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National STEM Teachers Workshop: Bioenergy and Bioproducts Blog – Day 3

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After a very long day Tuesday, I had to gear up for another day! I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind from the pervious days. So much new knowledge was just embedded and I was still filtering it all. Wednesday started out with Chris Sperry who was a very engaging presenter. His topic was Integrating Media Literacy. Of course this topic was engaging, it included many pictures, slides, and deep questioning. I have attended a professional development with Chris before so I was very excited to see him again.

Chris works with a grant-funded project called Project Look Sharp. Their website is projectlooksharp.org which includes many, many resources for teachers. The organization wants teachers to teach critical thinkers and decoding skills by using multi-media. We tend to look at things in a single manner but we need to teach people to question, to criticize, and to find truths and misconceptions. Chris focused on the fact that we need to teach students and people to question the where the source of material came from, the validity of it, who made it, why was it made, when was it made. These key points will help build critical thinkers and will expand our minds.

The second presentation I attended was called Conservation of Biomass to Energy presented by Tammy Morgan. Tammy was a very moving presenter and her ideas and philosophies are natural. Her goal was to create a better and environmentally friendly community. She realized that her community was spending money on shipping material wastes away and this needed to be changed. She used her school and many other programs to achieve many things. In the school she works in, they changed the way they recycle and what they trash and compost. She led this change because she realized that if the school and community started using anaerobic digestion, there would be less waste and less money being spent trucking garbage to another town. Tammy didn’t want to just stop here. She has big plans to install an anaerobic digester, a green house that will use some of the output from the anaerobic digester, and other compost materials. Her vision will be a complete cycle of bioenergy. This project has finally become funded and is in the engineering stage and will be started by 2016.

Listening to the first two presenters opened my mind up to what we the people are capable of doing if we put our minds and energy to it. Tammy had an idea and solution to a problem she saw, and she is acting on it. Chris is creating critical thinkers. People who will constantly question things they see and here versus just agreeing with whatever they hear. These two main points can easily be brought into my elementary school and would have a huge impact on the community eventually.

There were many more presenters and activities throughout the day but I was unable to attend them. Every topic sounded intriguing and innovative. Next year, I will try to plan better so I am able to attend the entire workshop.

by Katie Vann
Reading Specialist and WEDC Instructor

National STEM Teachers Workshop: Bioenergy and Bioproducts Blog – Day 4

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The last day of the workshop arrived quickly. The day was spent reflecting and applying our newly learned knowledge. We were provided time throughout the workshop to develop a lesson plan around bioenergy. Many people had the idea of using biophoto reactors. One idea was to use the biophoto reactor to grow algae to then feed it to goldfish within the classroom. This lesson would incorporate many standards and real life learning that includes bioenergy.

At the end of the workshop, we went on a field trip to USDA Big Flats Plant Materials Center. On the trip, we discussed many of the plants and methods the center uses. One of the main products used is switchgrass. Switchgrass can be preferred when making bioenergy and bioproducts because its volume is large, it’s versatile, grows in various soils, it has an extensive root system, and it is not invasive.

Using renewable energy in the classroom reengages student learning. We need to have students understand the impacts that we have on the environment and how we can make changes to help the situations. This workshop has my mind spinning and wondering what I can do in my own school and community. Can I start small with changing our school waste and recycling manners? Can I expand the ideas to the rest of the community? Can I use the agriculture around my home to produce bioproducts and to reduce negative emissions and pollutants in the environment? Can I start a community garden to help promote sustainability?

All of these ideas plus many more can be started and we as educators need to plant the seed within our communities. From this conference, I realize that I can change so many things in my lifestyle to being more environmentally friendly. Before hand, I didn’t think about it as often as I should have or I didn’t act upon the knowledge. My hope is to expose other people to start making a difference, even if it is one tiny seed at a time.

by Katie Vann
Reading Specialist and WEDC Instructor

National STEM Teachers Workshop: Bioenergy and Bioproducts Blog – Pre Workshop

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A few months ago I was approached to attend a National STEM Teacher Workshop. At first, I didn’t know what topics were going to be included but it sounded like an excellent opportunity to grow professionally. As the workshop approached, I learned that the workshop was called Bioenergy and Bioproducts Education Programs. When thinking about the title of the workshop, I really didn’t know what I was getting into. I had heard of biodiesel previously and figured I had a general idea of what bioenergy and bioproducts were, but in reality, I’m a complete novice.

by Katie Vann
Reading Specialist and WEDC Instructor

National STEM Teachers Workshop: Bioenergy and Bioproducts Blog – Day 1

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I was ready to learn. Previously looking over the agenda I was a little blown away with some, I mean most of the topics. I’m an elementary school teacher (currently a Reading Specialist) and we don’t get exposed to highly scientific things unless it’s from our own interest/passion. At this point, I was pretty overwhelmed with the thought that the conference would be over my head, but I kept thinking to myself, “Keep an open mind, learn new things, and reflect on how I can integrate it into my curriculum.”

With my mind set and ready, the first presenter was already talking about bioeconomy and bioproducts. Melissa Jacobsen from Ecovative Design presented about what the company provides to the economy. In a nutshell, they use mycelium from mushrooms and other bio waste to create an alternative plastic material. This material can be composted and or used as mulch at the end of its useful life. Some of the products from Ecovative include: Myco Foam, which is an alternative to Styrofoam, Myco Board, which is an alternative to engineered wood, and Myco Make, which is a “grow it yourself” kit. All of these products use the mycelium mentioned before. The Myco Make was the most interesting aspect and could easily be integrated into the classroom as an experiment. If purchased, a kit is provided so that you are able to grow the mycelium and create different molds and shapes from it, then watch it decompose. This material and activity would be great in all grade levels depending on what depth you would like to take it. Early elementary students would be engaged in watching the fungi grow within a few days and older students would be able to do research and create their own projects.

The rest of day one consisted of a Bioeconomy Expo. This part was nice because you could pick and choose which area you wanted attend. A few of the topics that I attended included: a tour of the wonderful facility; Wings of Eagles Discovery Center, Biofuels: Seed to Fuels, Ecovative Mushroom Packaging and Products (I couldn’t get enough!), and Bio-Preferred products by Ohio Bioproducts Innovation Center. Other areas available included: flight simulator, Science on a Sphere, Martian Driving Licenses, Biodiesel, Biomass Cooking, bio-based Forest Products, and Green Careers.

After the first day, my mind was spinning with ideas of how I can include the information into my elementary setting and the new information that I can apply to my everyday living to reduce my environmental footprint.

by Katie Vann
Reading Specialist and WEDC Instructor

The JetBlue Foundation Provides Grants to Help Young Aviators’ Imaginations Take Flight

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Mike Hall, president of Wings of Eagles Discovery Center, receives a check from the JetBlue Foundation for STEM-based youth educational programs at WEDC
A number of students and chaperones attended the JetBlue grant awarding ceremony in New York, NY on 12/17/2014. Here they pose with the check awarded to help fund STEM-based youth education programs at WEDC.

JetBlue, the First Airline to Launch a Foundation Solely Focused on STEM-Related Education, Provides More Than $100,000 in Grants and Support to Encourage Aviation Programs Among Underserved Communities

NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 12/17/14 — JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) today announces the second round of grants provided by the JetBlue Foundation. The JetBlue Foundation, established in 2013, is an education-focused entity which continues the airline’s efforts to place aviation top-of-mind as a career choice for students by igniting interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.

The JetBlue Foundation will provide three $25,000 grants to schools and educational initiatives that provide STEM and aviation-related programs geared towards underserved groups and communities. The Foundation will also provide support and special consultation to four developing programs to help them expand on fledgling aviation-focused initiatives. The Foundation is continuing the airline’s mission to inspire humanity. In addition to grants, the JetBlue Foundation also provides in-kind support, as crewmembers regularly volunteer to make a difference among the next generation of aviators.

Last year, applications were accepted from aviation programs in New York and Florida as both regions are known for having strong and widespread aviation education initiatives at the high school and college levels. This year the JetBlue Foundation opened the application process further by welcoming proposals from programs in New York, Florida, Salt Lake City, the Los Angeles Basin and Chicago, all areas with large aviation-education initiatives.

“We want to help students’ dreams take flight. JetBlue, whose mission is to inspire humanity, thought one of these best ways to do so within our industry was to create the JetBlue Foundation. Starting in 2013, the JetBlue Foundation began supporting unique experiences starting at the grade school level to introduce students to STEM education. Fewer than 3 percent of commercial airline pilots are people of color and only 4 percent of pilots are women,” said Joanna Geraghty, president, board of directors, JetBlue Foundation. “Through the JetBlue Foundation, we are helping to improve these statistics. We are continuing to put aviation on the map as a career choice for students from all communities and backgrounds. The JetBlue Foundation is making an investment in our children and an investment in the future of our industry.”

On December 17, the JetBlue Foundation will host its second annual grant check presentation at a special event in New York and will also provide a one-of-a-kind experience for aspiring aviators, administrators and students. The event will take place at JetBlue’s Hangar at Kennedy International Airport and will also include unique education stations highlighting career opportunities as pilots and in technical operations and aircraft maintenance, tours of the airline’s newest Airbus A321 Mint aircraft and more.

The JetBlue Foundation’s 2014 grant recipients include:

  • Organization of Black Aeronautical Professions (OBAP) (Headquarted in Chicago) – Founded in 1976, OBAP’s mission is to enhance, advance and promote educational opportunities in aviation and aerospace and to develop and mentor youth. Its main goal is to increase minority participation in aerospace through exposure, training, mentoring and scholarships. OBAP’s Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academies provides hands-on experiences that teach topics including the History of Aviation, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Air Traffic Control Procedures, and Aerospace Technologies. OBAP will use this grant to provide underserved youth with exposure to STEM career-fields associated within Aviation. The goal is to inspire 14-18 year old students to pursue careers in Aviation. The grant will help underwrite part of the operational costs in expanding the ACE programs in New York, San Diego, Pensacola and Orlando. In a typical year, 800-1,000 teens participate nationwide.
  • Utah Valley University (Orem, Utah) – The mission of Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Aviation Science is to provide a stellar educational experience which prepares students for successful careers and promotes responsible citizenship in a global aviation environment. The program includes technology-enhanced traditional classroom learning and innovative online delivery methods. Simulations and flight training are integrated with scholarly work to create a complete and well-balanced aeronautics program. This grant will help fund an Airline Dispatcher certification program, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) qualification program and a Flight Attendant training module. UVU intends to recruit new students into the pilot training pipeline to help meet the demand of a potential pilot shortage. Funds provided by the JetBlue Foundation will be used to help establish curriculum, institute courses, and create certification parameters for these qualification programs.
  • Wings of Eagles Discovery Center (Elmira, NY) – The Wings of Eagles Discovery Center (WEDC) serves as a regional STEM facility available in person or virtually. WEDC strives to provide outstanding STEM education programs and engagement activities from Kindergarten through the undergraduate level as well as professional development workshops for STEM teachers. The JetBlue Foundation grant will help with construction costs for an interactive STEM classroom as well as field trips for area students to the completed “NIFA-JetBlue Science-on-a-sphere room.” The grant will also be used to create curriculum, for a lab focused on creating renewable jet fuels from algae.

This year the JetBlue Foundation will also look to partner with a number of different education institutions to help new aviation programs take flight including:

  • Bronx Aerospace High School (Bronx, NY) – This specialty high school focuses on students in grades 9-12.
  • Cradle of Aviation Museum (Garden City, NY) – This world-class aerospace museum commemorates Long Island’s part in the history of aviation.
  • InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico (IAU) (San Juan, Puerto Rico) – IAU’s mission is to provide educational and practical experiences, empowering students to contribute positively to the global aviation community.
  • Project Scientist (Southern California) – This program engages and empowers girls with a passion, talent and aptitude for STEM.

The JetBlue Foundation will build lasting relationships with these programs beyond the initial grants including mentoring, in-kind support, internships and more. JetBlue supports STEM education though a variety of initiatives. The airline hosts a unique education pathway from relationships with elementary school students and mentoring high school and college students to its University Gateway Program which leads to positions as Pilot Trainees with JetBlue.

The JetBlue Foundation is legally independent from JetBlue and has a separate Board of Directors and an Advisory Committee both made up of JetBlue crewmembers from across the airline. To learn more about the JetBlue Foundation, visit www.jetblue.com/InspiringHumanity.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline™, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 30 million customers a year to 87 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 825 daily flights. Service to Cleveland will launch April 30, 2015. For more information please visit JetBlue.com.

About The JetBlue Foundation

Founded in 2013, the JetBlue Foundation is committed to supporting aviation-related education in general and Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) in particular, and fostering effective programs that empower and provide opportunities to underserved students and communities. The Foundation will provide learning opportunities for underserved groups by working hand-in-hand with local and national education institutions that support and foster aviation-related programs. For more information, please visit .

MEDIA CONTACTS

JetBlue Corporate Communications
Tel: +1 718 709 3089
corpcomm@jetblue.com

Reservations
+1 800 JETBLUE (538 2583)
TTY/TDD: +1 800 336-5530
www.jetblue.com

Source: JetBlue http://investor.jetblue.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=131045&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=2000305