Windmills of the Mind / Shout Out!

From: "Suender, Eric"
Sent: Feb 11, 2008 9:28 AM
To: renewables@peoplepc.com

Subject: Windmill feasibility study

Hello Mr. Bates, My name is Eric Suender and received your name from one of my instructors. We are looking into construction of different alternative energy vehicles in the next couple of years. I would like to speak with you about your experience and knowledge could benefit our learning environment. I await your response.

Sincerely,

Eric Suender,
Ed.S.Associate Dean
Oakland Schools Technical Campus - Northwest
8211 Big Lake RoadClarkston, MI 48346
(248) 922-5800


Hello Mr. Suender,

I appreciate your inquiry into the art of understanding how to capture natural and friendly renewable energies and to integrate the same into your curriculum.

Recently I attended a yearly Advisory Commitee meeting (OSTC/NW Construction & Building Trades / Dick Moscovic) at your campus with a colleauge, Mr. Jim Ross of 21st Century Digital Learning Environments.

The participants engaged in a fairly lengthly conversation as to the potential for shifting some focus from traditional construction and building modalities to one with more emphasis on a comprehensive approach to understanding energy in all its manifests, namely energy efficiency, conservation and passive/active forms of natural energy utilization. And the need to create an awareness of energy management that can be integrated in each participants lives thereby increasing their own personal productivity and efficiency.

Mr. Ross and I along with others are involved in creating real-world learning environments and opportunities that are an outgrowth of many years of interest in improving educational opportunities for our students and educators. And at the same time to increase the opportunities for this creative interchange to effect positive changes in the surrounding community and America at large, a process also known as Communities by Designers.

It is with this in mind that Mr. Ross helped co-author the writing of a NSF ITEST STEM grant proposal with U of M Dearborn, Detroit Public Schools and Oakland Schools, Superintendent, Vickie Markevitch wrote the letter of support for Oakland Schools. The grant was awarded in September 2007 and is now beginning to unfold as a three year program.

The intent of the grant is to create real-world STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning opportunities that have a goal of increasing America's competetiveness advantage while teaching students how to increase their capacity to think (rather than rote memorization of what to think) with an intense focus on Information Technology (IT) strategies and implementations. Of course the ultimate purpose is to increase their creativity and innovation quotients via inquiry focused, problem-based, authentic real-world immersive practicums.

We are also actively engaged in investigating various networked-sites (Southeastern Michigan) for their potential to provide large-scale immersive learning environments. These Regional Green STEM Education Center's overall purpose would be to encourage a more wholesome understanding of how Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and all of the other learning disiplines are integrative in comprehending how the real world works and to make these immersive-envrionments real to everyone involved in the educational process (Students, Teachers, Parents and Administrators.)

There is also a growing awareness of the development of renewable energies as a new form of economics also known as Natural Capitalism and the comprenhension of this is seen as a learning-vehicle that will give our students a competitive edge on understanding the new economics of this fast changing world (Globalization) they encounter. As part of that process we are again partnering and informally presenting at the Global Trade Mission 2008 event (Dr. Marlana Krolicki) that is taking place on the Oakland Community College Campus Feb 28th thru March 1st this year.

Additionally, there are many co-partners nearby that wish to help recapture America's competitive advantage such as NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the Sea Cadets, U.S Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers. All of these organizations understand the unique nature of of the Great Lakes watershed in which we live and the opportunities for learning and advancement in creating great technological initiatives to bring about our competitve advantage.

We are also in the midst of developing a small "pilot program" with the Birmingham Groves High School Ecology Club. I was originaly asked to design and install a solar Photo-Voltaic system to power some water features the students installed in a courtyard that features a natural habitat in support of the yearly duck inhabitants. In turn we have offered to support the design efforts of the students to understand various renewable energy options, i.e. wind and solar and to encourage them to publish their findings on a student designed blogsite.

So, to answer your original question yes we are very interested in the creation and construction of your renewable energy education vehicles and initiatives and more importantly what they may look like and are designed to accomplish.

In closing perhaps we could come together for a simple informal meeting to discuss the various possibilities these developments may offer you and your students at Oakland Schools Technology Center / Northwest. Please let me know what your schedule might allow.

You may also be interested in visiting one of our blogsites that has been created as a repository for ideas and project outlines, some of which have culminated in these varying endeavors http://www.sendenergy.blogspot.com/

Kind regards,

Jim Bates