Friday, June 29

I ended sleeping in a little because of allergies.   They had just been getting worse the longer I was in Austin.  I did go to an interesting workshop on topographic maps.  They did a very nice job and showed several different ways to make 3D maps.   I got a couple of ideas I can use in the classroom.  I also liked a card matching idea.  You match a landform with its picture and a topographic map.  I could do that  with my freshwater ecology vocabulary such as oxbow lake, playa lake, reservior, pond, stream, creek, watershed, bog, swamp, marsh and riparian zone.  I will have to make my own cards and then I can present it at our monthly Collaborative meeting in September.  This is one of ways that we share information with each other.   There were almost 30 teachers from our group and the conference so we have a lot of activities to share.


Thursday,  June 28

I presented at 9:30 am. People started showing up at 9:00 am.   All the seats were filled so I felt a lot better.  I had biology, environmental science, chemistry, preAP and AP teachers along with middle school and elementary.  I didn't get to do as much because the room was so small but at least now I have an idea of what to do next if my presentation is accepted.  I really felt good that there were a lot of teachers interested in my RET lesson plan.  What we do at RET not only helps the teachers in the program but also other teachers through out the state.

After lunch we left for the Shell Field trip. I really had hoped to visit the research labs.

Wednesday, June 27

Today, I am attending the Texas Regional Collaborative Conference in Austin.   The collaborate is a great place for teachers to learn new and engaging activities.  Not only that it can help you get supples for your classroom.  I am in Austin becuase I completed by 105 hours of training and my presentation was accepted.  This is a really great organization with teachers who work hard to improve and challenge their students.

 Not sure how many will come to my presentation.   You can click a star which says you are interested but it is really first come first serve.   My presentation is on  RET, Aquaponics and Aquatics 101.   I have a really, really small room with seats for about 20 teachers.

Since I got to the conference early, I helped out a little with the booth set up.  There were some really great booths.  Our booth was very simple and we decided we really needed work on the one for next year.   We took pictures of booths we liked so we would have some ideas to work with for next year.   We  really need to come up with a theme for our booth.

I went to the Shell pre-field trip meeting this afternoon.  I didn't know you were suppose to sign up online.  However, a number of people didn't show so I was still able to go.  I had hoped we would be given a tour of the research labs at the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at UT at Austin.

That evening there was the Showcase for all the booths.  There were only a small number of booths but everyone got into the swing of it.  Lots of excitement.  After that we attended the awards banquet, and it was very impressive.  You really felt appreciated as a teacher.

Oh yes, I heard a great story before the Showcase.  We were talking about using our Garmin to get around.  She said they took a trip to Galveston and decided to take the ferry.  As they got ready to drive on the boat their Garmin said:  "STOP, TURN AROUND IMMENENT DEATH!!!,  STOP, TURN AROUND IMMENENT DEATH!,  then once it was on the water it kept saying over and over and over...recalculating, recalculating, recalculating...... as they said across the bay.   I thought it was helarious.

Tuesday, June 26

Welcome to the joys and trials of teaching aquatic science.  I  have been teaching some form of aquatics for 25 years with the Lewisville  Independent School in Flower Mound, Texas.  While I have taught aquatics for a long time, the last two years have been a challenge.   Aquatics is now a fourth year science for high school teachers and lot of districts are implementing this course across Texas.  I hope that this blog can start a dialoge among aquatic science teachers across the state.

ENGERGIZING YOUR AQUATICS CLASSROOM

The last two summers I have worked with the RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) program at UNT's Electrical Engineering Department. It is a great experience for teachers.  There are four projects, Aquatics, Robotic Vision, Indoor Air Quality, and Ride/Share.  Since I am an aquatic science teacher I am really interested in the aquatics project. This group is building model of a  stream ecology set up that UNT is using to study fish behavior during drought conditions.  I am really looking forward to seeing how they do this because I would like to build one for my aquatics class.

That is one of the advantages of participating in a program such as RET.  You have the opportunity to develop lessons plans using authentic research.  You get to use state -of-the art science equipment and learn how the engineering process works.  Hopefully, what we take back to the classroom can be used to encourage students think about an engineering career. Another reason I like participating in this kind of program is that it energizes you for the fall term.  I am already seeing new possibilities for next year.

As part of the RET program this summer, I was a mentor for high school student intern from Carrolton- Farmers Branch ISD.   She was only here for two weeks but worked with me and followed some of the RET teachers  from her high school.  It was fun working with her. Today, her dad drove her out to Discovery Park and she presented me with  a very nice plaque.  Once a get hung on my wall I will email her the picture.

Instead we listened to three different presenters.  The first was Dr. Sue Hovorka a Sr. Research Scientist with a Ph.D in Geology.  She talked to us about the current research on CO2 capture and storage.  She currently leads a team in various field programs of CO2 injection to asses the cost, safety and effectiveness of geologic sequestration as a mechanism for reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas emission.   The second speaker was Dr. Paul Bommer a Senior Lecturer with a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering.  He teaches courses in drilling, production, artificial lift and facilities.  He has spent 25 years in private practice specializing in drilling and production operations and oil and gas appraisals.  He also has a great sense of humor that makes his talks very interesting. The last speaker was Matt Balhoff an Asstant Professor with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering.  He discussed the pros and cons of fracking.  His research involved pore scale and multisclae modeling frlow and transport in porous media and reservoir engineering.

It was interesting because while I had heard of CO2 capture and storage I really didn't know a lot about it.   I found out that right now the current thinking is that this application has potential in removing CO2 from the atomosphere.  He uses a lot of current technology but in a new way.  The long term consequences of this type of project are still to be determined.  As for fracking, I am still up in the air on that one.  Regulations seem to running behind the technology.  

After I attended the vendor fair (very small) I went back to hotel and went to bed.  I had to get up early and pack so that I could check out before I left for the morning sessions.