Read the Course Guide

1. Course overview and objectives

Welcome to the course!

We are happy to have you here and we look forward to an exciting learning journey together. This journey starts here. This guide has been prepared to provide you with a quick and useful introduction to the course. 

Have fun learning,

The instructors

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This online course has been designed for operational forecasters. Before you join our course, we assume that you are able to:

• Understand the conceptual models of anticyclones, ITCZ, tropical lows, fog and low clouds, convective systems and dust storms.
• Interpret single channel and RGB imagery and other satellite data, as described in the "Basic Interpretation of Satellite Imagery" lesson you completed before entering the course.

By the end of the five week course we are hoping that you will have improved your skills in:

• Identifying key weather systems and features found in Africa and their characteristics in satellite imagery and products; and
• Be a competent user of virtual course technology; and
• Develop relationships with course participants via the discussion forums and online briefings.

The systems and features that are addressed in this course include: ITCZ, anticyclones, tropical lows, convective systems, dust storms and fog and low clouds. Please note that the course only addresses system/feature identification in satellite imagery, it does not cover forecasting. For each one of these topics, you will be working through a series of guided exercises on your own. You will identify them in the course as ‘PRACTICE: ITCZ’, ‘PRACTICE: Convection’ and so on. These exercises are not graded. You are encouraged to complete them as many times as you need.

These exercises are each supplemented by group discussions. We will use forums in order to start a discussion on the topics listed above. You will identify them in the course as e.g. ‘DISCUSS Synoptic-scale’. We encourage you to make extensive use of forums to ask questions, share your experience with your colleagues and comment on others’ responses. The more you contribute to the forum, the more opportunities you have for learning and successfully completing the course.

Besides guided exercises and group discussions, a number of reading resources and additional training modules are available to you. Find these listed in the Resources block (left side of the course page). We invite you to use these throughout the course at your own pace.

To have more opportunities to learn together, we organize a bi-weekly get-together using a live meeting environment using Webex. In these live meetings you have a chance to meet your fellow participants and instructors and exchange ideas with them. Even though the live meetings are not mandatory, we warmly encourage you to make time available to attend them.

An online Coffee room will provide you with the opportunity to chat in real time with your fellow course colleagues and instructors every Friday starting August 9th, between 09:00 - 12:00am UTC.

Please note that you must complete the Pre-course quiz to unlock the course content. You can take the quiz twice, but your first attempt will be recorded. While the quiz is graded, the score will not influence your chances of successfully completing the course.

This course is supported by Moodle, a course management system. If you have any questions or issues using the platform, you may refer to the online guide, or contact your trainers or drop us an email at training@eumetsat.int.

2. Course assessment, grading criteria and certificates

All participants who complete the mandatory course activities in time will receive a Certificate of successful completion. In order to complete the course, the following criteria need to be met:

• Complete Pre-course quiz by 8 August 2019. Please note that you must complete the quiz to unlock the course content. 
• Practice your skills using all six PRACTICE cases (ITCZ, Anticyclones, Tropical lows, Convection, Dust storms, Fog/low cloud) as many times as you want.
• Participate actively by posting and replying in 2 DISCUSS forums (Synoptic and Mesoscale forums). Please see criteria in section Communication. Minimum one posting per forum is required for the course completion.
• Complete and submit Post-course quiz by 19 September 2019.
• Evaluate course using Final Course evaluation by 19 September 2010.

You can easily view your course completion status at the top left part of the main course page.

 Please note that although the pre- & post-quizzes are graded, the score will not influence your chances of successfully completing the course.

Recommended activities - We strongly encourage you to also:

• Make use of the resources available in the Resources block - Throughout the course
• Engage with your fellow colleagues and instructors in the Coffee room - Throughout the course
• Provide us with feedback using the Reflect activity - At the end of each course component
• Read the Instructor feedback - At the end of each course component
• Participate in the 2 live Webex events as scheduled

3. Communication

Most of the course communication will take place either in Your Course forum or 2 topic forums. While at times it is perfectly good to just tell another participant or facilitator thanks for a good idea or that you agree, many posts should do more. The best posts should contribute to the discussion by sharing your ideas, posing an answer, asking a useful question, or sharing a relevant experience. You are expected to:

• Only post thoughtful responses
• Stay on topic (or start a new discussion if appropriate)
• Be constructive rather than critical in your responses (remember that readers cannot hear your tone of voice or see your expressions)
• Use respectful, appropriate language
• For technical postings, clarify words that may cause confusion
• Provide timely responses

How forum contributions to forums should be formulated: 

Online discussion rubric - Adapted after IDL6543, Instructional Design Team, Center for Distributed Learning, UCF,   licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license.

Besides forums, there is a Coffee room available where you can chat directly with your colleagues and instructors online.

We encourage you to send us your feedback and reflect on your progress every week using the ‘Reflect’ sections. The more we know about your learning experience, the better we can support you. 

How to manage email copies for Forum postings

Each forum posting by default creates an email copy to your email inbox if you are subscribed to the Forum. We generally recommend staying subscribed so you will see the new messages without having to log in to the course web site. The following two methods will help you manage the email flow:

1. You can check your Forum Digest by clicking at your name on top right corner of the course page and "Preferences". Click at "Forum Preferences" and choose Email Digest Type that the best fits to your needs.

"No digest" will copy each posting from any course participant to you email in near real-time, so you will keep an accurate overview of what is been discussed right now. If you prefer less intense emailing, choose "Complete" or "Subjects", and you will receive only one daily digest of postings.

2. Without changing the Forum Preferences, within your own mailbox (Outlook, Gmail, etc) you can set up simple rules to keep your personal email inbox organized. For example, you can create a rule that moves all mails with a title "E-SAC 2018:" to another folder. This way your Inbox stays less busy.

4. Course schedule

4.1. List of activities & deadlines

Week 1 - Course introduction, 29 July – 2 August

Introduce yourself

• READ Course guide Note:
• QUIZ: Pre-course quiz Note: Must be submitted by 8 August 2019; a pre-requisite to access the other course sections.
• REFLECT
• READ: Instructors feedback

Week 2 & 3 - PART 1: Synoptic-Scale Systems, 5 – 16 August

• PRACTICE: ITCZ
• PRACTICE: Anticyclones
• PRACTICE: Tropical lows
• DISCUSS Synoptic-scale systems Forum
• Live Webex Weather Briefing 
• COFFEE ROOM available Fridays, 09:00 - 12:00 UTC
• REFLECT
• READ: Instructors feedback

Note: It is recommended that all activities are completed by 16 August 2019. However, participants can access the practice exercises at any time after and contribute to the discussions.

Week 4 & 5 - PART 2: Mesoscale Systems, 19 - 30 August

Note: Section opens on 16 August.

• PRACTICE: Convection
• PRACTICE: Dust
• PRACTICE: Fog and low cloud
• DISCUSS Mesoscale systems Forum
• Live Webex Weather Briefing 
• COFFEE ROOM available Fridays, 09:00 - 12:00 UTC
• REFLECT
• READ: Instructors feedback

It is recommended that all activities are completed by 30 Aug 2019 or end of the course 6 Sept. However, participants can access the practice exercises at any time after and contribute to the discussions.

Week 6 - Course wrap-up, 2 – 6 September

Note: Section opens on 26 August

• QUIZ: Post-quiz  Note: Must be submitted by 19 September
• EVALUATE: Final Course evaluation Note: Must be submitted by 19 September
• Receive Certificate of Successful Completion by end of September
• READ: Instructors feedback

5. Being an online student

As a participant in an online course, you are entering a learning environment that’s very different from a traditional classroom setting. You get access to great instructors and activities without having to travel to remote locations. An online learning environment has some special considerations. Since you cannot make the same social connections as you do in a classroom setting, you must be more proactive about connecting with the instructors and other participants. You should also make sure that your office or home environment does not distract you from your learning. Here are some guidelines and tips to consider while participating in this course.

Guidelines for participating

• Login to the course website as soon and as often as you can.
• Read the Course Guide and other resources when they are made available.
• Actively explore the course website and familiarize yourself with its features and functions.
• Use the Profile tool on the course website to share a bit about yourself.
• Use the Participants list on the course website to learn about your fellow participants.
• Be an active participant in all activities.
• Use proper language and be constructive and positive in all online discussion forums. Emotions and attitude are easily misinterpreted in email and forum postings. Be very aware of how a posting can "sound" to others before you submit it.
• Keep discussions forums on topic. Start a new thread when introducing a new topic. Your instructor may provide specific instructions and rules for using discussion forums. Follow them.

Some of the hardest parts of being an online student are managing time and dealing with distractions. If you are taking the course in your office, you will have to protect your time and not let yourself get pulled away from an activity. It is important to block all non-course tasks from your schedule during course time. Set aside a regularly scheduled block of time to devote to the course, as if you had a scheduled a course on a campus. Inform your co-workers or family that you will not be available during that time.

With these guidelines and tips in mind, we hope that you have a successful and productive time in the course.

We will be asking for feedback regularly at various points in the course. Please take the time to fill out any surveys or feedback forms and let us know how we can improve the course.

Network problems?

All of us have experienced problems with unreliable internet connections. Previous year participants have shared with us their experiences with internet blackouts and problems with slow bandwidth. They have also shared their experiences how they solved the problems. Some accessed the course website using their mobile phone connection or a local internet cafe, if the fixed internet within the institute was restricted. Some participants have reserved time for working with the course during less congested internet traffic times in the evening or early morning.

When having troubles, it is good to have patience. The course has an intentionally long duration to help everyone access the material and complete the activities within the given time. We have tried to help you accessing the mandatory exercises by minimizing  the image sizes and avoiding excessive use of heavy animations.

6. Classroom courses

Satellite Application Classroom Courses are organized usually every year, and they consist of hands-on practical sessions, simulations and exercises. The classroom courses introduce the students on how to apply the satellite image interpretation and identification of features into forecasting.

Two classroom courses are foreseen in November 2018:

1. 14-18 October at IMTR, Nairobi, Kenya;
2. 25-29 October at SAWS, Pretoria, South Africa.

The participants for these classroom courses are selected in cooperation between the organizing institutes. A priority is given to the persons who:

1. have not recently participated in a classroom course,

2. have successfully completed the current or previous Online Satellite Application Course (certificate of completion mandatory);

3. have their organization agreeing to their participation.

7. Instructors list

Lee-ann Simpson, South African Weather Service, South Africa

Kgolo Mahlangu, South African Weather Service, South Africa

Joseph Kagenyi, Institute for Meteorological Training and Research, Kenya

Sarah Kimani, Institute for Meteorological Training and Research, Kenya

Simon Musuyimi, Institute for Meteorological Training and Research, Kenya

Scholastic Maloba, Institute for Meteorological Training and Research, Kenya

Vesa Nietosvaara, EUMETSAT

Jochen Karl Kerkmann, EUMETSAT

Ivan Smiljanic, EUMETSAT