Agenda - Saturday, September 28, 2013

UT- Brownsville Teacher Quality Grant

AGENDA - September 28, 2013

8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

UBCB 2.210

Teacher Quality Grant Meeting - September 28, 2013

All members of the 2013-2014 Teacher Quality Grant will be meeting this weekend for a morning workshop. We will be meeting in UBCB 2.110 (Sabal Palm Building) at 10:00 a.m.

We should be out by noon. There will be homework to cover the afternoon session.

The following topics will be discussed at the meeting:

• Plan October Field Trip
• Introduce Blended Learning Activities
• Overview of Sophia.org website
• Obtaining Flipped Classroom Certification

Be prompt.

Enabling Party Mode on an Event

Visit this site to get instructions to enable "Party Mode". Follow this link.

Institute Concerns

Today's first day of class for EDCI 6346 - Environmental Education Methods and of the TQ Water Quality Institute was a long and information packed class/institute. Several concerns came up during the class/institute that I wanted to address.

Project Organization and Time Commitments

This e-mail is being sent out to TRC Master of Education, Non-Graduate TRC, and TQ Grant Participants. Since some of you were in both TRC and TQ grants we combined the class and institute. These were the only participants that are required to participate in the summer program. 

If you were a non-graduate TRC participant you did not have to attend. 

TRC graduate students who were not able to enroll in the summer course (EDCI 6346) should be attending. You will be registered for the Fall 2013 semester and receive credit at the end of the fall semester. Any days missed will be made up during the fall. The same is true if you are enrolled in the summer course and miss days.

Everyone in the TRC grant is expected to attend the Boca Chica and General Land Office South Bay Field Trips. These field trips are only offered once a year and will count toward the 50 hours required for the remainder of the grant period. 

The TRC Summer Institute consisted of 50 hours. The remaining 50 hours to meet the TRC commitment will be spread out during late summer, fall, and spring. If you missed days during the TRC Summer Institute you can make up the hours by attending the Summer Field Trips. They are noted in the instructional calendar for the EDCI 6346 class (edci6346.blogspot.com).

Technology Issues

Every time technology is used in a class it seems that there are always glitches. Today was no different.

It's great that we have plenty of laptops to go around, but unfortunately they are not updated. I want to thank Tony Balboa for pointing out that the problem may be the lack of updates were causing pictures to not load properly. Magali will be trying to update the laptops before the next "high-use" day coming up on Thursday. Tomorrow will be working on the C-map assessment.

The "Guacamole Video" stopped at the same place it did during class when I tried it at home a bit ago. Hopefully, the short "Energy Source" presentation and short practice session helped to clarify some of skills needed to complete the C-map assessment tomorrow.

The wireless system seemed to slow down quite a bit with all of us on at the same time. If you are using other wireless devices that are hooked on to "Libertad", please use your carrier's service during that time. This will hopefully help to speed things up a bit.

Aside from technology issues, some of you are unfamiliar with these programs and skills. I'm very proud of all of you today. You were real troopers and I want to encourage you to challenge yourself to learn these applications.

Field Trip Preparation

Tomorrow I am planning on spending a little bit of time to help you prepare for the Roma Bluffs Field Trip. Making travel arrangements is a priority. Being safe and comfortable will allow to enjoy the outdoors and make it likely that you return and visit some of these sites on your own.

Travel for long trips such as Roma Bluffs, Sal del Rey, and Arroyo will be reimbursed. Students are expected to car pool with a minimum of 4 people per vehicle. The driver will be reimbursed for vehicle use. Magali will need to know the vehicle's occupants.

The posted meeting time is 7:00 a.m. at the UTB Parking lot. Those students who can meet in Brownsville will gather toward the back EDBC parking lot. I'll park my jeep there and everyone should gather. 

Participants who would rather meet in Harlingen can do so at our meeting place, Texas Visitor's Center (Map). We should arrive in Harlingen by 7:30 a.m. Participants will sign-in when we reach Sullivan City (map). The group should gather at this site by 8:15 a.m.

Consider that it is hotter and drier toward the western part of the RGV, so dress appropriately. Clothing that wicks up sweat and is breathable is advisable. A cap or hat is a must.

Also, bring a couple of bottles of water, if not more. Snacks are also recommended, especially those that are salty since they help you retain water. 

A good sunblock should applied to any exposed skin. Check the label on your sunblock. Old sunblock loses it's ability to block the sun's UVA and UVB rays. Visit this site for more information (click).

Bring a camera! Of course, I use my cell phone, but it's battery will drain quickly. Be sure to charge it well before the trip. Putting it on Airplane Mode will help to conserve battery life.

Constructing Concept Maps

The Concept Map Toolkit is available for download at  http://cmap.ihmc.us/download/. This toolkit has already been downloaded to the computer that you'll be using.

Key Points to Remember:

1)   Naming Protocol

• six-digit-participant#_preconceptmap2

• no dash required between participant number

2)   Guacamole video

• To aide with CMap mechanics guacamole video is to be viewed by every participants.

•  http://www.tqmap.com/video/trouble_shooting_video

3)   Practice with the CMap program by developing a concept map on "Energy Sources" by using the following propositions:

Renewable

Non-renewable

Inexhaustible

Sun

Water 

Fossil Fuels

Use the linking words:

could be

could be

could be

example

example

example

4)   Go to the link sent to your Gmail account.

Reflection #9

This assessment is to be completed ONLY by participants of the Teacher Quality - Studying Water Quality through Problem Based Learning grant. If you are a new participant, please indicate that in your reflection.

Reflection #9 must be completed prior to any 2013-2014 grant project activities. Look for an e-mail sent by the TRC Grant office. The link to the site will be posted.

The URL for your reflection 9 is   www.tinyurl.com/TQE514-R9

Reflection #10 will be made available after the last day of the summer institute activities. on August 15, 2013.

Thank you.

Dr. Ramirez

Installing Dropbox

Some of the files we generate are rather large and can't be e-mailed to one another. Dropbox is a way of storing large files and sharing the files with others. Some organizations block Dropbox on their wireless networks, but they are still available on your smart phone data plan.

The following website provides details about Dropbox and how to install it on your computer, tablet, or smart phone.

Install - Dropbox

https://www.dropbox.com/install

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!

Defining the Concept of a Watershed

One concept that is never covered with any depth in Texas classrooms is a "watershed".  Often we don't associate our daily lives with the most precious commodity to maintain our existence. Without water, life on Earth would perish. Our ability to understand and sustain watersheds is critical to the survival of living things. Within the next few paragraphs I describe some of the aspects that impact and define a watershed.

Different types of watersheds can be found all around us. The Rio Grande Valley gets water from that which makes it's way down the Rio Grande River. Eventually the water enters into three major watershed types: Closed, Open, and Multiple-open. The closed watershed drains into inland bodies of water such as ponds and lakes. Slightly more complex are the open and multiple-open watersheds that eventually drain into the ocean.

The source of water is regulated by the hydrologic cycle. Times are changing and the hydrologic cycle influencing all types of natural events. Some of these are considered catastrophic. Two extreme examples of catastrophic events are droughts which limit the amount of water and floods which bring an excessive amount of water. Once water enters the hydrologic cycle it is found below the ground, on the surface, and/or above the ground. A good example of surface water includes lakes, while a good example of ground water is soil water, and sometimes we forget that transpiration of plants provides water that moves into the atmosphere.

Watersheds are important because they provide water for industry, drinking, recreation, and agriculture. Hydroelectric power is used by industries and municipalities from electrical energy generated by the conversion of the flow of water near Falcon Dam and a few others. Flora, fauna, and humans are examples of living things that use and require safe drinking water. Without the watershed being able to provide water for recreation, fishing would never take place. The development of irrigation in the Rio Grande Valley was primarily due to the development of systems to capture and distribute water for agricultural purposes.

Of great concern to all of us is the amount and type of pollution that enters our environment. Two types of pollution describe the impact on the environment. One type is called point source pollution which is caused by a single source.  Another type of pollution is called non-point source pollution which is caused by runoff from fields that are over-fertilized. In some cases non-point source pollution can be from atmospheric input.

The health of watersheds requires monitoring of the sources, the uses, and the impact on the environment. These practices result in maintaining a well managed watershed. The next grant period will focus a further understanding of the impact increases in salinity caused by drought conditions.

Bring Ipads

Don't forget to bring your ipads. Make a list of the apps on it.

Post Cmap Activity

The presentations should not take too much time and we plan to have discussion about our plans for the year. However; we do have one order of business that still needs to be completed--the Water Quality Post C-map assessment. We need to allow at least one hour to complete this assessment. You will also need your ID number.

See you there. Please make arrangements to be there the whole time.

Project Presentation Meeting

Our last meeting for this project cycle will be held next week,  May 16th at 6:00 p.m. at the Computer Lab (EDBC 1.312.

Groups will have 5 minutes to make there presentations.  See you there.

Welcome to Our New Blog - TQPBL

I have created a new blog that will simplify the use of our Google addresses and will hopefully connect us a little better than the previous blog. If you have a Google+ profile then you don't need anything else. You assignments and work will be posted exclusively on Google products such as Drive, Picasa, Google+,Gmail, Docs, and other related products. This will keep all of these features with one secure password.