This study reports on the development and implementation of the HydroLearn online platform that supports active learning in the field of hydrology and water resources engineering. The platform is designed to serve the following two main purposes: to enable instructors to collaboratively develop and share active-learning resources, and to enhance student learning in fundamental and emerging topics in the field (e.g., rainfall-runoff processes, design of flood protection measures, flood forecasting, water-energy-food nexus). Using open-source technology, the HydroLearn platform supports customization of pre-developed learning modules and allows instructors to share components of their learning resources with other interested users. HydroLearn is inspired by the need to address challenges in adoption, scalability, and sustainability identified by research on educational innovations. HydroLearn utilizes research-based active learning methods (e.g., Problem-based Learning; Collaborative and Cooperative Learning) to create authentic online learning modules. The modules engage students in real-world hydrologic problems and provide unique opportunities to expose undergraduate students to modern hydrologic analysis tools that are at the forefront of hydrologic research and engineering practice. The platform includes tools that scaffold instructors’ implementation of sound pedagogical practices. The platform includes wizards and pre-populated templates on how to develop student-centered learning outcomes that ensure constructive alignment with the learning content. The platform also includes guidance for instructors on how to develop assessment rubrics to enhance student achievement through communicating the expected performance levels. The study will also share results on the implementation of a pilot learning module on flood protection. Thirty-six undergraduate students were surveyed before and after the implementation to determine their level of learning engagement. The survey measured their skills engagement, emotional engagement, participation, and performance engagement. The presentation will also report on efforts to engage the community through a fellowship program that aims to develop a network of educators who aspire to adopt active learning approaches and enhance hydrology education.

The era of "big data'' promises to provide new hydrologic insights, and open web-based platforms are being developed and adopted by the hydrologic science community to harness these datasets and data services. This shift accompanies advances in hydrology education and the growth of web-based hydrology learning modules, but their capacity to utilize emerging open platforms and data services to enhance student learning through data-driven activities remains largely untapped. Given that generic equations may not easily translate into local or regional solutions, teaching students to explore how well models or equations work in particular settings or to answer specific problems using real data is essential. This paper introduces an open web-based learning module developed to advance data-driven hydrologic process learning, targeting upper level undergraduate and early graduate students in hydrology and engineering. The module was developed and deployed on the HydroLearn open educational platform, which provides a formal pedagogical structure for developing effective problem-based learning activities. We found that data-driven learning activities utilizing collaborative open web platforms like HydroShare and CUAHSI JupyterHub computational notebooks allowed students to access and work with datasets for systems of personal interest and promoted critical evaluation of results and assumptions. Initial student feedback was generally positive, but also highlights challenges including trouble-shooting and future-proofing difficulties and some resistance to open-source software and programming. Opportunities to further enhance hydrology learning include better articulating the myriad benefits of open web platforms upfront, incorporating additional user-support tools, and focusing methods and questions on implementing and adapting notebooks to explore fundamental processes rather than tools and syntax. The profound shift in the field of hydrology toward big data, open data services and reproducible research practices requires hydrology instructors to rethink traditional content delivery and focus instruction on harnessing these datasets and practices in the preparation of future hydrologists and engineers.