The Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Using Hydroviz to Support Undergraduate Student Learning

January 30, 2023 / 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET

Venue/Location: Virtual
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Conveners

Cory T. Forbes
Departments of Curriculum and Instruction & Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington
Silvia Jessica Mostacedo Marasovic
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington
Emad Habib
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Jenny Byrd
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Intended Participants

This two-hour workshop aims to introduce undergraduate instructors to a course module and resources developed to engage undergraduate students in visualization of data grounded in the Food-Energy-Water-Nexus (FEW-Nexus). Course instructors will guide participants on ways to develop diverse local and regionally specific scenarios for teaching and learning that would involve decision-making about socio-hydrological issues.

The Hydroviz Tool

The workshop will involve an introduction to the course module and Hydroviz, an online water systems visualization tool. Participants will engage in structured decision-making around a contemporary FEW-Nexus challenge with both natural and human dimensions. Participants will engage in a hands-on experience, exploring the module and Hydroviz, similar to what students would experience when using these resources.

Benefits and Intended Outcomes

Attendees will learn how to create student-driven data exercises that explore food production, energy sources and water availability in any region in the United States that could be adapted for the courses they teach.

Upon completion, participants can expect to:

  • Understand how to modify and implement an adapted version of the module in their own courses to effectively promote their students' learning;

  • Understand how to use the Hydroviz tool to readily access data about food, energy and water in the country; and

  • Be able to use the tool to visualize data in map form, providing a visual comparison with the rest of the country.

Resources

As we prepare for the workshop, there are two things we ask everyone to do in advance to make the most of the time we have together.

  • Please complete the pre-survey BEFORE the workshop. The link to the survey is: https://few-nexus-pre-survey.questionpro.com. The survey takes around 20 minutes to complete. At any point, it can be saved to continue later (a message will be sent to your e-mail with a link to bring you back to the survey). Once completed, the survey can be downloaded.

  • Create an account in Hydrolearn to have access to the module. Please follow this link with the instructions: https://bit.ly/FEWmodule.

During the workshop, please complete the following activities:

  • Complete the exercise sheet. You can download the exercise sheet from this link: https://bit.ly/hvzfolder

  • Complete the post-survey of the workshop. The link to the survey is: https://few-nexus-post-survey.questionpro.com. Close to the conclusion to the workshop, you will start working on answering the survey. At any point, it can be saved to continue later (a message will be sent to your e-mail with a link to bring you back to the survey). Once completed, the survey can be downloaded.

Convener Information:

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE-1609598. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.​