Helps Students Generate Forecasts With Eye-Catching Daily Graphics And Precision Storm Tracking

Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University (ERAU) has selected Baron Lynx weather graphics and precision storm tracking tools for a variety of educational purposes. Originally purchased for use in broadcast meteorology classes, the product’s flexibility enables it to be used for numerous meteorological disciplines, including weather analysis and forecasting, aviation weather, and tropical meteorology classes. Adding striking colored animated graphics to illustrate complex weather conditions helps explain the material better and highlight areas of interest.

Baron is providing a wide selection of commercially available weather data products to ERAU, along with its patented and value-added data. The open architecture of the Baron system also enables Embry-Riddle to incorporate a range of data provided by other sources and create graphics ideal for the classroom environment. ERAU is using Lynx to develop high quality instructional materials, including animated graphics that can be used to explain introductory meteorological material as well as important regional and national weather events.

“In the past, students would have written their forecasts and only their professor would see it, said Robert Eicher, Assistant Professor of Meteorology. “Now the class has a clear purpose. Student meteorologists use Lynx to prepare weather analyses and forecasts and publish the results to the ERAU website using Baron’s robust and user-friendly digital content management system. Updating the forecast using the Baron web portal provided a solution for a need that had been unmet for five years or more. Enrollment in broadcast meteorology classes has more than doubled since we obtained these new tools.”

As a television weather broadcaster, Eicher had used Baron weather products at several commercial televisions, and opted for the product after shopping around for a weather graphics system that would be appropriate for a university setting. ERAU selected Baron Lynx over other options because the range of features included increased its value compared to other options. It is also more customizable than other solutions, enabling ERAU to incorporate information from its existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data port and use the information to create unique instructional teaching tools.

Located in a broadcast studio that is part of the meteorology computer lab, Baron Lynx is accessible to the entire meteorology faculty and students, with output connected to adjacent classrooms. ERAU continues to expand its use of Lynx to create more content for the website and as a teaching tool for student pilots and a variety of other situations.

(Image provided with Embry-Riddle University news release)

FMI: www.erau.edu