Hipp to be Green

We just finished building the environmental labs (see photo). We plan to install the solar array stanchions and solar panels next week.  The students are now working on attaching the support frames to the solar panels so they can be attached to the stanchions.

In addition to working on the support frames, the students are gathering information to start their end-of-year portfolios.  The portfolios will cover everything completed from the beginning to the end of the school year and will outline the following:

• Projects
• Experiments
• Test
• Handouts/Printouts
• Presentations
• Trips
• Movies/Films

We started rebuilding the other environmental lab (for the second time) after spring break but had to stop.  Unfortunately, it is time to start NJASK testing. The test period will curtail the class from working outside on the environmental lab for the next couple of weeks.

As a result, the class is now working on their solar arrays.  The new teams also started building their solar arrays when we returned from spring break.  The arrays will be tested with four different light sources [65-watt plant bulb, 65-watt incandescent bulb, room lighting (fluorescent bulbs) and in the sunlight]. In addition with the different light sources, we will set-up the arrays at different angles (0, 30, 45 and 60 degrees) of inclination.

The students will then create a spreadsheet and graph several charts.  After all the data is collected the students will evaluate the data, then they will ascertain which light source produces the most energy and which is the best angle of inclination.

Class interim grades are due next week.

We started building the other environmental lab last week, but unfortunately over the weekend, a high wind gust sent the window panels flying.  Therefore, we began this week by retrieving the panels and assessing the damage.  We concluded after the inspection that there was only minor damage, so the students and I were very, very relieved.

The previous classes have already finalized the components for the Solar Environment Lab. If you recall the classes were broken-up into teams and each team was assigned a phase of the project to do research on.

• Team One – solar panels
• Team Two – proposed equipment used only with DC current
• Team Three – proposed equipment used only with AC current
• Team Four  – used the Excel program to develop a spreadsheet and chart showing a graph of the cost between using solar panels or the public utility electrical supply (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)
• Team Five – took all information gathered by the teams and prepared a Powerpoint presentation

The previous classes used Ohm’s Law after they obtained the equipment electrical characteristics to find either the watts or amps used by the equipment. 

When we return from spring break, the class will complete the other solar environmental lab. 

The students are starting to realize the many benefits of working on the solar project.  They are starting to see the direct relationship between Tech class and math class. Although they knew there were connections, usually because Wes and I point them out, they are telling me what is happening in Tech class and relating it to what we are doing in math.

In math class, we are doing data analysis.  Meanwhile, in Tech class they did experiments on the voltage different light sources emit and they graphed the results. The great part is that now we discuss the results of the graph but the students also discuss how they set up the tests. They identified the differences between each experiment and determined what the results mean.
 
This was one of the main objectives we strived for when applying for the grant: having the students be able to do the work, but also understand and be able to describe what they are doing. We also wanted them to realize that math is not just classroom lessons but has connections to the world they live in.

The other part is the students are looking forward to the next lesson that will include the solar panels and the greenhouses.  Incidentally, I am also looking forward to it!

The presentations are going wonderfully. The second team did their presentation on Global Warming. They discussed the different types of hydrocarbons; the effects of using hydrocarbons on the earth’s atmosphere; the things that would help us save energy; which areas of the world have the most pollution; and how the sea levels are affected.

The students are making this a competition and each group is trying to come up with the best lesson plan and review test. In addition, they are putting together a make-up test for any student who missed the original test.

This process has required them to know the subject matter a little better and since it has become a bit of a competition the students seem to be concentrating on their peers’ presentations.

They are starting to understand that they can make a difference and that this environment we all share is a balancing act.

Next week we will start building the other environmental lab and after that we will start installing the solar panel array outside.

We changed things up a little this week; the students are starting to teach the lessons to their peers.  The class, as you recall, is broken up into teams. Each team had to research different areas that are related to alternating energy, then develop a lesson plan and construct a test related to their subject matter covered.

The subjects that the teams chose to teach are as follows:

• British Thermal Unit (BTU) – Relationship to Electricity
• Global Warming – The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect
• Solar Panel Energy
• Wind Turbines
• Geothermal Energy
• AC/DC: What’s the Difference
• Alternative Energy.

British Thermal Unit (BTU) – Relationship to Electricity class was taught this past Monday.  The team demonstrated how electricity generates heat and how that heat is measured in BTU’s.

In addition, the team discussed how to wire solar panel arrays to increase voltage verses increasing amperage. The instructing team had the other teams demonstrate their knowledge by asking them to wire their own arrays, which were checked as part of their assessment process. 

Next lesson: Global Warming – The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect.

Since this is the third marking period and some of the students have had me for other classes they understand my teaching style.  This allows me to move at a faster pace and cover a little more material than the other two previous classes.

Now that the new students are here, I started the class off by giving the students an overview, course outline and the vocabulary list with instructions for the students to review this information. I advised them that we would cover the material during the next couple of classes.
 
In addition, during the week the students viewed NOVA’s  “Global Warming” DVD. After we viewed the DVD the students had a group discussion, then wrote an essay covering the DVD and their discussion.

While everything else was going on, some of the students needed to complete their solar array spreadsheets and charts. I must say, some of the charts were a bit colorful for my taste (see above.) Yes, they are having fun!  At the same time, the data is there and they are learning the required information.

It has been a while since my last post and that has a lot to do with the fact that my lessons haven’t easily aligned with the solar panel project. Last year with the wind turbine I found myself forcing lessons around the project, and it did not go smoothly. This year when the subject matter fits I use it and I find the students get more involved when they are working with it periodically rather than every lesson. What I have been doing is following the lessons in Mr. Hill’s class and talking to him all the time about his experiments and findings and then we work together to put it in a manner that I can use in my class.

Now we are heading into the time where the solar project helps out in math class.  We are starting ratios, fractions, proportions, percents and scale drawing. When we start the lessons I know the students have already touched on all these objectives in Mr. Hill’s class. We will get into each lesson and go over all the rules and vocabulary words and do our problems from the text book, then I will use the information from the solar panel project and let the students discover where they can apply what they have learned. We are trying to get outside and work so they can install the solar panels but the weather isn’t cooperating. Hopefully next week we will be able to get outside and measure the greenhouses, so that we can then create a scale drawing or a model to work with in math.
 

The class is now working on their solar arrays.  The teams began building their solar arrays when we returned to school after the holiday break.  The arrays were tested with four different light sources (65-watt plant bulb, 65-watt incandescent bulb, room light and with the sun on an overcast day). In addition to the different light sources, we used different angles (0, 30, 45 and 65 degrees) of inclination from the horizontal axis.

The students then created a spreadsheet and graphed several charts.  After all the data was collected and analyzed the students found out that the sun produced more energy than any artificial lighting we used and that the best angle of inclination was 65 degrees.

The marking period ends this Friday, Jan. 23, so the students are busy working on their portfolios.  The portfolios will be created in PowerPoint and will outline all the course elements, including handouts, projects, test, homework, movies, cited work and reports.

We will continue the project with a new group of students on Monday, Jan. 26.  Although I will have to start all over again to bring them up to speed on the project, I plan to add a different twist here and there. All the teachers reading this blog know that we have to keep the material new and fresh to maintain students’ interest.

Now the larger wind turbine model (shown right) is completed. Yes, it worked! We did a preliminary test using battery power. After we put one more coat of paint on the model and install the solar panels, we will take it outside for another preliminary test but with the solar array.  After adjustments, the final test will come.

Currently, the class will is constructing a prototype solar array before we attempt the finished product.   After we complete the solar array, we will take the model outside to see if the model will rotate. In addition to building, the class will landscape the base support.

The students were thrilled to see the model actually work. However, I must say when I took a poll of the class prior to the test on whether the model would work or not they all believed that it would work.  I like that optimism!

WE WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR.