Prepare Students For The Big Problems Of Tomorrow
Session I: Datasets to Explore Climate Change
A workshop by Dr. Aaron Reedy of DataClassroom and Dr. Elizabeth Schultheis of Data Nuggets and Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station. Hosted by Blake Blaze of wOURld and DataClassroom.
Full recording of the workshop presented via Zoom on September 9, 2021
Thank you so much for registering for Prepare students for the big problems of tomorrow: Session I
We had a great time on Thursday 9/9/21. Whether or not you were in attendance we want you to have access to the workshop because you reserved a ticket.
Materials / Questions
1. Here are the links to the datasets, materials and slides that were used in the presentation:
Feeling the Heat: What can NASA data tell us about the ice-albedo effect and climate change?
*Note that this activity is a work in progress through a collaboration with My NASA Data and will be updated soon.
Kyoto Cherry Tree Blossom Dates- Historical Data
This dataset allows students to investigate trends in the peak bloom date for cherry trees in Kyoto, Japan in pre and post industrial eras. Data from the year 812 to 2021 is included.
Springing Forward- Digital Data Nugget
Additional materials for this dataset and activity are available on the Data Nuggets website.
2. Do you have any more free datasets that students can use explore climate change?
Yes! …and new datasets are on the way.
When whale I see you again? (Digital Data Nugget)
When a species can't stand the heat (Digital Data Nugget)
Fertilizing biofuel crops may release of greenhouse gases (Digital Data Nugget)
The Case of the Collapsing Soil (Digital Data Nugget)
3. Why does the Feeling the Heat dataset use the 30 year period from 1951-1980 to calculate temperature anomalies?
To follow up on Aaron’s answer to this question during the workshop, we went to the website for NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
“Q. Why does GISS stay with the 1951-1980 base period?
A. The primary focus of the GISS analysis are long-term temperature changes over many decades and centuries, and a fixed base period yields anomalies that are consistent over time.
However, organizations like the NWS (National Weather Service), who are more focused on current weather conditions, work with a time frame of days, weeks, or at most a few years. In that situation it makes sense to move the base period occasionally, i.e., to pick a new "normal" so that roughly half the data of interest are above normal and half below.”
4. Is a site license required to use DataClassroom?
No! Everything we showed in the workshop (except statistical tests from the graph) can be done for free. DataClassroom does have premium features such as working with your own data, graphing help, advanced statistics, and integration with your LMS. Contact us below if you would like to discuss a license at your school, or district.
5. Does the graphing in DataClassroom require a license?
No! The graphing is DataClassroom is free to use with any of the datasets in the Resource Library. All you or your students need to do to try it out is sign up for a free account here.
6. I teach at the college level. Are DataClassroom licenses available for the college level?
Yes. We are about to release the new DataClassroom U! These licenses will be available for both institutional purchase or individual students. Contact us below for more details.
7. Will there be more of these free DataClassroom workshops via Zoom?
Yes! Here is link to our schedule of upcoming workshops. Hope to see you there!
Ask us about getting DataClassroom for your classroom or school. We want to help!
Aaron Reedy
Cofounder + CEO