- by Christy Brewer, Teach Green Editor
I’ve had the pleasure of working behind the scenes with Eden Litt on the GM Education project, which includes this Teach Green blog. So, as Eden moves on to pursue her doctorate, we all wish her well, and know that we’ll see her again soon.
As I take over as editor of the Teach Green blog, I figured I had better introduce myself! I had always wanted to be a teacher, but by circumstances, it has never truly happened. I earned a degree in public relations, and embarked on a career just as “the web” was becoming mainstream. And, of course, I gravitated to educational uses: Creating the first web-based catalog of lesson plans available on Internet-accessible databases. Educating school boards and community leaders on how Internet access gives students access to digital learning resources. Showing teachers how to use web browsers and email.
Read the rest of this entry »
A couple years back I ventured to Ecuador to absorb the sites and sounds of South America as a volunteer teacher at a local university. While I will never forget staying up late at night to watch the local volcano erupt or grabbing a pan de chocolate on my way home from school each afternoon, I will also find it hard to forget the struggles of living in a place that lacked the technology I’ve grown so accustomed to as a digital native.
Upon my return to the States two years ago, the only prerequisite to my future career path was one that involved technology. I didn’t care who it was with, what I was doing, as long as it involved something innovative and technologically advanced. To make a long story short, I ended up where I am now, working at MS&L helping General Motors run its education website where I’ve been able to combine my passions for technology, education and children. Read the rest of this entry »
The other day, my Skype alert started ringing during Future Engineers Camp. You know the funny sound it makes when someone is trying to call you? Well, since my laptop is linked to a giant speaker under the table, everyone could hear it loud and clear. Read the rest of this entry »
During the second and third week of camp, we began to introduce tools and machines. We wanted to give students a simple modeling project that would ease them into their use of the equipment and our safety rules and procedures.
Our design challenge was to brainstorm an innovative edible candy or sweet treat that could be marketed and sold in stores. The final prototype would be an over-sized model of the product, built out of foam, painted with acrylic paints and hung from the ceiling of the room by fishing line! Luckily, I ran into a very accomplished entrepreneurer over the summer, named Bridget Graham, who happened to have her own business along these same lines. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks for continuing to follow my blog and letting me share my classroom experiences with you. This Summer, I’d like to take you away from my usual location at Gateway High School, and direct you to a new set of students and activities taking place at the Boys & Girls Club in Trenton, NJ.
First, let me back things up a bit and provide you with some background information. For the last three summers, I have been running a summer camp located at the Trenton Boys & Girls Club, which we call Future Engineers. The camp itself is just one function of a larger grant project, also called Future Engineers, which provides camps, after school enrichment programs and professional development throughout the year, in order to enhance K-12 Engineering Education in New Jersey. The grant itself is funded by the Martinson Family Foundation, and housed within the Center for Excellence in STEM Education, located within the department of Technological Studies at The College of New Jersey. This summer, I have 75 students, ages 9-15, enrolled in Future Engineers for a total of eight weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
The last couple weeks of school were a blur. We finished up the POGIL activities and the labs and all of the sudden it was the last week of school.
As you know, the last week of school is all about promotion in the 8th grade and preparing the kids for their departure. We had yearend field trips, graduation practice, parties and movies. I had my homeroom kiddos all day and all week. So, no science was done. I like where I ended the year with my science classes. They were looking ahead to what high school science would be like and still able to be a middle schooler while they got a taste of high school. As for me, I am off to a summer filled with college classes (I am working towards my PhD) and establishing my curriculum for next year. Read the rest of this entry »
The EcoCAR teams have now headed home after almost two weeks of intense competition in Yuma and San Diego. Most teams are invigorated by the competition, and use it as an opportunity to see how their vehicle measures up in a rigorous test environment. Even as the students left the awards ceremony and began heading to the airport, they could be heard discussing their strategy for next year. It’s a testament to how passionate these young people are about their vehicles and the EcoCAR program. Read the rest of this entry »
Earlier this month, Chris Better and I took a team of five students to participate in the NJ Envirothon for the first time. In fact, we were the first team comprised of “Technology Education/Engineering” students, as the other teams were all assembled by their schools’ science teachers. There were 47 teams participating in total this year. People were quite receptive to our participation because the whole theme of the event was based around solving environmental problems, particularly those dealing with water conservation. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to New Jersey to accept an award that GM won for its work with none other than…Teach Green!
The New Jersey Technology Education Association (NJTEA) presented the award to GM Thursday night at an award ceremony with educators from all over New Jersey. Each year, the organization awards an individual, institution and/or government official who “made a notable impact through their virtuous support for students and/or educators in technology education…and have a proven track record of advocating the benefits of technological literacy for all students in New Jersey schools.” This year GM won the Impact Award for its work with Teach Green! Read the rest of this entry »
I love chemistry! We have been looking at the atomic theory in greater detail to prepare my students for high school. They will be learning about it again in 9th and then again in 11th grade. My students have completed two inquiry labs where they used a flow chart that they created from experimenting with chemical reactions and indicators to identify an unknown substance and then to identify a unknown solution’s pH. I found the labs in a book called “Inquiry-Based Experiments in Chemistry”. The labs went really well. Read the rest of this entry »
