21st Century JUICE!

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January 27, 2008

Op-Ed Columnist

The Age of Ambition

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

DAVOS, Switzerland

With the American presidential campaign in full swing, the obvious way to change the world might seem to be through politics.

But growing numbers of young people are leaping into the fray and doing the job themselves. These are the social entrepreneurs, the 21st-century answer to the student protesters of the 1960s, and they are some of the most interesting people here at the World Economic Forum (not only because they’re half the age of everyone else).

Andrew Klaber, a 26-year-old playing hooky from Harvard Business School to come here (don’t tell his professors!), is an example of the social entrepreneur. He spent the summer after his sophomore year in college in Thailand and was aghast to see teenage girls being forced into prostitution after their parents had died of AIDS.

So he started Orphans Against AIDS (www.orphansagainstaids.org), which pays school-related expenses for hundreds of children who have been orphaned or otherwise affected by AIDS in poor countries. He and his friends volunteer their time and pay administrative costs out of their own pockets so that every penny goes to the children.

Mr. Klaber was able to expand the nonprofit organization in Africa through introductions made by Jennifer Staple, who was a year ahead of him when they were in college. When she was a sophomore, Ms. Staple founded an organization in her dorm room to collect old reading glasses in the United States and ship them to poor countries. That group, Unite for Sight, has ballooned, and last year it provided eye care to 200,000 people (www.uniteforsight.org).

In the ’60s, perhaps the most remarkable Americans were the civil rights workers and antiwar protesters who started movements that transformed the country. In the 1980s, the most fascinating people were entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who started companies and ended up revolutionizing the way we use technology.

Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. Bill Drayton, the chief executive of an organization called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs, likes to say that such people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry. If that sounds insanely ambitious, it is. John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan title their new book on social entrepreneurs “The Power of Unreasonable People.”

Universities are now offering classes in social entrepreneurship, and there are a growing number of role models. Wendy Kopp turned her thesis at Princeton into Teach for America and has had far more impact on schools than the average secretary of education.

One of the social entrepreneurs here is Soraya Salti, a 37-year-old Jordanian woman who is trying to transform the Arab world by teaching entrepreneurship in schools. Her organization, Injaz, is now training 100,000 Arab students each year to find a market niche, construct a business plan and then launch and nurture a business.

The program (www.injaz.org.jo) has spread to 12 Arab countries and is aiming to teach one million students a year. Ms. Salti argues that entrepreneurs can stimulate the economy, give young people a purpose and revitalize the Arab world. Girls in particular have flourished in the program, which has had excellent reviews and is getting support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. My hunch is that Ms. Salti will contribute more to stability and peace in the Middle East than any number of tanks in Iraq, U.N. resolutions or summit meetings.

“If you can capture the youth and change the way they think, then you can change the future,” she said.

Another young person on a mission is Ariel Zylbersztejn, a 27-year-old Mexican who founded and runs a company called Cinepop, which projects movies onto inflatable screens and shows them free in public parks. Mr. Zylbersztejn realized that 90 percent of Mexicans can’t afford to go to movies, so he started his own business model: He sells sponsorships to companies to advertise to the thousands of viewers who come to watch the free entertainment.

Mr. Zylbersztejn works with microcredit agencies and social welfare groups to engage the families that come to his movies and help them start businesses or try other strategies to overcome poverty. Cinepop is only three years old, but already 250,000 people a year watch movies on his screens — and his goal is to take the model to Brazil, India, China and other countries.

So as we follow the presidential campaign, let’s not forget that the winner isn’t the only one who will shape the world. Only one person can become president of the United States, but there’s no limit to the number of social entrepreneurs who can make this planet a better place.

You are invited to comment on this column at Mr. Kristof’s blog, www.nytimes.com/ontheground.

Regional STEM Education Center (Partners & Collaborators)

(WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press)

Vincent Seefried, 15, rides through the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences in Armada as part of a physics lesson. Watching are Nicole Ewert, 14, in green top; Ashten Lindeman, 14; Kaitlyn Bushbaker, 15, and Christine Chorney, 14. All are from Armada. The girl at far left isn't identified.

EXCELLING IN EDUCATION


Grants let regional math and science center expand kids' opportunities


January 23, 2008

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI

FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

A regional math and science center open to students from Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and St. Clair counties who pass an entrance exam is getting the money it needs to expand its programs.

More than $600,000 will flow into the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences in the village of Armada from public and private sources, giving it equipment and access to technology rivaled by few high schools in the country -- and the space to add scores of students.

"Those grants give everybody so many opportunities to lead them into their future goals," said Jill Szydloski, an 18-year-old senior from Armada Township. She has taken part in a Motorola marketing project funded by a grant from the electronics giant.

"It was about business and marketing. I'm going to be attending U of M, and I want to go into marketing because of that program," she said.

The largest grant headed to the school is a 5-year, $500,000 award from the U.S. Department of Education intended to create opportunities for students in failing districts to take part in the program. The grant will enable the academy to expand by 120 students, from its current enrollment of 178, said Superintendent Arnold Kummerow.

The grant also helps with additional equipment, Kummerow said.

The school could benefit from an additional $30,000 federal grant awarded to the Michigan Educational Alliance -- a partnership of Armada and Utica schools, Michigan State University, and the Chong Qing Municipal Education Commission in China.

The alliance is considering using the grant as seed money for possible K-12 programs, including a one-week international studies program, international internships in Chinese businesses, international camps for students from both countries, virtual language tours for students and student and teacher exchanges.

Those programs are likely to be available to the academy's students.

The district also has two grants, totaling $90,000, from the Convergence Education Foundation. The larger of the grants provides equipment for motion analysis for physics, biomechanics and research. The school has five such systems for student research.

"We're the only high school in the country that now has this equipment, and we're third" in amount of equipment "to the United States Olympic Committee and the University of Minnesota," principal Elsie Ritzenhein said.

The school also benefits from a partnership with Motorola, which sends it market and product research assignments aimed at the teenage market.

Only five other high schools in the country have such partnerships.

"Armada has found just untold success in the opportunities we're offering our students and area students in the areas of math and science," Kummerow said.

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-469-4681 or pwalsh@freepress.com.

ALERT: MAY-DAY!

Students 2.0

21st Century Education: Thinking Creatively

Posted: 22 Jan 2008 01:15 AM CST

This was originally written for publication for my school’s newsletter’s edition on “21^st century learning”. I present it to you here not as an attempt to present any new ideas, but in the hope that it might help to pull together many of the ideas that are floating around in online education discussions. Those familiar with Dan Pink might see some of his influence here. Enjoy.

Twenty-first century education won’t be defined by any new technology. It won’t be defined by 1:1 laptop programs or tech-intensive projects.

Twenty-first century education will, however, be defined by a fundamental shift in what we are teaching—a shift towards learner-centered education and creating creative thinkers.

Today’s world is no longer content with students who can simply apply the knowledge they learned in school: our generation will be asked to think and operate in ways that traditional education has not, and can not, prepare us for.

Education has long tried to produce students who can think (and at times, think critically) and it has, for the most part, succeeded. As we move into a world where outsourcing, automation, and the ability to produce a product, physical or intellectual, at the cheapest cost, become the cornerstones of our rapidly evolving global economy, the ability to think critically is no longer enough.

The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer.

Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly. As the realm of intellectual accessibility expands at amazing rates (due to greater global collaboration and access to information), students of tomorrow will need to be their own guides as they explore the body of information that is at their fingertips.

My generation will be required to learn information quickly, use that information to solve new and novel problems, and then present those solutions in creative and effective ways. The effective students of tomorrow’s world will be independent learners, strong problem solvers and effective designers.

If we accept the above to be true, I would argue that there are two types of education that will prepare students for the world of tomorrow: experiential learning and project-based learning.

Experiential learning can be best seen in extracurriculars and in some schools, senior projects. These experiences give students the opportunity to face first-hand the challenges that arise when applying the theoretical knowledge provided by traditional classroom learning to real-world challenges. Light designing for MICDS Theatre has taught me how to take my technical knowledge of lighting and apply it to a creative and artistic end. As issues arise, I must problem-solve within the constraints provided by my technical knowledge and my creative vision—I must think creatively.

Project-based learning is the in-class complement of experiential learning. The concept behind project-based learning is simple: give students the basic tools, then ask them to go above and beyond on their own projects, exploring the information in their own way, and on their own terms. The effect can be awe-inspiring. Our students are diving deeper into subject matter than ever before, and doing so on their own terms in ways that they enjoy. Whether it is through producing a movie on burlesque dance or deriving Kepler’s laws using calculus, students are not only learning, but they are learning how to learn.

Traditional-rote learning has its place too, as a jumping-off point for our intellectual endeavors.

We are, however, crippling our students if we don’t give them the tools necessary to be life-long learners.

The American competitive initiative- a google tour

Did you mean:
American Competitiveness InitiativeThe American Competitiveness Initiative commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007 to increase ... Keeping our competitive edge in the world economy requires focused ...
www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci/ - 88k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

[PDF] American Competitiveness Initiative: Leading the World in InnovationFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
he centerpiece of the American Competitiveness Initiative is President Bush's strong ..... American economy that is competitive in the global marketplace. ...
www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci/aci06-booklet.pdf - Similar pages - Note this
More results from www.whitehouse.gov »

American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI)President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative aims to strengthen ... Higher Education for a Highly Competitive World · Additional Fact Sheets ...
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[PDF] american competitiveness initiativeFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Building on our successes, the American Competitiveness Initiative funds increased ..... American economy that is competitive in the global marketplace. ...
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'Competitive' initiative may lack steamPhysOrg news: 'Competitive' initiative may lack steam. ... Under the American Competitiveness Initiative, more than $136 billion over the next 10 years, ...
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Monitor on Psychology: The Competitive American InitiativeIt should not be the American Competitiveness Initiative, it should be the Competitive American Initiative. Investments should not be made in more ...
www.apa.org/monitor/jun07/sd.html - 13k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

IEEE-USA: Building Careers & Shaping Public PolicyIEEE-USA Applauds President’s American Competitiveness Initiative ... “The United States can no longer take for granted the competitive edge that our ...
www.ieeeusa.org/communications/releases/2006/020106pr.asp - 21k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

DLC: The American Dream InitiativeThe American Dream Initiative is an opportunity agenda for the middle ... but will unleash American business to grow faster by reducing a major competitive ...
www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 - 40k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program ...He is a past president and a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics. OCR for page 186 National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants ...
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From the White House and the Capitol: DOE Science DevelopmentsThe President's American Competitive Initiative is fully funded; the President's advanced energy initiative, which is fully funded, except for wise ...
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Did you mean to search for: The American competitive initiative

Community based renewable energy projects

New Housing Development Features Shared Renewable Energy

In a small town in southwestern New Hampshire a big idea is emerging. It's a concept called co-housing and it's beginning to break ground across America.

Here, twenty-nine families live in a neighborhood of single, double and quadruple-family homes that are clustered on a small portion of 113 acres of pasture, ponds and open land.

The families will live independently of each other but share some important aspects of life including a farm, entertainment space and energy.

To view this story, go to: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51181

Plans for Great Lakes offshore wind projects to be unveiled

One has to wonder why this article couldn't published by the Detroit Free Press with the announcement being that Michigan has unveiled similar plans.

This article was released by the Toronto Star Newspaper. They were of course referring to these technological advancements taking place in Canada, across the border.

Michigan is surrounded by the potential of projects like these. Part of the problem is the infrastructure is not in place to realize such advancements (see below). A large part of that infrastructure currently houses a vacuum in the "intellectual capacity" of our population to comprehend that they can be part of the solution.

We have been dumbed down because of being trained to be a cog in the wheel of an obsolete manufacturing system that (whats left of it) uses an obsolete and inefficient energy infrastructure.

What is needed is for the educational system to get in the dance of real-world learning opportunities and society has to also make substantial changes to support these efforts.

Education and technological advancements go hand in hand with hard work,creativity and the agreement to implement practical and effective changes to allow for these course corrections. Michigan and America, are you up for the challenge?


Premier reveals support for offshore energy plan

Bidding process details on lake power project unveiled next month

Jan 16, 2008 04:30 AM

Tyler Hamilton
Rob Ferguson
Staff Reporters
Toronto Star

Offshore wind could play an important role in the development of renewable energy resources in Ontario, says Premier Dalton McGuinty, who confirmed yesterday that an official announcement on wind power in the Great Lakes is coming soon.

"We've received advice that you can, in fact, do more to harness wind power – that you can harness that wind power offshore," the premier said.

"You don't just have to stay on land, and you can do it in a way that does not compromise ecosystems," he added.

McGuinty's comments follow a report in Tuesday's Toronto Star that the government will soon clear the way for the development of wind projects in the Great Lakes after a 14-month moratorium.

The government used the time to study, in collaboration with U.S. authorities, the potential environmental impact of such projects on bats, butterflies, aquatic species and bird migration routes.

Tapping wind energy in the Great Lakes to produce electricity has never been done, and a decision by Ontario to move forward with certain projects would likely attract worldwide attention, experts say.

Offshore wind farms, such as those proposed or already built near Denmark, the United Kingdom and British Columbia, are typically located in the ocean.

John Kourtoff, chief executive of Toronto-based Trillium Power Energy Corp., which wants to build Canada's largest wind farm in Lake Ontario about 15 kilometres offshore from Prince Edward County, said the winds found over bodies of water pack more energy and are more predictable than those over land.

And unlike an ocean, which is subject to extreme weather and wave activity, Lake Ontario offers a less volatile environment to construct and operate a wind farm.

Ontario currently has five major wind farms in operation with the potential to produce 400 megawatts of electricity – slightly less than an average-size natural gas plant. But according to a study by GE Energy, the intermittent nature of wind means the province can only rely on getting an average of 17 per cent, or 68 megawatts, of that power capacity during the summer.

Keith Stewart, a climate analyst at environmental group WWF-Canada, said the industry is getting better at predicting when the wind blows and choosing the right location for projects. "Every electron that comes out of a wind turbine means one less required from a fossil plant," he said.

In 2007, wind farms in Ontario supplied slightly more than one terawatt-hour of electricity compared to 0.44 terawatt-hours in 2006, more than doubling output, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator.

Put into context, Ontario consumed 152 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2007. This means wind still represented only 0.7 per cent of total electricity.

Still, Stewart sees this as an achievement. "Wind now shows up on the charts and doesn't simply get lumped into `other' any more," he said.

"And when you look in the pipeline, wind is poised to become a big new player, particularly if we can get some of that offshore stuff going."

The system operator said another 700 megawatts of wind projects are scheduled to come into service over the next 18 months, and by 2010 a total of 1,300 megawatts have been targeted.

Looking beyond that goal, the Ministry of Energy announced last August it had directed the Ontario Power Authority to procure another 2,000 megawatts of renewable power, much of it likely coming from wind.

Tim Taylor, a spokesperson for the power authority, said the draft details of the bidding process are scheduled for release in mid-February, and project proposals would be accepted in August. The government wants to procure about 500 megawatts in the first round, but the outcome could be higher.

Kourtoff plans to submit a bid, and is hopeful the power authority will see merit in his offshore proposal. Trillium's project calls for 140 massive turbines, likely five megawatts each in size, with a capacity to produce at least 700 megawatts of renewable power. The power could carry through an underwater high-voltage transmission cable to the Lennox Generating Station, near Bath.

The turbines would hardly be seen from shore, and would be erected on a shallow stretch of lake – no more than 12 metres deep. Kourtoff said studies so far indicate no impact on bird migration routes and a positive impact on aquatic species.

Trillium has raised about $5 million to help fund preliminary engineering and environmental studies, and has already hired engineering giant Amec Energy to oversee the project. There are also plans to take the company public.


MICHIGAN'S Energy Efficiency Competitive Efforts (ON-HOLD)

Report: Renewable energy policy delay could cost state $300M

Posted on 1/20/2008 9:54:10 AM

Kicking the energy efficiency and renewable energy issue into 2009 unresolved would cost state ratepayers a combined $300 million over time while putting another year of distance between Michigan and the nearly 25 states that have already passed legislation on this front, an environmental consultant told Lansing's MIRS news service Friday.

Martin Kushler, a former Public Service Commission official hired by environmentalists to help sell the energy issue in the Legislature, said the cost of energy efficiency programs may be three cents on the dollar, but the cost of a new power plant to pay for Michigan's projected increased energy use is as much as 10 cents on the dollar.

Without energy efficiency programs and renewable energy guideposts to give utility companies something to shoot for, Michigan will need to import more coal, oil and natural gas to feed the state's growing energy needs, Kushler said.

"The economics work. All of the major players on this issue have come to the conclusion that we need energy efficiency standards," Kushler said. "The only questions are around some of the details."

However, Kushler and Michigan Environmental Council officials are concerned that the utilities' insistence that controversial reform to the state's electric choice law be tied to the energy efficiency and renewable energy issue could sandbag good public policy that has across-the-aisle consensus.

HB 5525 and HB 5549 are sitting in the House Energy and Technology Committee as House leaders try to find agreement on whether Public Act 141 must be scrapped before any new power plants can be built in state. DTE Energy and Consumers Energy believe it should, but the alternative energy suppliers don't agree.

In the meantime, fellow Great Lakes states -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio, among others -- have adopted or are in the process of adopting energy efficiency programs and renewable portfolio standards that make them more attractive to the same alternative energy business Gov. Jennifer Granholm is desperately trying to bring to Michigan, the environmentalists claim.

Kushler is the director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. State officials across the country hire him to help them develop energy efficiency standards and programs administered by either state government or utilities that encourage customers through rebates and incentives to buy products that use less electricity.

He said states across the country are trying to leapfrog one another for the title of having the most aggressive energy goals while Michigan is still sitting in the starting gate.

"Michigan has to get ahead of the curve or it's going to fall farther behind," he said.

Sources tell MIRS the current plan in the House is to move either one or both of the bills in question in advance of the Governor's Jan. 30 State of the State address in order to give her some proof that the bills are moving through the system.

However, this move would mostly be symbolic if it happens. The most aggressive timetable coming out of the Republican-controlled Senate for the package is March. If the issue drags too far into the spring, the concern is it will get lost in annual wrangling over the budget and get pushed into 2009 once the House turns its focus on the 2008 election.

"That would be a shame," said MEC Spokesman Hugh McDiarmid Jr.
Kushler said the best legislative packages he's worked on have come as the result of bi-partisan agreement. The energy efficiency pieces passed in Minnesota and Wisconsin pass nearly unanimously.

The current Michigan proposals fall along those lines, with even the utilities and business organizations realizing it's more economical to find ways to limit electricity use than build more power plants.

The current plan in the House is to create roughly a $100 million pot of money paid by customers at $1 for every $100 of energy used. From this fund, customers can reap rebates and other economic incentives for buying more energy efficient products.

The renewable portfolio standards currently being discussed roughly match former MPSC Commission Chair Peter Lark's proposal to make 10 percent of Michigan's energy come from renewable sources by 2015, but with some added twists.

Comparatively, Kushler called these proposals "solid." They would push Michigan to within the Top 15 states nationally, but not to the top.

To be fair, though, Michigan hasn't had the infrastructure to advance energy efficiency whereas states like Minnesota have, he added.

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Think STEM Camp philosophy

The focus of the STEM initiatives is to empower each student to effectively learn how to think and innovativly use the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math along with other knowledge skills to rapidly and dramatically change America’s position of educational and technological positions on the world stage.

To regain our competitive advantage and place of true leadership thru the advancement of the ideals that America was created on. The camp is a focal point in that initiative and will employ the immersion approach to learning and internalizing these objectives. Every aspect of the camp curriculum will have identified supporting course studies from the STEM disciplines.

The core intent is to highlight how the comprehension of those studies will empower each participant’s capacity to efficiently utilize these applications being studied at the camp.

It is our desire that as part of the core curriculum and as a prerequisite to participate in the camp experience each student will identify and study the STEM disciplines in advance and take part in planning for the camp thru team participation using various tools such as blogs, computer aided design and other technology tools.

We would also encourage the introduction of an adult curriculum that could be pursued in each school district as adult studies or online as extension courses and open up the camp to include adults and parents. Parental participation would be encouraged and even mandated for small children. There would be different levels of camp experience based on groupings of age, comprehension skills and individual capacities to utilize the facilities in an efficient manner.


Core curriculum

1. Awareness and comprehension of natural energy systems and applications.

2. Natural building systems including true "green building" techniques using agricultural and earth based building components such as the Agriboard building systems and the zero energy building disciplines.

3. Study of agri and aqua cultures including but not limited to greenhouses, permaculture and forest gardens and soil botany, projects with water and wetlands and creation and studies of Living machine aquacultures for both waste water treatment and hydrological based studies in horticulture.

4. Studies of and implementation of systems that capture natural energies using magnetism, wind, solar, geo-thermal, bio-fuels and hydrogen. These systems are not limited to electrical generation. But include the manufacture of hydrogen, hydraulics, compressed air, thermal heating systems and other yet to be identified applications.

5. An important part of the curriculum is to include eventual mastery of the various 21st century technology tools at our disposal but so often found sitting on shelves, including but not limited to technical writing, mastery of audio-visual technologies, CAD-CAM tools, computer, teaching and communication skills.

6. Technology accelerators- study of and brainstorming of an understanding of how application of these technologies can first and foremost be used to enhance each participants life and also how these understandings could be advanced in society to solve some of the problems facing us such as technological competitiveness, homelessness, transportation issues, education, energy efficiency and global warming.

2nd Draft (off the top of my head)

The focus of the National Science Foundation's NSF ITEST STEM GRANT research initiative's award is to empower each student and participant to effectively learn and understand how to think creatively and innovativly using the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) along with other converging knowledge-economy based skills, to rapidly and dramatically change America's Global Competitiveness position with regards to educational and technological positions on the world-stage.

To regain and sustain our competitive advantage and place of true-leadership through the advancement of the innovative ideals on which America has thrived as a nation.

The Regional Education STEM Center is a focal point in that initiative and will employ the immersive education approach to learning and internalizing these objectives. Every aspect of the center's curriculum and pedagogy will have research-based supporting course studies from the STEM disciplines (Ref: MIT Open-source High School coursework).

The core intent is to highlight how the comprehension of those studies will empower each participant's capacity to efficiently utilize the real-world sustainable energy applications being studied at the STEM Center.

It is our desire that as part of the core-curriculum and pedagogy and as a prerequisite to participate in the Regional Education STEM Center experience each student will identify and study the STEM disciplines of their choice, prior to taking part in the planning-elements for their STEM Center experience through team participation using various digital media and learning tools such as blogs, computer aided design (CAD) and other rich digital media technological tool-sets and advanced networked telecommunications.

As an NSF ITEST STEM GRANT requirement we w ill also simultaneously introduce an adult curriculum and pedagogy that will be collaboratively pursued and supported in each participating school district as an adult online extension studies course (s) for the extended learning communities of practice for parents and adults.

Parental participation will be mandatory and may also include younger children. There will be well designed age-appropriate levels of STEM Center experience's based on groupings of age, comprehension skills and individual capacities to utilize the facilities in an effective manner.

Core STEM Center curriculum and pedagogy (# 1. Place STEM Focused Elements HERE! SEE BELOW!)

1. Awareness and comprehension of natural energy systems and applications.

2. Natural building systems including true "green building" techniques using agricultural and earth based building components such as the Agriboard building systems and the zero energy building disciplines.

3. Study of agri and aqua cultures including but not limited to greenhouses, permaculture and forest gardens and soil botany, projects with water and wetlands and creation and studies of Living machine aquacultures for both waste water treatment and hydrological based studies in horticulture.

4. Studies of and implementation of systems that capture natural energies using magnetism, wind, solar, geo-thermal, bio-fuels and hydrogen. These systems are not limited to electrical generation. But include the manufacture of hydrogen, hydraulics, compressed air, thermal heating systems and other yet to be identified applications.

5. An important part of the curriculum is to include eventual mastery of the various 21st century technology tools at our disposal but so often found sitting on shelves, including but not limited to technical writing, mastery of audio-visual technologies, CAD-CAM tools, computer, teaching and communication skills. (SEE # 1 and the American Competitiveness Initiative which served as the clarion call for the NSF ITEST STEM Grant Initiative and the associated 40 Billion Dollars of initial FUNDING!)

6. Technology accelerators- study of and brainstorming of an understanding of how application of these technologies can first and foremost be used to enhance each participants life and also how these understandings could be advanced in society to solve some of the problems facing us such as technological competitiveness, homelessness, transportation issues, education, energy efficiency and global warming.

OSTC/NW "BRAINSTORMING MEETING"

Transformation: CAMP to REGIONAL EDUCATION CENTER

(GARY MALERBA/Special to the Free Press)

The Rev. David Preuss, 59, of St. Charles Borromeo church in Detroit stands last month near a solar panel installed on the church roof. "We need to be caretakers of the Earth," he says.

Green efforts inspire local churches to conserve

January 23, 2008

BY TINA LAM

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

While politicians argue in Lansing and Washington over how and when to reduce America's global-warming gases, some Michigan churches are already doing it.

Michigan Interfaith Power and Light, whose mission is to save money, energy and carbon dioxide emissions, started in 2003. It now has 230 member congregations of all faiths across the state.

Energy calculators show that since fall 2004, the churches have saved at least a combined $2.5 million and kept 17,350 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

That's the equivalent of taking 3,100 cars off the roads for a year.

"We need to be caretakers of the Earth," said the Rev. David Preuss of St. Charles Borromeo church in Detroit. "How better to do that than not waste fuel?"

Since joining MIPL, Preuss' church has put in new insulation, installed energy-efficient lightbulbs, put solar panels on the rectory roof to collect energy for water heating, and is trying to raise $53,000 for a new geothermal heating and cooling system.

For his church, Preuss said, it's a matter of faith, but also survival.

St. Charles was at risk of closing in the late 1980s because energy costs for the 1918 building, with soaring 56-foot ceilings, soaked up 34% of the church's revenue.

Now, those bills are just 10% of the budget, and Preuss hopes geothermal energy will cut that in half.

"Our water bills are higher than our energy bills," he said.

"Changing the world, one light at a time," is the motto of MIPL's national parent, Interfaith Power and Light, founded a decade ago in San Francisco. The group promotes renewable energy and conservation as a moral issue.

The Rev. Charles Morris likes to climb to the roof of the rectory at St. Elizabeth's in Wyandotte to show off his church's solar panels and wind turbine.

"We're not just talking and preaching about this," said Morris, MIPL's founder. "We have street credibility."

Morris has been honored by Rolling Stone magazine and featured in the New York Times for his efforts.

In 1997, St. Elizabeth's paid $5,000 for an energy audit and put in improvements over the next five years.

The changes have cut energy costs 60%, saving an estimated $25,000 per year, Morris said.

And when a massive blackout hit Michigan and the eastern United States in 2003, it took Morris hours to learn about it -- from his television. That's because the blackout didn't affect the rectory, which mostly is off the grid.

One MIPL project is a Web site where individual members of congregations can buy discounted compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which use less energy and last longer than regular bulbs.

Members also can buy energy-efficient appliances, such as refrigerators, at 25% discounts from ABC Warehouse.

At Church of the Holy Family in Novi, the church's kilowatt hours have dropped since installing new energy-efficient bulbs, motion sensors in bathrooms that turn lights on only when they're needed, and dimmer switches, said business administrator Beth Meyer.

The church joined MIPL in 2004. A church committee held sales of compact fluorescent lightbulbs on two Sundays for parishioners, and it is considering solar panels on its roof to help supply electricity, Meyer said.

St. John's Episcopal Church in Royal Oak has replaced 75% of its old-fashioned lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones, put more efficient lightbulbs in its exit signs and has a new energy-efficient air-conditioning system and office copier, said member Julie Lyons Bricker, chair of the church's green committee and an MIPL board member.

And the faith-connected effort to save energy isn't just at Christian churches.

Concern among Muslims for the environment has spiked in recent years, said Imam Achmat Salie of Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Hills, an MIPL board member.

"People realize they can make changes themselves," he said.

The center's goal is to build a green mosque, Salie said.

Contact TINA LAM at 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com.

OSTC/NW Sustainable Energy (S.E.N.D.) Initiative

Zero Energy Homes for K-12 learning

In a time when everything you thought about the world is changing at warp speed and all the evidence supports the need to work extra hard at being innovative in your approach to problem solving and on top of all this there are resources at your disposal to bring your childs education into the 21st century.

Why one might ask would a school prefer to continue running a curriculum that has little relevance in todays fast changing world. A world where if people don't master new technologies then they as a people will be mastered by them.

The following PDF is an excellant resource (one of many) to change the approach to the way buidings systems are taught and appreciated in our public and technical schools.
See- http://www.r-control.com/downloads/literature/zero_energy_high_res.pdf

Educational Components
and Partners

The Captain Planet Foundation is partnering
with several government agencies and other
nonprofit organizations to provide hands-on
exhibits and informational kiosks within
the cottage to teach students (K-12) about
energy efficiency through renewable energy
sources.

Among these partners include the
US Environmental Protection Agency’s
cooperative Energy Star and US Department
of Energy Building America Program and
EarthCraft House (a green home building
program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders
and Southface Energy Institute) and environmental
education divisions.

Some of the exhibits include a solar water fountain
that automatically shuts down when it is
shaded from the sun. Two window units will
be displayed with a blower test demonstrating
energy efficient versus nonenergy
efficient windows.

Students will be given an opportunity to interact with a
solar bubble machine. The Captain Planet
Foundation is also partnering with the
American Lung Association to make the
house a healthy house under their guidelines.

The US Environmental Protection
Agency will provide educational fact sheets
on indoor air pollution, environmental
tobacco smoke and carbon monoxide that
will serve as reference materials for the
home.

Environmental Superhero Captain
Planet will also be available in person to
take kids through the house as they learn
about sustainability and renewable energy.

Sponsors for Captain Planet Foundation
Zero Energy Cottage
AOL Time Warner
ABC Gutter Company
Advanced Energy
Big Frog Mountain Corporation
Building Science Corporation
Carpet and Rug Institute
Certified Living, Inc.
Classic Roof Products
Copper Development Association, Inc.
CopperSun
Cutler Hammer, Eaton
EarthCraft House
Evergreen Solar
Expo Design Center
Fantech
Fieldstone Center
Future Smart
Georgia Pacific
Heat-N-Glo
The Home Depot
Husky Hardwoods
Hutton Communications, Inc.
Ingersoll-Rand Schlage
Insulspan, Inc.
Lees Carpet
Louisiana Pacific
Mid Continent Cabinetry
National Park Service
Omni Hotel
Panasonic
Philips Lighting
Plumbing & Mechanical Association of Georgia
Professional Builder Magazine
Pure-A-Tech
RCS
R-Control/Allied Foam Products
Sherwin Williams
Spalding Truss
Southface Energy Institute
Stock Building Supply
Structural Insulated Panel Association
The Sunworks Company
TOTO
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Unirac, Inc.
US Department of Energy’s Building America Program
US Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Program
Visual Solutions Painting
Whirlpool
Winter Panel Corporation

Cheap Hydrogen and Recycling 101

A note about this article; As we learn to emulate the wisdom of nature in being able to recycle the component parts of our everyday lives, humans can find that there are vast resources all around us to help support an abundant and rewarding lifestyle.

Look around, open your mind , get in the dance of life, create something new!


Hydrogen Generating Technology Closer Than Ever

Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070827174310.htm

Science Daily — Researchers at Purdue University have further developed a technology that could represent a pollution-free energy source for a range of potential applications, from golf carts to submarines and cars to emergency portable generators.

The technology produces hydrogen by adding water to an alloy of aluminum and gallium. When water is added to the alloy, the aluminum splits water by attracting oxygen, liberating hydrogen in the process. The Purdue researchers are developing a method to create particles of the alloy that could be placed in a tank to react with water and produce hydrogen on demand.

The gallium is a critical component because it hinders the formation of an aluminum oxide skin normally created on aluminum's surface after bonding with oxygen, a process called oxidation. This skin usually acts as a barrier and prevents oxygen from reacting with aluminum. Reducing the skin's protective properties allows the reaction to continue until all of the aluminum is used to generate hydrogen, said Jerry Woodall, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue who invented the process.

Since the technology was first announced in May, researchers have developed an improved form of the alloy that contains a higher concentration of aluminum.

Recent findings are detailed in the first research paper about the work, which will be presented on Sept. 7 during the 2nd Energy Nanotechnology International Conference in Santa Clara, Calif. The paper was written by Woodall, Charles Allen and Jeffrey Ziebarth, both doctoral students in Purdue's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Because the technology could be used to generate hydrogen on demand, the method makes it unnecessary to store or transport hydrogen - two major obstacles in creating a hydrogen economy, Woodall said.

The gallium component is inert, which means it can be recovered and reused.
"This is especially important because of the currently much higher cost of gallium compared with aluminum," Woodall said. "Because gallium can be recovered, this makes the process economically viable and more attractive for large-scale use. Also, since the gallium can be of low purity, the cost of impure gallium is ultimately expected to be many times lower than the high-purity gallium used in the electronics industry."

As the alloy reacts with water, the aluminum turns into aluminum oxide, also called alumina, which can be recycled back into aluminum. The recycled aluminum would be less expensive than mining the metal, making the technology more competitive with other forms of energy production, Woodall said.

In recent research, the engineers rapidly cooled the molten alloy to make particles that were 28 percent aluminum by weight and 72 percent gallium by weight. The result was a "metastable solid alloy" that also readily reacted with water to form hydrogen, alumina and heat, Woodall said.

Following up on that work, the researchers discovered that slowly cooling the molten alloy produced particles that contain 80 percent aluminum and 20 percent gallium.

"Particles made with this 80-20 alloy have good stability in dry air and react rapidly with water to form hydrogen," Woodall said. "This alloy is under intense investigation, and, in our opinion, it can be developed into a commercially viable material for splitting water."

The technology has numerous potential applications. Because the method makes it possible to use hydrogen instead of gasoline to run internal combustion engines, it could be used for cars and trucks. Combusting hydrogen in an engine or using hydrogen to drive a fuel cell produces only water as waste.

"It's a simple matter to convert ordinary internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen. All you have to do is replace the gasoline fuel injector with a hydrogen injector," Woodall said.

The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of developing alternative fuels that possess a "hydrogen mass density" of 6 percent by the year 2010 and 9 percent by 2015. The percent mass density of hydrogen is the mass of hydrogen contained in the fuel divided by the total mass of the fuel multiplied by 100. Assuming 50 percent of the water produced as waste is recovered and cycled back into the reaction, the new 80-20 alloy has a hydrogen mass density greater than 6 percent, which meets the DOE's 2010 goal.

Aluminum is refined from the raw mineral bauxite, which also contains gallium. Producing aluminum from bauxite results in waste gallium.

"This technology is feasible for commercial use," Woodall said. "The waste alumina can be recycled back into aluminum, and low-cost gallium is available as a waste product from companies that produce aluminum from the raw mineral bauxite.

Enough aluminum exists in the United States to produce 100 trillion kilowatt hours of energy. That's enough energy to meet all the U.S. electric needs for 35 years. If impure gallium can be made for less than $10 a pound and used in an onboard system, there are enough known gallium reserves to run 1 billion cars."

The researchers note in the paper that for the technology to be used to operate cars and trucks, a large-scale recycling program would be required to turn the alumina back into aluminum and to recover the gallium.

"In the meantime, there are other promising potential markets, including lawn mowers and personal motor vehicles such as golf carts and wheelchairs," Woodall said. "The golf cart of the future, three or four years from now, will have an aluminum-gallium alloy. You will add water to generate hydrogen either for an internal combustion engine or to operate a fuel cell that recharges a battery. The battery will then power an electric motor to drive the golf cart."

Another application that is rapidly being developed is for emergency portable generators that will use hydrogen to run a small internal combustion engine. The generators are likely to be on the market within a year, Woodall said.

The technology also could make it possible to introduce a non-polluting way to idle diesel trucks. Truck drivers idle their engines to keep power flowing to appliances and the heating and air conditioning systems while they are making deliveries or parked, but such idling causes air pollution, which has prompted several states to restrict the practice.

The new hydrogen technology could solve the truck-idling dilemma.
"What we are proposing is that the truck would run on either hydrogen or diesel fuel," Woodall said. "While you are on the road you are using the diesel, but while the truck is idling, it's running on hydrogen."

The new hydrogen technology also would be well-suited for submarines because it does not emit toxic fumes and could be used in confined spaces without harming crew members, Woodall said.
"You could replace nuclear submarines with this technology," he said.

Other types of boats, including pleasure craft, also could be equipped with such a technology.
"One reason maritime applications are especially appealing is that you don't have to haul water," Woodall said.

The Purdue researchers had thought that making the process competitive with conventional energy sources would require that the alumina be recycled back into aluminum using a dedicated infrastructure, such as a nuclear power plant or wind generators. However, the researchers now know that recycling the alumina would cost far less than they originally estimated, using standard processing already available.

"Since standard industrial technology could be used to recycle our nearly pure alumina back to aluminum at 20 cents per pound, this technology would be competitive with gasoline," Woodall said. "Using aluminum, it would cost $70 at wholesale prices to take a 350-mile trip with a mid-size car equipped with a standard internal combustion engine. That compares with $66 for gasoline at $3.30 per gallon. If we used a 50 percent efficient fuel cell, taking the same trip using aluminum would cost $28."

The Purdue Research Foundation holds title to the primary patent, which has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is pending. An Indiana startup company, AlGalCo LLC., has received a license for the exclusive right to commercialize the process.

In 1967, while working as a researcher at IBM, Woodall discovered that liquid alloys of aluminum and gallium spontaneously produce hydrogen if mixed with water. The research, which focused on developing new semiconductors for computers and electronics, led to advances in optical-fiber communications and light-emitting diodes, making them practical for everything from DVD players to television remote controls and new types of lighting displays. That work also led to development of advanced transistors for cell phones and components in solar cells powering space modules like those used on the Mars rover, earning Woodall the 2001 National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush.

Also while at IBM, Woodall and research engineer Jerome Cuomo were issued a U.S. patent in 1982 for a "solid state, renewable energy supply." The patent described their discovery that when aluminum is dissolved in liquid gallium just above room temperature, the liquid alloy readily reacts with water to form hydrogen, alumina and heat.

Future research will include work to further perfect the solid alloy and develop systems for the controlled delivery of hydrogen.

The 2nd Energy Nanotechnology International Conference is sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and ASME Nanotechnology Institute.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Purdue University.

GROVES Eco-Club Possibility?

eo All-Star and Win Amazing Prizes! Enter the Video Contest 12 prizes for Elementary, Middle and High School Students Technology & Learning and 21st Century Connections is launching a new multimedia video contest to challenge the imagination and creativity of your students. And the great news is that if they win, you win, too!

The list of prizes includes a high performance Lenovo laptop computer , Adobe Digital School collection software , professional development classes , and airfare and accommodations for an upcoming 21st Century Connections event . To enter, your student needs to create a public service announcement—a short video that showcases why digital learning tools are critical to your school or curriculum. If the video is chosen as one of our 12 winners, you and the student could win a digital prize package that will take you to the next level of digital filmmaking. The contest, sponsored by the 21st Century Connections program, is open to all K-12 students. Learn more about the Be a Video All-Star Contest Contest deadline: February 29, 2008

Sponsored by:

Creativity & Innovation, Disruptive (Digital Learning) Technology, Openism, the Larger Conversation! Communities of Practice!

charles leadbeater TEDTalks (video) - TEDTalks : Charles Leadbeater (2005) video

MODEL CLASSROOM

The Learning Lab: Science Center Is an Ideal Model for All Classrooms

By Mark Nichol

In my last entry, I described a favorite experience from my short teaching career: the opportunity to use free and freely available science manipulatives and materials to enable hands-on discovery in the classroom. It reminded me of one of the most remarkable learning environments I have ever had the pleasure to spend time in.

While I was still a substitute teacher in a large northern California school district, I covered for the teacher of a science center for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) children. I met with Mr. Bogardus for a briefing the day before his absence, and although I took charge during subsequent assignments there, that first day I basically assisted his classroom aide.

The science center was a converted house at the edge of a large suburban park, and, in and around the unassuming structure, some vivid learning took place. During an intensive week of study, fourth graders examined animal skulls and identified them by their characteristics, such as the placement of the eyes, the form of the jaw, and the shape of the teeth. They took meteorological readings. They performed experiments and made observations and did everything else scientists do, much of it with little guidance or supervision.

On the last day of their weeklong session at the science center, the students circulated through the small building, visiting various workstations and observing and recording phenomena and data, demonstrating mastery of the skills they had acquired during the week. That was their final exam.

After enjoying my time there, I realized that every classroom -- not just those available in rotation to GATE students for a single week -- should be like the science center. All learning environments should offer young, kinetic learners a place to get on their feet and look, feel, listen, and experience learning with their senses and acquire knowledge and understanding the way adults do, by engaging in authentic activities.

Alas, though when I was hired as a full-time teacher I did give my students experiences with science and math manipulatives, I was never able to comprehensively achieve this vision of active, experiential education in my own classroom. I did observe it once again, however, in another school district.

Mrs. Gillfillan's fourth- and fifth-grade classroom featured shared tables, not desks, plus enough fiction and nonfiction books to stock a small school library and a wealth of implements, artifacts, and specimens. Her students spent a lot of time out of their seats but into their learning, including the occasional overnight field trip. I suspect they remember Mrs. Gillfillan's class to this day.

Classrooms and teachers like these have always existed and have become more numerous in the intervening years. However, bureaucratic directives and regressive legislation have doused many sparks of learning and dampened many young spirits that might otherwise have been animated by creative educational environments and experiences.

But even in our retrograde pedagogical climate, such forward-thinking places like the Science Center still thrive -- we've covered many in our magazine and on this Web site, and there must be many, many more. We hope you'll share with us your efforts to help active learning occur, your knowledge of learning laboratories, and your discovery of -- or professional resemblance to -- great teachers like Mr. Bogardus and Mrs. Gillfillan.

• Mark Nichol's blog

Experiential learning across the curriculum

Submitted by Janice (not verified) on December 24, 2007 - 21:40.

This kind of learning does continue to exsist. In fact I work in a small charter school in the mountains of Arizona where the entire school is made up of classes that are organized with shared tables and designated labs for all areas of discipline. The direct instruction is treated as a lab where students receive individualized instruction for Reading, Mathematics, Writing, and Spelling. There is much more to this than I can list here but my point is that experiential learning is very effective and there are administrators who not only accept this kind of teaching but expect it. I happen to be one of these administrators. This kind of learning takes alot of planning but alot less teaching time managing behaviors. Our inclusive classrooms are flexible enough for our students with Asperger's Syndrome and Autism to be very successful. They lend themselves to some great social experiences that these students wouldn't otherwise have access to.

A Challenge for innovation?

The Fuel-Cell Solution: Promise or Prophecy?
New advances in an old technology hold the potential for clean, quiet power on cruising boats

Mar 1, 2003
By Steve D’Antonio (More articles by this author)
Fuel-cell technology, an energy source invented over 150 years ago, may hold the key to low-polluting or nonpolluting energy independence for the United States, and it incidentally offers the real possibility of quiet, clean power on cruising boats.

Every manned U.S. spacecraft, from the Gemini program of the 1960s to the present-day shuttle program, has used fuel cells to provide electricity and, in some cases, fresh water. More recently, the automotive industry is showing growing interest in fuel-cell development and production. Research has moved beyond the theoretical, and fuel-cell-powered prototype vehicles and electric generators exist and are now being field-tested.

In 1998, Iceland announced a 10-year energy plan that called for all transportation vehicles, including its fishing fleet, to switch to hydrogen-powered fuel cells. And in the fall of 2001, DCH Technology, of Valencia, California, launched and tested an 18-foot water taxi that uses a fuel-cell generator and batteries to power its electric motor. This year, a fuel-cell-powered moderate-displacement sailboat is scheduled to make its debut Related Resources
Fuel Cells on the Web
A Stirling Approach



Solomon Technologies

The ST-74 installed in HaveBlue X/V-1 weighs 128 pounds and delivers 74 pound-feet of torque. Solomon Technologies considers it a suitable replacement for engines in the 35- to 55-horsepower range.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


According to the California company that’s developing the boat, the 42-foot Catalina Mark II HaveBlue X/V-1 will be able to make, store, and use its own hydrogen fuel. The boat’s electric drive system, an ST-74 electric wheel made by Solomon Technologies (301-274-4479, www.solomontechnologies.com), currently runs on a bank of batteries so that testers can determine its exact power usage in a range of conditions. Employing two disc-shaped variable-speed DC motors, the drive is regenerative: The motor not only provides electric-powered propulsion; when the boat is sailing, it becomes a DC generator, using the freewheeling propeller as a turbine.

Once testing is complete, HaveBlue LLC, a developer of patent-pending marine power and propulsion technology, intends to tie the electric drive unit to a fuel-cell power plant that uses hydrogen for fuel. In effect, the fuel will come from the ocean. A custom Newport 400 watermaker made by Spectra (415-526-2780, www.spectrawatermakers.com) will provide fresh water, and the hydrogen will be extracted from this by means of electrolysis and stored on board.

By the summer of this year, HaveBlue intends to have the demonstrator boat fitted with a fully self-contained ultra-low- or zero-emission system that can produce and store its own fuel and can provide all the power needed for propulsion and onboard electricity. The company anticipates that the first production units of the system will be available to boat manufacturers in late 2004 or 2005.

Chemical Power
The principle behind a fuel cell has remained unchanged since Welshman William Robert Grove invented what he called a "gaseous voltaic battery" in 1839. Combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water, Grove’s "battery" required fuel, in the form of hydrogen, rather than recharging. A fuel cell, like a conventional battery, produces electricity as the result of an electrochemical reaction. Although it uses hydrogen fuel, no combustion occurs, and the electricity- producing component has no moving parts. Unlike a battery, instead of recharging, you simply add fuel to sustain the reaction.

Today, there are several different types of fuel cells: the molten-carbonate, the alkaline, the phosphoric, the solid-oxide, and the proton-exchange-membrane (PEM). Each of these uses a different electrolyte; different ones operate best at different temperatures. Some, such as the solid-oxide fuel cell, require an operating chamber as hot as 1,800 F to work efficiently. The proton-exchange membrane holds the most promise for providing electrical power and propulsion aboard cruising boats, thanks to its power density (the amount of current produced for the unit’s size) and relatively low operating temperature, which is less than 210 F. HaveBlue intends to use this kind of fuel cell on its test boat.

Much like a conventional battery, the maximum output of an individual fuel cell is about 0.6 volts. To produce the required voltage and amperage, several cells are combined (similar to a conventional battery) to form what is called a stack. For instance, Ballard Power Systems’ Mark 900 fuel-cell stack is made up of 400 cells, producing somewhere in the region of 240 volts and 75 kilowatts.

When pure hydrogen is the fuel, fuel cells are virtually emission free, contain few moving parts, and release only heat and water while operating. Fuel cells are robust and can be quite compact; there are even fuel-cell-powered flashlights. Unlike a battery, the discharge from a fuel cell is flat and predictable until the fuel is completely used up. Once that happens, simply refuel and the unit is ready to deliver full power again. But therein lies the problem: There aren’t many hydrogen stations along the highways or waterways of the world.

One solution is to use hydrocarbon fuels. Fuel cells can operate on virtually any fuel that contains hydrogen, such as gasoline, propane, natural gas, methanol, and diesel. But these fuels must first be processed to extract the hydrogen. Most mobile fuel-cell prototypes rely on hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuel and incorporate a component that processes these fuels. Unfortunately, the orphan molecules of this process include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide—all undesirable "greenhouse" gases (although emitted in levels still lower than that of an internal-combustion engine). And fuel cells running on ordinary hydrocarbon fuels aren’t nearly as efficient as those running on pure hydrogen, which isn’t a very energy-dense fuel to begin with. Compressed to 5,000 pounds per square inch, hydrogen has only 10 percent of the energy density of gasoline.

In the near term, the most likely fuels for mobile fuel cells (which are primarily of the PEM type) are reformed gasoline, propane, and methanol, all of which contain significant amounts of hydrogen. Sadly for cruising sailors, diesel’s complex molecular structure makes it especially difficult to extract the hydrogen, so future research efforts will likely focus on other readily available fuels. But these fuels present their own special problems.
Ordinary gasoline is comparatively high in sulfur, which chokes the PEM’s catalyst, so it can’t be used in fuel cells. It must first be scrubbed of sulfur and other additives that are beneficial to internal combustion engines but toxic to fuel cells. This renders existing fuel refining, storage, and distribution systems incompatible for use with fuel-cell-powered vehicles.
But hydrocarbon fuels aren’t the only option. One solution to the fuel issue involves storing hydrogen in the form of metal hydride in fuel cylinders. Another involves storing hydrogen in the form of sodium borohydride liquid, which is nonflammable and nontoxic. After being catalyzed, hydrogen is produced, along with sodium metaborate, which is essentially borax. Chrysler has fitted one of these borax-powered fuel cells into a minivan, which began testing last April.

Fuel Cells Afloat
The potential for fuel-cell use at sea is significant. Initially, fuel cells will probably find application within generators. Coleman Powermate, in cooperation with Ballard, recently introduced a 1-kilowatt fuel-cell generator, called the Coleman AirGen, for the commercial market. It’s the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, weighs 40 pounds, and is fueled by metal-hydride fuel cylinders. On a cruising boat, such a generator would be somewhat less convenient than a diesel genset because you’d need another source of fuel other than that used by your propulsion engine and because it’s simply less powerful than a conventional diesel generator. The smallest 4-kilowatt diesel genset is roughly twice the size of the 1-kilowatt Coleman AirGen, albeit heavier. However, I suspect that fuel cells will become smaller, more efficient, and less expensive.

Unless a safe, efficient, and inexpensive method of storing hydrogen is found (the borax or metal-hydride methods hold the most promise), then fuel cells for boats are dead in the water. It’s unlikely that special fuels (methanol or reformable gasoline) will make their way to the waterfront anytime soon, and even if they did, many skippers of diesel-powered vessels would be reluctant to give up relatively safe diesel for more volatile methanol or gasoline.

Provided that the fuel-supply problem is solved, the development of a vessel powered entirely by a fuel cell seems promising. A centralized fueling station for fleets of cars or trucks would substantially mitigate the fuel-distribution problem, thus lowering the operating cost. (United Parcel Service is one firm exploring this option.) For boats, fuel stations are already comparatively centralized, so it’s possible that metal hydride, fuel-cell borax, or pure hydrogen could be made available at some of these locations, in addition to gas and diesel.

HaveBlue’s ambitious approach makes obsolete the need for new infrastructure, since the hydrogen fuel is produced on board the boat and stored, possibly in the form of metal hydride, in storage tanks. But if, or how soon, the system will become a practical option for cruising sailors will depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is economics.

One part of the energy equation that’s sometimes glossed over by fuel-cell advocates is the power that’s required to extract hydrogen. Just as electricity must be generated to recharge the batteries of an emission-free vehicle, so the fuel—hydrogen—must be manufactured for the cell. Fuel processing requires power, and the byproducts of this process aren’t always as benign as the emissions of a fuel-cell powered car or boat. To fill this power deficit, HaveBlue says its system will rely heavily on "clean " energy sources, including solar panels and wind generators.

When perfected, fuel-cell technology may someday enable cruisers to ply the waters of the world with energy to spare while producing no harmful emissions. And if the technology truly succeeds, it might well change the world. But for now, at least, fuel-cell technology isn’t the magic bullet that will eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels and halt global warming. It can, however, contribute to both of these goals if it’s developed in conjunction with other technologies.

Steve D’Antonio is the service manager at Zimmerman Marine in Cardinal, Virginia.

The Good Ole ONE, TWO Punch! CREATIVITY and PROCESS Mind Mapping

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Another Year ANOTHER Global Trade Mission PROJECT!

Automation Alley seeks sponsors for virtual global trade mission for students

Posted on 1/3/2008 8:08:57 PM Automation Alley, the Troy-based technology business promotion group for Southeast Michigan, said this week it has partnered with the Macomb Intermediate School District, Oakland Community College and Oakland Schools to host its upcoming virtual, student-based Global Trade Mission and is currently seeking sponsors and volunteers. Automation Alley’s GTM is a business simulation that prepares Southeast Michigan high school students for work in the global economy. With collaboration from business, education, and government, the GTM stands as a regional response to the challenges of the new global economy. More than 200 students from Genesee, Macomb, and Oakland counties will learn skills for global citizenship; develop business solutions to trade challenges using the tools and information of the global marketplace; work hand-in-hand with business and trade experts; explore emerging careers in the region; and develop team skills to work effectively across diverse backgrounds. “Offering high school students the opportunity to learn about international business at an early age is key to building our future knowledge-based economy,” said Ken Rogers, Automation Alley executive director. “As the world becomes increasingly flat and our economy diversifies, it is our hope that students explore new career opportunities.” The GTM this year will be held at the Macomb Educational Service Center in Clinton Township from April 3-5 and Oakland Community College on Feb. 28, 29 and March 1. Volunteer opportunities include being a cultural ambassador and educating the students on your home country; a cultural or business coach; helping students with their business plans; or a presentation evaluator. Available sponsorships include a Career and College Fair Sponsor at $5,000; a Global Trade Sponsor at $3,500; an Internship Sponsor at $2,500 and a Challenge Sponsor at $1,500. Other sponsorships are welcome. If you are interested in participating or would like additional information, visit www.automationalley.com or call (800) 427-5100.

HOW! HARK: A Crack in the Ivory Tower!

Techlearning blog

« Getting Started With Blogging in the Classroom | Main | A model for permeable classrooms »

Semi-Permeable

An essential concept in the study of biology is that of permeability. As a former biology teacher, it was my experience that students often struggled with this concept and what impermeable, permeable, and semi-permeable meant and how it applied to things such as diffusion and osmosis (you remember those, right?).

Permeability can be applied to other concepts besides biology. Specifically, the concept of permeability can apply to learning communities, and how open and closed they are to their members, and potential members. In a typical high school, learning communities are fragmented and isolated, if they even exist at all. It’s unlikely that any of us would label a typical high school classroom, with its characteristic five rows of six desks, limited access to information and conversation, a learning community. Very little interaction exists within the classroom, and interaction from sources outside the four walls of the classroom is generally non-existent-the classroom walls, in effect, are impermeable.

That certainly can be changed, and the tools (blogs, wikis, social networking, RSS, etc.) we have now at our disposal make it doable and achievable, but many things have to fall into place. Teachers have to be willing, the technology must be available, administrators must understand the need, and the school’s climate and culture, which is greatly influenced by the community that the school serves, must be supportive.

So, as a result, the formation of learning communities in schools depends greatly on the school itself. What is a solution, or a plan, in one school may not be a solution, or a plan, in another. Additionally, even within a school, there may be different needs-some teachers may be ready, others may be not so ready, so that a plan for building learning communities needs to be flexible and scaleable, and provide the necessary infrastructure to meet the varying needs of the different constituents of the school. One size does not fit all...

There is no right or wrong answer to building learning communities, but I do think there is a basic flow.

If the end goal is to help students and classrooms build learning communities with individuals and other schools or classrooms, and make the classroom permeable, you have to start with the teachers. Teachers have to learn the tools, learn how to connect and contribute (typically through a blog), learn how to manage time and feeds, learn how to adjust the membership of their learning community, and learn how to accept being criticized when their ideas oppose those of others. Teachers need to see firsthand the benefits of a learning community, and what it means to their personal learning, before it can ever translate successfully to students. To get learning communities to develop and stick, start with teachers first.

From there, I’m interested in building skills in students that will make them successful when they ultimately join wide-open learning communities. I’m teaching them how to read blog posts, how to collaboratively create content in wikis, how to comment appropriately, how to manage RSS feeds, and how to manage content resources with social bookmarking tools. I'm teaching them how to operate in a community. And I’m teaching them all about safety.

Is this a necessary step? Ask yourself-yes or no? If no, stop reading this post. If your answer was yes, then what’s the best way to do that?

What’s the best way to do that on a large scale, and in a systemic way? Where you can impact the most teachers and the most kids, in the most effective and safe way? I’m not talking just blogging now, I’m talking about building learning communities, which is what I’m interested in. Blogging OK, I get it. But that’s just a part of a larger goal.

You can do all of that in a number of ways. You can do it by asking teachers to manage multiple online tools that all work differently and require different management requirements. Or you can do it with a content management system where all of this is under one roof. And before some of you go CMS on me, you could also do it with Ning, couldn't you?

So, what's the plan? Expose the most teachers and kids to these capabilities, teach them in a controlled environment, where teachers and students, mostly new to the process of working in a learning community, can make their mistakes without too high of a cost? Or maybe the plan is to stay "true to the process" and put the kids out there, really out there, but certainly prepare them prior with what they need to know.

I’ll take Door #1 Bob, the semi-permeable classroom, where true community is first established within the classroom. That’s just me. It might not be you.

I think a classroom must be semi-permeable before it can become a permeable classroom.

Creating a truly permeable classroom is a major change in how classrooms work. It is a big departure from where most classrooms are now. You just don’t change that overnight with a few commonly available tools, and just by blogging. It’ll require a great deal of professional support and curriculum design, with a great deal of reflection and course-correction. I’ll approach that carefully. The stakes are too high not to.

And when the time comes, I’d turn them loose. When the specific curricular needs suggest a permeable experience is warranted, I’d turn them loose. When the teacher says, we need to connect outside of our classroom because of this and this, I’d turn them loose. When the teacher says I’m ready and so are my kids, I’d turn them loose.

But I’m crawling before I’m walking.

images from istockphoto.com

Posted by David Jakes on December 27, 2007 3:57 AM | Permalink

Comments

I've been seriously groping with this issue on my campus lately David. As the tech. specialist for my school I've really taken the tact of keying in on 2 to 3 individual teachers and working with them solely to build their knowledge and comfortability with working with these tools.

From my experience is this, it's not so much the teachers who have been unwilling to change their teaching practices, it's the administrations unwillingness to change from antiquated learning practices. Which to continue with your permeability references, the learning is quite non-opaque

Posted by: Tom Turner | December 27, 2007 2:11 PM

Permeability (even semi-permeability) is more easily said than done. Most teachers (heck, myself too) find it much easier to stay in the rut, in the comfort area, in the "I am in control" area and have to fight daily (even by the minute) with getting past all those barriers that truly allow one (and one's class)to able to be permeable.

It is very hard to take risks -- and most schools are not as fortunate as the school that you work at, that Tom works at, and that I work at that have the capable teacher support that assists, guides, and equips them to feel safe with being permeable. Hopefully, that will continue to change as more educators demand "tech support"!

It is always the baby steps and not the giant leaps forward that get most of us to where we are going. I see evidence DAILY of teachers being willing to open their minds to new ideas, to trying things they have never done before, to becoming "permeable" (if you will).....but it is very hard thing to do. I am just glad that I am there to assist them as they learn to not only be permeable but to also be pliable.

Good post. Lots to think about!

Posted by: Jennifer Wagner | December 27, 2007 3:28 PM

I have been giving this a lot of thought lately. In fact enough thought that I am looking seriously at moving back into the classroom. I think what I need is to prove to myself that I can make it work. Then as a school we can move forward. Then as a district and so forth.

I also think we need more great examples of this working. We need more who are making it work to let their stories into the wild. More like Brian Crosby and Clarence Fisher and others. Then we need to point these examples out to others.

Posted by: Kelly Dumont | December 27, 2007 4:10 PM

Tom: I think that working with a small group of teachers first is generally a good idea. See what works, what doesn't and build momentum towards the inclusion of more teachers. And I would agree with you on the admin part; how many use these tools and understand their implications for classroom learning? I know of several districts where the administrators do use Web 2.0 tools, and it makes for a completely different set of expectations for teachers. That's a good thing, because the support and the infrastructure to support permeable classrooms is likely to be more available.

Jen: there certainly are many barriers to developing permeable classrooms, and risk -taking is one of them. One of the success stories in my school district has been using a CMS to reduce both the barriers and the risk-taking. We've been successful in helping teachers take those small steps, and over time, this can indeed result in significant change. Unfortunately, while I do agree with you that there are teachers out there who recognize the need for a different type of classroom, and a different type of learning, pressure from high-stakes testing and the enormous pressure of AYP pushes schools is just the opposite direction. I don't think that these are necessarily mutually-exclusive, but in many instances, schools (read administration here)seem to be moving backwards to try and meet these goals.

Kelly: I've given that more than one thought myself. When I left the classroom, none of this was available. Part of me would like to see what I could accomplish with my own students. I do get to work with students on a daily basis, but it's different.

And I agree, the stuff Clarence Fisher and Barbara Barreda, along with Darren Kuropatwa, will help us all understand how to create a different type of classroom.

Thanks for your comments.

Posted by: David Jakes | December 27, 2007 7:04 PM

Tom: I think that working with a small group of teachers first is generally a good idea. See what works, what doesn't and build momentum towards the inclusion of more teachers. And I would agree with you on the admin part; how many use these tools and understand their implications for classroom learning? I know of several districts where the administrators do use Web 2.0 tools, and it makes for a completely different set of expectations for teachers. That's a good thing, because the support and the infrastructure to support permeable classrooms is likely to be more available.

Jen: there certainly are many barriers to developing permeable classrooms, and risk -taking is one of them. One of the success stories in my school district has been using a CMS to reduce both the barriers and the risk-taking. We've been successful in helping teachers take those small steps, and over time, this can indeed result in significant change. Unfortunately, while I do agree with you that there are teachers out there who recognize the need for a different type of classroom, and a different type of learning, pressure from high-stakes testing and the enormous pressure of AYP pushes schools in just the opposite direction. I don't think that these are necessarily mutually-exclusive, but in many instances, schools (read administration here)seem to be moving backwards to try and meet these goals.

Kelly: I've given that more than one thought myself. When I left the classroom, none of this was available. Part of me would like to see what I could accomplish with my own students. I do get to work with students on a daily basis, but it's different.

And I agree, the stuff Clarence Fisher and Barbara Barreda, along with Darren Kuropatwa, will help us all understand how to create a different type of classroom.

Thanks for your comments.

Posted by: David Jakes | December 27, 2007 7:08 PM

A directory of exemplar examples of teachers using emerging technologies at different grade levels and within different content areas would be a great asset for all of us working with teachers. How do we collaborate to create such a directory as a dynamic document? Or does one exist already?

Posted by: Lucie deLaBruere | December 28, 2007 10:18 PM

Lucie: I'm not aware of any such list, although it would certainly be helpful. A wiki would be the easiest way to do that, in my opinion.

I would point you to the following blogs of educators who, in my opinion, offer best practice classroom techniques, from several perspectives:

Clarence Fisher
http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/

Barbara Barreda
http://dare-to-dream--classroom-technology.blogspot.com/

Darren Kuropatwa
http://adifference.blogspot.com/

Konrad Glogowski
http://teachandlearn.ca/blog/

I would also suggest getting a Twitter account if you do not have one, and follow some of the educators there. There are lots of good ideas there, and it is a logical place to connect with others who share the same passions.

Posted by: David Jakes | January 1, 2008 4:47 PM

HARK!

Is this the sound of the ole impremeable "ivory tower" cracking?

Take note the students are well on their way over at Students 2.0 http://www.students2oh.org/

I'm sure they would be glad to lend a hand and minds to this effort.

Come on in the waters fine.

Much continued success here.

Best,

Jim

Posted by: Jim Ross | January 3, 2008 6:36 AM