Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Treeific Time with Alyssa
 Alyssa asked:

1. Go to the CDC website here for lead recalls.
2. Look through the different recalled items.
3. Find three recalled item (preferably in the past year).
4. Tell me the name of the product and how long it was out before it was recalled.
5. Then go to the EPA website page on lead, click on the "What you can do to protect your family" link and list three ways you can prevent lead poisoning in your home.
6. Watch the short video below on lead Poisoning and give a short reflection on what you have learned or what surprised you overall from this whole activity

3 Recalled Items --
1. Love Tester Mood Rings and Necklaces;  Item sold Sept 2005 - June 2010; Recalled Sept 2010
2. Tiny Tink and Friends Children's Toy Jewelry; Item sold Nov 2008-Nov 2009; Recalled Feb 2010
3. Nature Wonders HD Pinto Horse Toy Figures; Item sold Jan 2009-July 2009; Recalled Jan 201

3 Ways to Prevent Lead Poisoning--
1.  Keep play areas clean.
2.  Clean up paint chips immediately.
3.  Clean or remove shoes before entering home to avoid tracking in lead from soil.

Short Reflection:  This video was pretty self explanatory.  It was easy to understand and fun to watch.  I learned about all the different things that contained lead.  As well as many of the symptoms that one can have with lead poisoning.  I was surprised at how many items were on the recall sheet from the CDC for lead content. 

Samantha Green with Envi
Sam asked us to complete the crossword puzzle and provide a short description of the interesting info I found.

Across:                                                              Down:
3. Lead                                                            1. Inhalation
5. Blood                                                           2. Decades
6. Symptoms                                                    4. Wash
7. Work

The most interesting thing I found out here was about how the most common place of exposure is work.  That is really frustrating because you obviously have to go to work.  It is really scary how often we are exposed to lead, and we really don't have many options around it. 
Eco Friendly with Calista
Calista asked us to play with matching game with water infrastructure terms.

ground water*Underground water.
chlorine*Water additive used to control microbes.
contaminant* A substance that is present in an environment where it does not belong.
coagulate* To gather together or form into a mass or group.
minerals*An inorganic substance, e.g., calcium, copper.
intake* An opening through which fluid enters an enclosure.
settling*To clarify by causing dregs or impurities to sink.
reservoir*An artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use.
pH* A measure of acidity and alkalinity of a solution.
infrastructure*The underlying foundation of a city, such as the sewers, the water systems, the electric
aquifer*A water source under the ground

Adam's Outdoor Connection
For Adam's activity we had to calculate our vehicle pollution impact and write 2-3 things we learned

My pollution impact was better than average.  The activity was a little tough, because I had to estimate my mileage and I may not be accurate

3 Things that I learned: 
1. E85 is actually made up of  starches of corn and sugar cane.  And can be used in combination with real gasoline.
2. In Minnesota more than 50% of toxic air are from motor vehicles emissions.
3. Another thing I never realized was noise pollution put out by vehicles.  Walking helps reduce the noise level.

Sonny Days Ahead
Sonny asked us to investigate and interrogate our suspect.  We had to look up the following information:

1. Suspect (name of air pollutant) : Carbon Monoxide
2. Cause (where does pollutant come from) : Incomplete burning of fuel; vehicles on the road produce it; unvented gas; kerosene heaters; wood stoves; cigarette smoke
3. Crime (what health effects is it having on citizens/environment) : may cause seizure, coma, or death;  Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning: headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue and weakness. 
4. Lock 'Em Up (Alternative resources we could use/do to replace/reduce the pollutant) One way I found to reduce Carbon Monoxide production is switching from gas to electric versions of the same thing.
5. Case File (what did you learn from this activity)
    I learned that learning activities can be really fun and creative!  But I also learned that there are many harmful chemicals out there and are polluting our environment.  Carbon monoxide is definitely a foe and pretty deadly.  I also learned that we have been using carbon monoxide since prehistoric times, even without knowing so.

Take a Hike with Sarah

Sarah asked us the following:

1. Pick three locations that you go to often. School, Work, Grocery Store
2. How do you typically commute to these locations? 4 days a week, 4 days a week, 1 day a week
3. Access Google Transit
4. Map your transit route by plugging in the addresses of each location and which times you would usually leave to go to these places. Choose if you would like to walk, bus, or bike to these locations.
5. Report the most convenient route to your 3 locations and the modes of transportation.

• For home to work: none of the options were conveniet (sorry!).  They took at least 40 minutes for something that I can drive in 10 minutes.  The quickest route had me taking a bus to one location then walking to the nearest bus stop and getting on another bus and then walking a few more blocks to finally get to work.
• For home to school: the most convenient option is hopping on Bus 18 on the half hour to get to school by the hour (so 7:30 for 8:00 class)
• For home to Cub: once again, these weren't very convenient because I had to walk more than half my trip to get to the nearest bus stop.

         6. How does this route differ from your typical commute?  These routes all differ because they take a much longer time.  The only one that is very similar to my current route is from home to school.  But the other two going much different ways then I typically would.

         7. Are these commutes a realistic change you could put in your schedule? why or why not?
 The only one that would be a realistic change would be to take the bus to school, but after this week I will no longer be attending UMD on a daily basis so it is not really a realistic change.

       8. Do you plan to try incorporating this routes into your routine?
  I actually will not incorporate any of these changes.  It bums me out that to take the bus to work it is more than 40 minutes.  That is disappointing because I do not find that to be convenient at all.  If I were still attending UMD next semester, I could see myself using the bus (but I'm not).