Energy Education Materials are a Hit!

Author: Guest Author; Published: Aug 8, 2011; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Environment, Geology, Math, Renewable energy, Science; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, energy challenges, Energy Conservation, Energy4me, Lesson Plans, Math, natural gas, Petroleum, Renewable, School, science, Student, sustainability, Teacher; Comments: Be the first

Guest Author – Mary Spruill, Executive Director, National Energy Education Development Project (NEED)

Energy4Me materials developed in partnership with NEED are a huge hit and will be used by NEED’s trainers throughout the 2011-2012 school year.

Throughout the year, The NEED Project (www.need.org) and Energy4me, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) energy education program, work together on many energy education activities including the Teacher and Student Workshop at the Offshore Technology Conference and the Teacher and Student Workshop at SPE’s ATCE.  Each summer though, NEED’s energy programs get bigger and faster paced with so many kids and teachers to reach in only a few short weeks.  This June and July were no exception with over 550 kids and teachers in Washington, D.C. to participate in the 31st Annual NEED Youth Awards for Energy Achievement.  This event recognizes school groups who commit to learning about energy and to sharing their knowledge with their peers, their teachers and their communities.  Students submit portfolios of  their energy programming in April for review at the state and national level, and the winning schools come spend 4 days in the Nation’s Capital sharing their energy work, touring our monuments and museums, and meeting with elected and appointed officials.

On a sleepy Sunday morning during the conference – the kids are up early and working on hands-on activities featuring the lessons provided by Energy4Me and some lessons that NEED and Energy4Me created together.  The students are learning about porosity and permeability, and the work needed to bring oil and natural gas to market.  They learn about transportation efficiency too and consider ways to make the vehicles of tomorrow and their own driving habits more efficient too.  The activities from Energy4Me are engaging, fun, and provide students with the background they need to really understand the oil and natural gas resources we use each day.  They leave with big smiles, new friends, and new activities to take home to their communities and share.

As soon as the Youth Awards wraps up, NEED’s training team heads out to the NEED National Energy Conference for Educators.  This year’s conference in Denver, Colorado hosted 150 educators from across the country and from Thailand and the Saipan.  For a week, the educators were like students at summer camp – learning about each other and about energy so they could return to their classrooms and teach energy with excitement and fun.  The Energy4Me activities and the presentation resources allow students and teachers alike to look more deeply into oil and natural gas development and use.  This year’s opening speaker was Don McClure, Vice President for Community Relations, Legal and Finance at EnCana, one of America’s largest natural gas producers.  Don’s extensive background in energy provided teachers with a look at how diverse the industry is, the number of jobs available for all types of students, and the challenges and opportunities that abound in developing natural gas in America.  In the days that followed, teachers learned about density, drilling technologies, properties of oil and natural gas and are prepared to take the lessons home and open up the oil and natural gas world to their students.

But that’s not all.  After Denver, the team packed up and traveled to La Quinta, California for NEED’s Facilitator Training Conference.  This conference is hosted every few years and brings together teachers, NEED’s training staff, and energy professionals from many companies and  agencies to sharpen their facilitation skills, to train on new content and new materials, and to learn how to deliver energy curriculum and training to teachers in NEED’s 600+ energy trainings each year.  This year’s group of 40 trainers rolled up their sleeves and researched and presented about America’s leading energy sources, they debated the advantages and disadvantages of the energy sources we use today, and they developed methods to share energy information with teachers and students nationwide. The It is a busy (but fun!) summer and together with SPE, NEED is reaching thousands of teachers and students each year.  As America’s teachers head back to school this month, let’s take a minute to thank them and to encourage them to teach about energy as often as possible in class!

For the 2011-2012 NEED curriculum guides or to register for a NEED workshop near you visit www.need.org!

 

Teachers learn about energy at SPE workshop in Florence, Italy

Author: Heather Stanford; Published: Sep 28, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Science, SPE members, Technology, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Lesson Plans, natural gas, oil, Petroleum, School, science, SPE, Teacher, Technology; Comments: Be the first

The Society of Petroleum Engineers brought 50 Tuscany-area science teachers to its 2010 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Florence, Italy, on 22 September to learn about energy topics.

The “Energize Your Classroom” teacher workshop presented by SPE’s Energy4me energy education program, partnering with the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. ExxonMobil was the sponsor of the event, enabling the teachers for pre-university students age 10-18 to attend the workshop and receive the Italian materials at no cost.

The all-day workshop began with a keynote speaker, Giambattista De Ghetto, senior vice president for Research and Technological Innovation of Eni E&P, based in Milan. His talk provided an overview of “Energy’s Grand Challenges” with a special focus on the Italian petroleum industry.

After the keynote address, four instructors from the museum conducted the workshop, teaching them hands-on activities to use with their students in the classroom. Working in small groups, the teachers performed exercises and experiments that explored the characteristics of oil as a fluid and related science to everyday life. The museum instructors were Enrico Miotto, Fabrizio Stavola, Michela Maddalena, and Janos Cont.

The teachers also toured the exhibition area of the conference, with industry professionals from SPE’s Italian Section and the museum staff explaining the high-tech tools used by the oil and gas industry to find and produce energy resources around the world.

“The teachers told us they appreciated the opportunity to attend and that they very much valued this initiative,” said Alberto Di Lullo of Eni E&P, program chair for the SPE Italian Section who helped organize the event.

The teachers received the English version of Energy4me’s “Oil and Natural Gas” book and a CD with Italian lesson plans, classroom activities, hands-on experiments, ready-to-go classroom presentations, teaching aids, and speaker resources that all correspond with the book. The Oil and Natural Gas book addresses topics including the formation of natural gas and oil, finding and retrieving petroleum, products from petroleum, and oil and the environment.

Energy4me donates the “Oil and Natural Gas” book to teachers attending our teacher workshops around the globe. Energy4me’s educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Tips for Teaching Energy

Author: Heather Stanford; Published: Sep 24, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, Environment, Math, Renewable energy, Science, Uncategorized; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, energy challenges, Energy4me, Geothermal, Lesson Plans, natural gas, Petroleum, Renewable, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Teacher; Comments: Be the first

Introducing energy topics in the classroom might seem like a daunting task to teachers especially when it comes to teaching energy sources. Teaching energy sources is a multi-faceted topic with global implications that can be fun and exciting with a little help from Energy4me and these useful tips!

Teachers can start their energy lessons by showing students the colorful and informative “Oil and Natural Gas” book, produced by the Society of Petroleum Engineers with DK Publishing. The book, which is free for teachers, puts a visual image with the scientific concepts being learned and shows kids how petroleum and natural gas shapes our world. Energy4me offers free downloadable lesson plans that correspond to the “Oil and Natural Gas” book.

Another great resource teachers can use is our Energy4me kit to help them in the classroom. The kit includes engaging classroom activities and hands-on experiments, ready-to-go classroom presentations, teaching aids, and speaker resources. Materials are tailored to students ages 5-18 and are also free to download.

After learning about different energy sources and their impact on their lives, students will want to learn more. Give them a well-rounded view on energy education and request a classroom speaker. Energy4me engages the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) professional members worldwide to help serve as classroom speakers.

Energy4me is a great free resource to help make learning about energy fun and exciting!

Educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

Italian Classroom Materials Now Available!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Sep 10, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Science, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Lesson Plans, natural gas, oil, Petroleum, School, SPE, STEM, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Energy4me is excited to announce free downloadable Italian lesson plans and classroom activities on Energy4me.org!

Energy4me Kit materials and lesson plans that correspond with Energy4me’s “Oil and Natural Gas” book were translated into Italian for the “Energize Your Classroom Teacher Workshop” to be held during the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) on 22 September 2010 in Florence, Italy. All materials are also now available for teachers to download directly from Energy4me.org! The workshop and Italian materials are free for teachers thanks to a generous sponsorship from ExxonMobil.

The kit downloads include fun classroom activities and hands-on experiments, ready-to-go classroom presentations, teaching aids, and speaker resources. Materials are tailored to age groups (primary, intermediate, and secondary students.)

The lesson plans address topics including the formation of natural gas and oil, finding and retrieving petroleum, products from petroleum, and oil and the environment. They are designed for teachers to use with students ages 10-18 in conjunction with the “Oil and Natural Gas” book. They were created using the 5E constructivist learning cycle, helping students build their own understanding from experiences and new ideas. The 5Es represent the five stages of a sequence for teaching and learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaboration and Evaluate.

Energy4me donates the “Oil and Natural Gas” book to teachers attending our teacher workshops around the globe. Books are also donated to the teacher when members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers give energy-related classroom presentations to students ages 5-18. Books can also be purchased and donated to teachers for wider distribution.

Energy4me’s educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Free Arabic and Chinese Lesson Plans Now Available!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Aug 23, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Science, SPE members, Volunteering; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy4me, Lesson Plans, natural gas, oil, Petroleum, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Comments Off

Energy4me is excited to announce free downloadable Arabic and Chinese lesson plans on Energy4me.org.

 The lesson plans correspond with Energy4me’s Arabic and Chinese versions of the “Oil and Natural Gas “book. They address topics including the formation of natural gas and oil, finding and retrieving petroleum, products from petroleum, and oil and the environment.

The lesson plans are designed for teachers to use with students ages 10-18 in conjunction with the book. They were created using the 5E constructivist learning cycle, helping students build their own understanding from experiences and new ideas. The 5Es represent the five stages of a sequence for teaching and learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaboration and Evaluate.

Energy4me donates the “Oil and Natural Gas” book to teachers attending our teacher workshops around the globe. Books are also donated to the teacher when members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers give energy-related classroom presentations to students ages 5-18. Books can also be purchased and donated to teachers for wider distribution.

Select materials from the Energy4me Kit are also free to download in Arabic and Chinese. The kit includes fun classroom activities and hands-on experiments, ready-to-go classroom presentations, teaching aids, and speaker resources.

Energy4me’s educational materials work together to make learning memorable and fun!