I have been living in Sitka for four months now and I pretty much drive everywhere. I sprinkle in an occasional walk, if you know Sitka you know what I mean by sprinkle. All of this driving makes me feel a little guilty,because this is a bicycle and pedestrian friendly community.
The price of gas is not the main motivation for changing my driving habits,there are several factors in play here:
*the idea that Americans need to start thinking about change,and it starts with each individual.
*The general world situation is crazy right now and it is all because of oil greed and need
So I decided to see what the numbers would look like if I made a small change in my driving habits.Not only to see how much money I would save but,how much less gas I would consume, and then run some numbers to see if a lot of people made this small change, how much overall gas would be saved, and then see what that would mean for overall oil consumption.You can see the rest of the basic premise at this link
To see the Excel spreadsheet with all the numbers on this project click here.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Read/Write Web Article
If you are looking at this site you probably know about something about blogging. Even though my spell check doesn’t seem to recognize the word, most people have at least heard the word. But what are the implications of writing on the web for education? The simple answer is that teachers can use writing on the web to motivate students to do a little writing and maybe, since the whole world can potentially look at what they are saying, students might also do some thinking about what they are writing. I like what they are doing at Hunterdon High School where the students collaborate online with authors of the books that they are reading. And then there is the communal wiki process that is really pretty neat, and very successful in terms of self regulation, because everybody can edit text on the site.
This Educators Guide to the Read Write Web is a well thought out article. I say this because the author takes a serious look at the crucial idea of students learning how to question, differentiate, and evaluate published information. In some ways it is similar to people learning to figure out what is true in the news, or what is real on TV and what is make believe.
Reference Points and Concerns:
• How do we rethink the concept of literacy?
• Are writing styles like text messaging going to become a literate language?
• How does the role of the teacher change as technology like web writing becomes more prevalent?
• With technology does the teacher become more of a guide or monitor?
• Finally, is student online anonymity a concern?
The point is that now students have a new sounding board. I say let them have at it and see what they can do. Teachers have to think about the future and where this is all headed. If you think there isn’t going to be big changes from the “paper to teacher, to grade concept,” then I think you’re filling your tank with the wrong fuel. It’s time to look for alternative sources of energy.
If you are looking at this site you probably know about something about blogging. Even though my spell check doesn’t seem to recognize the word, most people have at least heard the word. But what are the implications of writing on the web for education? The simple answer is that teachers can use writing on the web to motivate students to do a little writing and maybe, since the whole world can potentially look at what they are saying, students might also do some thinking about what they are writing. I like what they are doing at Hunterdon High School where the students collaborate online with authors of the books that they are reading. And then there is the communal wiki process that is really pretty neat, and very successful in terms of self regulation, because everybody can edit text on the site.
This Educators Guide to the Read Write Web is a well thought out article. I say this because the author takes a serious look at the crucial idea of students learning how to question, differentiate, and evaluate published information. In some ways it is similar to people learning to figure out what is true in the news, or what is real on TV and what is make believe.
Reference Points and Concerns:
• How do we rethink the concept of literacy?
• Are writing styles like text messaging going to become a literate language?
• How does the role of the teacher change as technology like web writing becomes more prevalent?
• With technology does the teacher become more of a guide or monitor?
• Finally, is student online anonymity a concern?
The point is that now students have a new sounding board. I say let them have at it and see what they can do. Teachers have to think about the future and where this is all headed. If you think there isn’t going to be big changes from the “paper to teacher, to grade concept,” then I think you’re filling your tank with the wrong fuel. It’s time to look for alternative sources of energy.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Energy Project
1. How much fuel would I save if I ride my bicycle to Sitka High School for just three days a week? I’m using three days a week because for me this is a reasonable proposition.
2. I Googled “energy consumption,” and I got 9,050,000 results, has anybody else noticed this, and what does it mean. I clicked on the fifth entry down and looked at energy consumption for the US for the year 1997. One of the many available statistics was oil consumption for one day in the US, not the world. It was 18.92 million barrels per day. This is a stunning figure that should get you asking questions, like, where does all that oil come from? It should make a person consider how the world situation got to be the way it is. Some of these considerations would include greenhouse gasses, global warming, and various military invasions of oil producing countries, and while we are at it, we might as well throw Dick Cheney into the mix.
After I wrote this paragraph, I had to go back and double check that figure, because I just couldn't believe it, and sure enough that’s what it says.
3. Data needed will be the number of miles from home to Sitka High. Data for miles per gallon that my vehicle gets for this kind of driving will be needed.
4. The method for computing miles to Sitka High will be odometer readings. Several will be taken to insure accuracy. Miles per gallon fuel consumption will be done by filling the gas tank and writing down mileage taken from the odometer. Then I will drive a certain amount of miles, all of this driving will be the same driving style as the drive to Sitka High, basic short distance and stop and go. Then I will re-fill the gas tank writing down the total gallons put in the tank, this figure is the amount of gas consumed for this period. I will at the same time as filling the gas tank write down the new mileage on the odometer. This will give me total miles driven and amount of fuel used during this mileage period.This basic procedure will be repeated multiple times.
1. How much fuel would I save if I ride my bicycle to Sitka High School for just three days a week? I’m using three days a week because for me this is a reasonable proposition.
2. I Googled “energy consumption,” and I got 9,050,000 results, has anybody else noticed this, and what does it mean. I clicked on the fifth entry down and looked at energy consumption for the US for the year 1997. One of the many available statistics was oil consumption for one day in the US, not the world. It was 18.92 million barrels per day. This is a stunning figure that should get you asking questions, like, where does all that oil come from? It should make a person consider how the world situation got to be the way it is. Some of these considerations would include greenhouse gasses, global warming, and various military invasions of oil producing countries, and while we are at it, we might as well throw Dick Cheney into the mix.
After I wrote this paragraph, I had to go back and double check that figure, because I just couldn't believe it, and sure enough that’s what it says.
3. Data needed will be the number of miles from home to Sitka High. Data for miles per gallon that my vehicle gets for this kind of driving will be needed.
4. The method for computing miles to Sitka High will be odometer readings. Several will be taken to insure accuracy. Miles per gallon fuel consumption will be done by filling the gas tank and writing down mileage taken from the odometer. Then I will drive a certain amount of miles, all of this driving will be the same driving style as the drive to Sitka High, basic short distance and stop and go. Then I will re-fill the gas tank writing down the total gallons put in the tank, this figure is the amount of gas consumed for this period. I will at the same time as filling the gas tank write down the new mileage on the odometer. This will give me total miles driven and amount of fuel used during this mileage period.This basic procedure will be repeated multiple times.
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