IRI Remote Sensing

Partner(s): Pietro Ceccato, Michael Bell International Research Institute Access: Open to all Released: April 2011 VIEW PROJECT

IRIS is a website that uses case-based activities to teach students at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University how to use remote sensing techniques to analyze environmental change and solve problems in climate, health, and disaster management.

IRIS is used by students in the IRI course "Remote Sensing and Environmental Change" taught by Pietro Ceccato and Michael Bell. This advanced-level course teaches practical and theoretical foundations of remote sensing techniques using IRI's extensive online collections of climate-related data and maps.

The first two sections of IRIS feature case studies, one on peatland fires and one on malaria. Students are given a myriad of remote sensing data and information which they must sort through and analyze to identify early warning signs and predict environmental and health problems. In the third section, students propose their own research problem and an analysis plan. Students take short quizzes at the end of these sections, allowing the instructors to measure student learning and discuss misunderstandings in class.

CCNMTL developed the IRIS website and edited video tutorials for the educational activities

Related project categories:
Case Studies | Sciences