Getting it done!

One of the biggest ‘take away’s’ I received at Kenan Fellows PD and my internship last summer was the importance of simply sharing ideas, strategies, and struggles with other people. Opening up and being transparent about life– personal and professional– were some of the pretty big risks I took over the summer.

Now that I am back at school I’ve continued to infuse my lessons with the lessons I learned over the summer. I find myself talking about the things I saw or learned on a regular basis– even we aren’t having an ‘energy related discussion’.

I am finding that energy use and resources find their way into more discussions and examples than I ever thought possible. Its been a common thread through many lessons and I am so thankful to have had the experience.

As I continue to move through the semester I am sure that I will rely even more on my experiences and new colleagues to make connections to my classroom.

Week #5’ish- Kenan Fellows PD and back at the Co-op!

This week was the second of three professional development institute that was held by Kenan Fellows Program. I spent Thursday in the field with Monica and Dale seeing all of the steps involved in staking new services. There was a board meeting that afternoon and I had the opportunity to share my experiences and academic plan with the Board of Directors for EM-EMC.

Telling the board a little bit about my summer…

Oh no– are we really going to talk POLITICS?!

In the first part of the week during our professional development, my fellow fellows and I spent some time learning about the importance of making connections with the folks that make the most important decisions– our lawmakers. Many teachers join organizations like NCAE and PENC for their lobbying power. While there isn’t anything wrong with joining those organizations (most of them have quite a few ‘perks’ like professional insurance-very valuable!), we learned that teachers and leaders are most effective in the political arena when we create and nurture relationships with our local representatives. This can be a daunting task, and time consuming, but is worth doing in order to be an advocate for our students and our profession. These relationships can be forged outside of any association with a professional organization by a little bit of planning and some homework before meeting any representatives. My takeaway from this: Sticking my head in the sand and ignoring politics does absolutely nothing for my profession. I must begin taking baby steps to become an activist for current and future teachers and students. This may be one of the most important responsibilities I have as a teacher leader. I plan on inviting my representatives to my classroom this year, stay tuned for details on that!

Whew, back in my comfort zone- SCIENCE!

We spent time Tuesday morning with staff from the NC Science Museum learning about and practicing citizen science. We also scored some AMAZING new field guides for birds (Sibley) bugs (Kaufman), and trees.

We also used some apps for our citizen science project that centered around Lake Raleigh. The fun and cool thing about citizen science is that can be done ANYWHERE, by ANYONE. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and the impact is huge as more people become interested in and engage with citizen science. Below are the apps we used:

eBird is used for sharing information about bird sightings

iNaturalist and Natures Notebook are both more general sites for sharing citizen science observations. Natures Notebook is great for sharing phenology information for flora and fauna right in your backyard– citizen science from home!

Plover approved.

Almost the end…

It was wonderful to be reunited with my Kenan family. We were able to share information and receive feedback on our curriculum products, reconnect and hear ALL ABOUT each others fellowships, and enjoy being in the company of like-minded professionals. SO REFRESHING. I have one more week– 5 days– left of internship. It is so hard to believe it is almost over. It has been a whirl-wind summer and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Again, thank you to KFP, NCEMC, EMEMC for supporting my work this summer. It has been transformative, informative, and simply amazing! Also thanks to my family– my husband and children, my parents, and my in-laws who have been so generous in their assistance with my children. I couldn’t have done any of this without them!

QVC Visit

On Thursday, June 18 i visited the QVC facility in Rocky Mount, NC. I was absolutely blown away by the facilities at QVC. The technology that goes into receiving, storing, and processing material is unfathomable for anyone who hasn’t see it first hand. QVC was a planned part of my Kenan experience because they are industrial members of Edgecombe-Martin Electric Membership Cooperative. They are a unique facility in terms of electricity production and consumption because they have a larg solar farm on-site that provides 5.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year that is put back on the grid and purchased by North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperative. Read my post about solar energy here.

Packages are sorted into bins according to destination

Since QVC’s equipment, methods, and materials are essentially ‘trade secret’, I couldn’t take any pictures of the inside. But I can summarize the steps, from bulk order in to individual order out:

1. A truck brings pallets of product to the facility. It is unloaded, sorted, and then stored in a specific location.

2. Once an order is placed for an item, the item is pulled from storage and sent to packaging. Keep this in mind the next time you order multiple types of items from any store– the items are likely stored in various storage areas, but somehow they all make into the same box. AMAZING!

3. The items are packaged. This may seem like a small detail, but you want that TV to receive in working order, right? How about the pearl bracelet you ordered? That should be handled carefully too, right? While they probably would not package a TV and pearl bracelet together, they combine as much as they can in order to keep consumer shipping costs down.

4. Once your order is packaged, it is sent on a conveyor belt where it is scanned and sorted according to region of destination, and then loaded onto a truck that will be used to transport your item to USPS or UPS or FedEx.

Its important to note that this process is heavily automated, it requires many people to monitor, package, transport via forklifts, and troubleshoot the system. It was very interesting to see how all of the machines worked together to deliver a fast and timely produce. Every hour costs the company lots of money– the higher the productivity, the higher the costs.

As I toured the facility I couldn’t help but compare the business world to the education world. In a sense, education is a business– however too often inefficiency is rampant and the result ends up being a product (student) that is not ready for what lies ahead. I know there are many great schools doing many great things, and they should be the model we look to for insight and guidance. What kind of product are we sending out to the world? What would our ‘bottom line’ actually be if we could attach numbers to productivity, creativity, and efficiency?

Week #4- Line Crew, Accounting, and Cameras- OH MY!

This week has been a mixture of field time, office time, and HOLLYWOOD time!
Monday we were out with the crew and we were at the hog farm–they were running new lines to have more houses. It was a stinky, but informative, experience. I was able to see the linemen pull line and hang line to prepare it for service.

We didn’t actually SEE any hogs, but we smelled them, and they didn’t smell as cute as this one looks.

Here are some highlights from my time in the field Monday:

Before any job is started there is ‘tail gate meeting’ that ensures everyone on the crew knows exactly what will be happening– which lines will be ‘hot’ and appropriate safety reminders for the specific job at hand. Everyone on the job site has to sign or initial the work order acknowledging they are aware of the plan and potential dangers.

At the hog farm there were new lines hung up. This required line to be pulled off of the spool and put on the ground, before they were hung at one end and pulled up and attached at the other end. It is a lengthy process– but one that went fairly quick once it started happening.

Working ‘in the field’. Literally. In the corn field!

Safety first– When the crews are working on ‘hot’ lines there is extensive safety measures taken to ensure the line men go home to their families each night. Here they have line insulators, rubber sleeves, and multiple layers of protection that AREN’T pictured here– including a grounded line and their harnesses are attached to the bucket.

Tuesday we were back in the office. Monica and I reviewed the Volunteer Action Committee minutes from the last meeting and she prepared for the next meeting that will be the last week of the month. I also spent some time working on curriculum and polishing up the ‘ol blog.

Wednesday …. oh Wednesday. Lindsey from NCEMC (‘statewide’) came with a camera crew from Amazing Studios and they were… well…. amazing. We were filmed while we were out with the crew, and even though I was a tad uncomfortable with the cameras that close and constantly on me, I know that the video they create from the footage the shot will be great. We actually did stuff while out with the linemen- I became and expert outrigger putter-downer and picker-upper (those are technical terms, by the way) and we watched the linemen (Allen and Bobby) switch service from one phase to a different phase. We were also interviewed by the guys at Amazing Studios and got a glimpse into the challenges of outdoor shooting (noise/heat/bugs/lack of power).

Thursday we were back in the office for awhile in the morning– I talked to Gary and Thomas about outages and metering. I never knew there were so many different types of meters!

Monica and I also went to an event hosted by the Edgecombe County Library where local children came out to see trucks including firetrucks, police cars, bucket trucks, and even a Pepsi Truck.

Thursday afternoon I spent time in accounting– this department was friendly and welcoming just like the other departments and I learned more than I ever even knew existed in the world of business– from accounts payable to taxes to payroll– the amount of number crunching that goes on is unreal. I’ll be updating with a link to a post about capital credits and some of the other business benefits of co-ops in the next week or so– I learned enough for a whole post on that!

Friday we were visited by Tia and Amneris from Kenan Fellows Project. I am so happy that they had the opportunity to see some really cool stuff out in the field. The crew we were with had to ‘retire’ two poles and set two new poles. One line was hot while the other was not, so it was interesting to see the different approach for different scenarios. Today I was able to nail the copper ground onto a wire, help fill the hole, help with pole attachments, and turn the pole once it was set in the ground. So again, picture heavy below, but if you have questions please feel free to ask 🙂

A shady spot for the tailgate meeting

“So you’ll nail these funny shaped nails into the pole…”

A pole turner tool! The holes in the pole have to line up just right to make all of the connections properly.

I became an expert at nailing, so they let me supervise.

It has been another GREAT week at Edgecombe-Martin EMC. I am so thankful for the hospitality that has been shown. I will be working diligently in the next few weeks to bring together the lessons I’ve learned and create curriculum that will be able to be shared with other teachers that will hopefully inspire our young people to pursue careers in the energy industry. This will benefit teachers by providing engaging, exciting, and relevant lessons. Edgecombe-Martin EMC will benefit from having a member base that is exposed at a younger age to cooperative principles and energy education.

Week #3… Line Crew!

This week we spent a lot of time ‘on the road’ with the line crew. These guys were SUPER nice and welcoming. They answered all of my questions and told me exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. This post will be ‘picture heavy’, because I took LOTS of pictures! On Tuesday I was able to attend a safety committee meeting and we were in the office. Also on Tuesday I learned more about solar energy and renewables. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I was able to see the linemen doing a variety of tasks that included:

~investigating reports of blinking lights to find and fix the issue (birds pecking at the wire– this didn’t work out well for the birds!)

~Installing a security light and service to meter box at a new residence

~retiring a pole

~repairing an underground line that had blown out

~installing new lines and setting a new pole for service

~they even let me use a ditch digger to fill a hole!

Keep both eyes open

One of the ‘big questions’ that seem to be resurfacing A LOT lately is : “what exactly are the goals of the project and how will this be used in the classroom?”

A little adjustment goes a long way… it also helps to keep both eyes open!

The picture above describes perfectly the result of some initiatives and professional development that I’ve participated in. My KFP experience has been the opposite– it is becoming more and more clear what educators need to do to send out students who are ready to positively contribute to society. The ultimate goal of any professional development is to equip the teacher to make a bigger impact on the student. The experiences I’ve had, the content I’ve learned, and the relationships I’ve made throughout my time with Kenan Fellows will mean that I return to my classroom renewed and ready to get to work with a fresh new set of ‘tools’ in my tool kit. I’ll also have new relationships with like-minded people– new friends that I can collaborate with and share ideas, strategies, and successes with. Here are just a few of my take-aways that will imeediately impact my lesson planning and teaching in my classroom:

1. Technology has a time and place. Digitizing an assignment or lesson for the sake of digitizing it isn’t always best. Yes, conservation of paper resources is important. Yes, students respond to use of technology in the classroom, but sometimes….

2. Let the students talk. I’ll be taking up phones a lot more in my class this semester. The Snap Chat, Instagram and Facebook are all valuable tools that students use to communicate, but the most valuable tool is their mouth and ears. It’s time to look at some basics of communication to ensure that our students can be effective communicators outside of the technology that they are so tied to. At the same time, I’m working to…

3. Meet them where they are. While I’ll be looking at getting back to basics in some aspects of my classroom, I’ll also be looking to gamify my classroom for the first time. This is huge for me, because I’m not much of a ‘gamer’.

No really, this is the extent of my ‘gaming’…

So I’ll start small in the fall and work on making my classroom more gamified. I am excited about this because I think it will really engage some students who are otherwise not all about school work. I’ll also work on using more tools that my students use in order to connect with them– I plan on having a class Instagram account and using resources like Goose Chase more often with my students. And even though it’s all fun and games, I want students to learn even more about…

4. Real Life. You know, that when they graduate high school they will go to college or get a job or join the military. Internship specific stuff like–

a. Careers. There is more to do out there than being a doctor, lawyer, teacher, nurse, or cosmetologist. All of those are important and noble choices, but lets face it– there is SO MUCH MORE out there.

b. Electric Utilities. It’s important for students to understand the way these services work– how you sign up, why your bill is higher during some months (and how to make it lower), why the power goes out in a storm (and what to do when it does go out),

There’s more to it than that…

And finally, last but not least…

c. The science behind electricity and electrical services. Beyond the flow of electrons, there is so much to consider. From how lines are run (the amount the ‘sag’ in the middle is a big deal and has a complicated formula for determining how much the linemen sag the lines based on air temp when installing the lines to determine how much additional sag they will develop as they settle) to line size and composition, to transmission and transformers to distribution and consumption– there is SO MUCH to consider when thinking about how electricity is supplied.

Solar Energy

Can you think of any reason why people wouldn’t want to use FREE solar energy to provide electricity to do the things we have grown accustomed to, including charge our phone, heat up our dinner, and wash our clothes? Well, when you think about how energy gets from the sun to your power outlet, it becomes far more complicated and much more costly than ‘free’.

QUESTION: How would a member go about getting solar panels installed on their house?

The member would need to contact Edgecombe-Martin EMC to have the engineers determine if existing lines can handle the voltage that would be put back on the lines. The member also must sign a Standard Interconnection Agreement that details the members responsibilities that include information about types of acceptable equipment, safety, and installation and interconnection costs that must be covered by the member.

QUESTION: How much will this lower a members electricity bill?

I’d really like to share some ‘hard facts and figures’, but the reality is that it isn’t that straightforward. You can do some quick googling and find that some projects pay off in 5 (or fewer) years because of hefty tax credits at the federal and some state levels. Solar panels are expensive to install, and the future of solar is not ‘set in stone’– as tax credits expire and the cost becomes even more prohibitive, you may see less solar ~or~ as technology abilities increase and panels become more cost effective, you may see more solar. If you install panels in the EMEMC district you’ll be credited on your bill according the ‘avoided cost’ that co-op calculates– which is how much you would’ve paid for power had they supplied the power to you instead of you supplying it via panels. The bottom line is that right now there is no way to store the energy, so Edgecombe-Martin is there to ‘pick up the slack’ and keep your lights on cloudy days and cold winter nights.

It is important to note there are currently various methods that have been tested and even used to ‘capture’ this energy and store it for times when the sun ISN’T shining, but it is equally as important to note that these technologies are not widely available and thus have high costs associated with installation, use, and maintenance of the systems.

Edgecombe-Martin EMC has a few solar projects that are connected to their system. There is a fairly high cost associated with connecting residential and industrial solar to existing lines, and extnesive paperwork that must be filed. The engineers must verify that the existing lines can handle the load that will be back fed onto the lines during daylight hours. This means that the substations have to be able to adjust the power they are supplying every second– even a cloud can cause a drop in voltage from the solar panels, and the co-op must provide continuous services to all of the members. As you can imagine, this is a modern marvel and requires engineers to be on-staff and monitoring the grid for any potential problems.

Week #2, NCCAT, Cullowhee, NC

As a coastal plains gal it is always fun to enjoy some topography when I head to the mountains. Since my project is all about electricity I was also super attentive to the fact that they have to get lines up and down all those mountains. #thinkaboutit

Anywho, Say hello to Dixie on her blog debut– she really missed me while I was at NCCAT. The humans did too, but I think she missed me most:

“I’m just gonna nap till mama comes home”~Dixie

NCCAT. Wow. Where to start? I learned so much, had so much fun, and met so many awesome people. It was like summer camp for grown ups. You know that feeling you have on the last day of vacation when you have to return to reality, and you aren’t all that happy about it? The drive home Friday was a lot of that mixed with excitement and anticipation of seeing my family again. During my time at NCCAT it was so refreshing to be presented with PD that was cutting edge– not something I’d already heard before– and be around people who are ‘in the trenches’ and dedicated to making their school, county, state, and world a better place to live, work, and learn.

To help focus my ramblings, this post will be divided into a few parts:

1. What did I learn?

#truth “Paddle…. people!!”

a. PBL— I’ll be doing much more research and asking fellows about it, and I *think* I do some of this already, I just want to formalize it and streamline procedure and products.

b. Gamification/augmented reality– I learned enough to see that these activities lead to students who are more engaged and active in their learning. Isn’t that what we’re all about?

c. EdCamp-– I REALLY want to bring EdCamp to eastern NC. So, if you happen to read this and want to work together to make this happen, let me know! I see so much potential for EdCamp ‘rules’ to transform PD and even staff meetings in our schools.

I learned SO MUCH MORE, and I’ll be sharing those resources/ideas individually on later posts as I work more with them and figure out where and how they fit with my curriculum and school.

2. What did I do? Other than the Professional development we did, we had a day out on Wednesday. It was actually a LONG DAY that started with a 6:30 am hike with my new friends before heading on a river excursion. I was terrified and thrilled all at the same time. I almost lost my hat in the rafting experience– the picture below was taken immediatly after we went over the Class III fall on the Nantahala River. I can’t recommend Nantahala Outdoor Center enough— excellent services, and our guide, Katy Dennis, was TOP NOTCH. I mean, look at all of us in the picture, scared to death, and she’s in the back smiling, looking cool, calm and collected. GO KATY! I ended the day by taking a group of my new friends to one of my FAVORITE PLACES ON THIS PLANET– Cataloochie Valley to see the elk! I was pleased that the elk were there and I had so much fun playing ‘tour guide’.

“I will not drown, I will not drown, I will not drown”~Me

The Cataloochie Crew!

3. Who did i meet? I met some of the best educators in NC. Seriously- there was so much brain power, heart, and dedication in the room during our PD sessions it was unreal and super humbling to even be there. New teachers, experienced teachers, high school teachers, elementary teachers, science teachers, art teachers and everyone in between. It was a unique experience– 90% of the PD I have done has been MS/HS science. WOW– I’ve been missing out on so much! I am so excited for our next time we get together– and I’m thankful for the ways we will keep in touch between now and then!

Kenan Fellows for 2015-2016

That’s a good looking group of educators, if I do say so myself!

4. Whats next?

Tomorrow I start my second week at the co-op and I am super excited. Monica and I will meet at the office at 7:00am to head out with the line crew. This week will hold many adventures and I am ready for each day. I also will be working on my project and updating my blog through out the week– look for reflections on my time with the line crew as well as a deeper look into the co-op’s history and solar power.

My Kenan Experience…

I am EXTREMELY EXCITED about my Kenan Fellowship. First, it is one of the best opportunities a teacher can have. The ability to work and learn in an industry, business, or research facility and receive hands on, real life training and experience translates into huge gains for our students. From learning about careers to learning new ways to engage with my students, this Kenan Fellowship will ‘renew’ my zeal for teaching. I am also looking forward to the opportunity to network with educators from across the state who are dedicated to making sure that the students we teach are ready to face the challenges that the real world will throw at them. It’s refreshing to be around people who are genuinely excited about the content they deliver to their students– its an excitement that is contagious. Many great conversations have already occurred, and I’m so excited for the ones that will occur in the future.

That excitement we feel this summer will carry on into the fall as we begin implementing our fellowship and nurturing our relationships with our mentors and each other. Students will be introduced to new ideas and careers they didn’t even know existed. I’ve been a teacher long enough to know that the greatest rewards in teaching don’t come from seeing my students get accepted to college, or even walk across the stage. The greatest rewards come when I see them around town YEARS later and they are working, and they have a family, and they are making good choices and being productive members of society. I want to push ALL students to reach their maximum potential– and that is extremely individualized. Only teachers and school staff who know their students can push those students, so I’m gaining strategies this week that help me connect more with my students and what help them figure out what they can do and what they want to do- to look more at the big picture and help them figure out how the steps they take to today get them closer to their goals for tomorrow.

Finally, I want my students to understand that their path is their own. They have to decide what they want and go for it. But most of all, I want them to know that learning is a LIFELONG endeavor. I want to be able to share the things they’ll need in real life to be able to interview, land, and excel in any job they want– not just settle for whatever they get with a half-hearted attempt. I want them to have real skills and meaningful experience before they get to college, so they are equipped to excel there. And I’ll do whatever I can to help them any way.

Week #1 at the Co-Op…

Whew! What a whirl wind week it has been! I have worked with various areas and learned about member services, toured the co-ops facilities and an industry member, and ordered my very own pink hard hat! I break down the week day by day…

I have visited almost every substation and have the pictures to prove it! Mike Johnson (An engineer with EMEMC) and Eddie Stocks (Member and Industrial development) have patiently all of my questions about how all of the lines, substations, and power switches work together!

Monday was spent with Monica as she showed me the ‘ins and outs’ of the co-op office, introduced me to co-op staff, and shared the plan for the summer. I learned copious amounts of information on the history of the co-op, the cooperative difference, and logistics from CEO Winston Howell.

Tuesday morning was a REAP and ACRE meeting. Monica and I also went on a system tour with Eddie Stocks where we visited about half of the service area. Monica and I decided that we needed cuter hard hats and safety glasses for all of our adventures in the field, and we ordered those on Tuesday. Our monograms will be made them and they’ll be ready for when I return from NCCAT.

Wednesday we visited the landfill to learn about the gas project– I’ll have a separate post on that. We also toured the other half of the service territory to view the substations and infrastructure that the co-op has in place to deliver power to the members. I also got an up-close view of the co-ops new bucket truck that was recently delivered. This bucket truck has the longest reach in their fleet will enable EMEMC to service and repair their tallest lines for maintenance and repair after storms.

Thursday was very exciting as I toured QVC. I was blown away by the logistical technology that they have at the facility. I also got to see their solar equipment ‘up close’ and learn more about the alternative energy initiatives that they have going on. I’ll have another post about the numerous things I learned there later on. In the afternoon Monica and I toured the remaining substations.

Friday morning I spent some time in member services where I learned how to take payments over the phone and in person at the front desk, I assisted in signing up new members, and learned more about the care that the cooperative takes to make sure that each member is completely satisfied with the service they receive. I also went to a ribbon cutting ceremony and lunch for the Gas Landfill Project I referenced above. The financial partners and community support members were invited to attend and celebrate the new facility.

I knew this week would be overwhelming because of all the new people I’d meet and new knowledge I’d gain. I also knew it would be a lot of fun- for me, learning and trying new things is fun. What I didn’t know was how much I’d learn– I could type in blogs for days and never get it all recorded. This speaks volumes to the fact that experiences can’t be taught with textbooks– the more experiences people have, the more they learn. I am particularly thankful for these experiences and the people who have supported me this week and will continue to support me through the summer. I look forward to lots of new experiences!

Next week I won’t be at the co-op– I’ll be in Cullowhee, NC for a week at NCCAT with the Kenan Fellows program. I am also excited about the new people I’ll meet and the new experiences I’ll gain from that adventure. Stay tuned for pictures of our white water rafting trip!

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