troubling to struggling school financial situations. The Benjamin Middle School, Chicago, Illinois, reported the most utilization of the program. Carol Bohnert, a teacher of gifted students, interfaced the WeatherBug materials with Illinois agriculture in the classroom curriculum to integrate science and language arts through agriculture and weather.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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