Investigating Climate Change and Remote Sensing (ICCARS)

 

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The ICCARS eLearning Collaboratory

The ICCARS eLearning Collaboratory is an eLearning portal which includes many resources dealing with climate change and remote sensing.  This includes images, videos,  lesson plans, documents, tutorials, and more. The collaboratory features web-based geographic information system, a student observation database, and groupware for social networking to build the ICCARS supporting community. Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, Blogger and RSS feeds are used to build an integrated collaborative learning space where students and teachers share ideas, data, information and findings. While portions of the eCollaboratory are in development as we build the project, many resources are available now. 

Please click HERE to visit the ICCARS eLearning Collaboratory

Please click on the link(s) below for agendas and resources for ICCARS Presentations that have recently taken place.  Please note, after 60 days the links will be removed from this page, but will remain within the ICCARS eLearning Collaboratory, in the attachment section. Files can be found at the bottom of the linked page or can be downloaded, depending on the link.

Goal and Anticipated Results of the ICCARS Project

Goal:  Students and Teachers will have a working understanding of the science behind global climate change and its relationship to human activity, in particular its relationship to land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes on multiple scales through NASA data products and models.

Anticipated Results -- The ICCARS program has five outcomes:

  1. Students and teachers will learn how remotely sensed data can be used to study the phenomena of global climate change on multiple levels (i.e., scales of size: local, regional and global), be able to acquire remotely sensed data and produce meaningful information (including vegetation index, biomass and LULC change over time) from that data.

  2. Students and teachers will learn how to collect and process a remotely sensed, four band image using the NASA AEROKATS kite based TwinCam-AeroPod sensor.

  3. Students and teachers will utilize appropriate social networking tools and desktop videoconferencing to collaborate, share information and build a support community.

  4. Students will demonstrate proficiency in applicable Michigan curriculum content expectations and standards in earth science, biology, physics and mathematics.

  5. Teachers will understand the fundamental concepts of Project Based Learning (PBL) and be able to design an instructional unit using a PBL methodology grounded in inquiry and student led investigations.

ICCARS is supported in part by:

  • Wayne RESA
  • A grant from NASA entitled ICCARS (Investigating Climate Change and Remote Sensing).

Teacher Testimonial

"I wanted to tell you of a great success story in this class, I have a student named ....... who has trouble both focusing and behaving in class. All year it has been a struggle to get him to engage. When he was assigned to the ICCARS class I was worried that he would be a distraction. I was really surprised, he was one of the pilots on Friday and did a tremendous job! He was so proud of the fact that he was able to successfully fly the kite. It was like watching a different kid wrestling with this kite. I know the study of climatology is our main focus and goal, but getting kids like .......  to engage in science is, in my opinion, the best possible outcome we can have." Submitted by a first year ICCARS Project Teacher.

Collaborations

ICCARS formed a professional learning community (PLC) in collaboration with the NASA Lifelines for High School Climate Change Education project.

ICCARS forms a collaboration with GLOBE 's (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Student Climate Research Campaign.

Participants in the ICCARS Project

Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills, MI -- Joyce Lee and Debby Peters

Anderson High School, Southgate, MI -- Dan Neil, John Rama, and Bruce Szczechowski

Avondale Middle School, Rochester Hills, MI -- Laura Amatulli

Beacon Day Treatment, Southgate, MI -- Deanna Devore, Kate Fanelli, and Caryn Flowers

Belleville High School, Belleville, MI -- Lynn Bradley

Blanchette Middle School, Inkster, MI -- Jermaine Evans and Christina Gaines

Cass Tech High School, Detroit, MI -- Jane Cunningham, Karen Kachadurian, and James O'Leary

Crestwood High School, Dearborn Heights, MI -- Shane Cash and Diana Johns

Dearborn Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Dearborn Heights, MI -- John Bayerl, Jennifer Gorsline, and Deena Parks

Detroit Midtown Academy Middle School, Detroit, MI --Erica Conley-Shannon and Melanie Spangler

Divine Child High School, Dearborn, MI -- Serge Danielson-Francois, Steve Dickie, Jennifer Heskett, Matthew Mooney and Darcie Ruby

Frost Middle School, Livonia, MI -- Carim Calkins

Hamtramck High School, Hamtramck, MI -- LeAnn Horne

Henry Ford High School, Detroit, MI -- Wanda Bryant, Jeannine Burke, Shifonne Clark, and Khidhir Naeem

John Glenn High School, Westland, MI -- Amanda Laidlaw

Knabusch Mathematics and Science Center, Monroe, MI -- Russ Columbus and William "Tom" Green

Martin Luther King High School, Detroit, MI -- Sharon Lewis

Marvin L. Winans Academy of the Performing Arts High School, Detroit, MI-- Tim Harris and Danielle Sciatto

Monroe High School, Monroe, MI -- Marc Drougel

Mumford High School, Detroit, MI -- Gretchen O'Neal 

Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy, Detroit, MI -- Derek Sale

Southeastern High School, Detroit, MI -- Robert Blakely, Haley Hart, Jennifer Pagel, and Chad Segrist

Stevenson Middle School, Westland, MI -- Diana Markley

Thurston High School, Redford, MI -- John Bingamon, Scott Bridges, Bradley Fritz, and Charlene Jones

Troy High School, Troy, MI -- Rebecca Brewer and Kathryn Robles

University Prep Science and Mathematics Middle School, Detroit, MI -- Caroline Chuby, Greg Dombro, Omari Lewis, Kathleen O'Connor, and Katrina Smith

Project Personnel

Wayne RESA:  David Bydlowski, Andy Henry, Brenda Hose, and Linda Olinik

IGRE(Institute for Geospatial Research and Education)-EMU: Mike Dueweke, Xiaoliang Meng,
and Yichun Xie

Download the ICCARS Annual Report
for FY 2010-2011

Graphic Representation of the ICCARS Project

Alignment to the Michigan Merit Curriculum.