Renewable Energy WebQuest

Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] A WebQuest for High School Physics Students Designed by Jeremy May [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page To get started, click on Introduction

Introduction Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ]

In the 21 st century, everyone is talking about renewable energy and “being green”.

What is “renewable energy”?

How does renewable energy compare to non-renewable?

What kinds of renewable energy exist and how are they “green”?

How much do different sources of energy cost?

What are advantages and disadvantages of different sources of energy?

These are very important questions that become more important every year. Through this WebQuest, you will get a chance to explore five (or more) different energy sources: wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, and coal. To get started, click on Tasks , or select the Tasks link to the left.

The Task Student Page Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] As a group you will develop and understanding of the main types of renewable energy on the market. You will learn how they work, what they require, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. You will then decide which source of electricity is best for your school, and develop a presentation persuading your audience of your decision. Title You will have to work cooperatively between the different groups that you will be divided into: sharing information, asking questions, and finally jointly making a decision. In you research, you will use the internet, but may also use journals, books, interviews, etc. In your presentation, you can use any technology that you see fit. Click here to continue on to the Process

The Process PART ONE Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ]

You will divide into three teams of two or three students. Each team will adopt a role with certain responsibilities. In the end, the whole group will determine which source of electricity is best for your school.

The three teams each have their own process page with more information about their specific task. The teams are

The Theorists: To see your process, click on Theorist Process

The Analysts: To see your process, click on Analyst Process

The Economists: To see your process, click on Economist Process

Once the three teams have each finished their individual tasks, the entire group will get together to finalize the project. To see this final group process click on Group Process

The Theorist Process Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Click here to return to The Process Part One Your job is to understand the science behind each of the five (or more) energy sources. Your basic question for each energy source is this: how is electricity being produced? As you know, energy is not created or destroyed, just transferred, so where is the energy coming from. Make a presentation briefly explaining the energy transfer mechanism for each energy source. Your presentation should include diagrams, pictures, and any other props necessary to help your classmates understand. Resources Here are some websites to get you started, but don’t limit yourselves to these. Feel free to use other websites and other sources such as interviews, documentaries, articles, etc. You will find more useful websites in the Group Process section. A good website to find out how anything works: http://www.howstuffworks.com/ How a photovoltaic cell works: http://tinyurl.com/2ntm7c http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pv_basics.html How wind turbines and hydroelectric power work: http://tinyurl.com/36sup3 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/ How hydroelectric power works: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html How coal power plants work: How nuclear power plants work

The Analyst Process Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Click here to return to The Process PART ONE Your job is to analyze each energy source and come up with a list of pros and cons for each. These pros and cons should include sustainability, aesthetic appeal, costs (which you can get from the economists), scalability (is it worthwhile to build a nuclear power plant in an isolated region of low population?), and the demands of each (does it work in severe heat or cloudy regions? What is the availability of necessary fuels/ materials?). The lists can include more than these points, but should include all of these at least. You may need to work with the theorists to determine some of this information. Environmental impact of… solar energy: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/to_environment.html wind energy: http://windeis.anl.gov/guide/concern/index.cfm hydroelectric energy: http://tinyurl.com/36sup3 Resources Here are some websites to get you started, but don’t limit yourselves to these. Feel free to use other websites and other sources such as interviews, documentaries, articles, etc. You will find more useful websites in the Group Process section.

The Economist Process Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Click here to return to The Process PART ONE You have two main tasks, but your ultimate goal is to figure out which energy source is the most feasible for your local area. Your first task is to analyze the cost of each energy source. For each type of energy, you should find the current market price and compare them in a bar graph. You should also look at how the price is evolving with time. Try to get information on the price over the last 30 years and make line graph showing how the price has changed for each energy source. Your second task is to learn about your local conditions. Definitely find information about wind speeds, how much sun you get, and the local temperature throughout the year. You should work with the Analysts to find out what other information will be important in making the final decision about which energy source your school should use. Cost of Wind Energy: http://www.awea.org/faq/cost.html http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.html#savememoney Resources Here are some websites to get you started, but don’t limit yourselves to these. Feel free to use other websites and other sources such as interviews, documentaries, articles, etc. You will find more useful websites in the Group Process section.

The Group Process Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Click here to return to The Process PART ONE Once each team has their information together, the whole group will come together to do two things. 1) Decide which source of energy is best for your school and why. 2) Organize a presentation for the rest of the class that explains, how each energy type works, the advantages and disadvantages of each (including cost), and which energy source the school should use. Your presentation should be informative and persuasive. You can use physical props, power point, videos, or any other tools you deem necessary. Resources Here are some websites for the whole group to use. They may be useful for this final group task as well as for each individual group task. Info on Renewable energy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy Info in photovoltaics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaics Info on Wind Energy: http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter16.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power Info on hydroelectricity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectric_power To see how the group will be evaluated, continue on to Evaluation .

Evaluation Rubric: Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Score Plan for Organizing Information Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information in the final presentation. The information is presented in an organized way that is easy to understand. All students can independently explain the planned organization. Students have developed a clear plan for organizing the information in the final presentation. The info is presented in a logical way. All students can independently explain this plan reasonably well. Students have developed a plan for organizing the information. All students can independently explain most of this plan. Students have no clear plan for organizing the information AND/OR students in the group cannot explain their organizational plan. Quality of Sources Each research team independently locates at least 3 reliable, interesting information sources other than those provided on the WebQuest. Each research team independently locates at least 2 reliable, interesting information sources other than those provided on the WebQuest. Each research team, with some help, locates at least 1 reliable, interesting information sources other than those provided on the WebQuest. Each research team, with significant help, locates at least 1 reliable, interesting information sources other than those provided on the WebQuest. Ideas/Research Each research team identifies and thoroughly researches at least 4 relevant questions. Each research team identifies and thoroughly researches at least 3 relevant questions. Each research team identifies and researches at least 2 relevant questions. Each research team identifies and researches at least 1 relevant questions. Quality of Work Group provides work of the highest quality. Group provides high quality work. Group provides work that meets, but doesn not exceed most requirements. Group provides innadecuate work that shows little effort. Preparedness for Presentation Group is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. Group seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals. The group is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. Group does not seem at all prepared to present. Props Group uses several props that show considerable work/creativity and which make the presentation better. Group uses at least 2 props that shows considerable work/ creativity and which make the presentation better. Group uses 1 or 2 decent props which makes the presentation better. Group uses 1 mediocre prop. Content Shows a full understanding of the topic. Shows a good understanding of the topic. Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. Does not seem to understand the topic very well.

Conclusion Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Congratulations! You have made an educated decision about what kind of energy your school should be using. You have also become well informed about renewable energy. The next time it comes up in a conversation, you’ll know what is being discussed and can contribute valuable input.

Credits Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] This webquest is based on a template from The WebQuest Page . and The WebQuest Slideshare Group so that others can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials. Photo Credits: Photo One was taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveroe/79358531/ and the photo is by Steve Roe. Photo Two was taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcdnry/2247797633/ and the photo was taken by Ryan McD.

Renewable Energy Webquest Teacher Page

[ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page A WebQuest for High School Science Classes Designed By Jeremy May [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

Introduction (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page I developed this lesson because renewable energy and sustainability are becoming very important in our society. It’s important that we start incorporating these booming subjects into the curriculum. Also, there is an endless amount of science behind the technologies. This WebQuest gets students to investigate how solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, and coal energy are produced, the advantages and disadvantages of each, including cost and necessary local conditions, and which technology is best for their school Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

Learners (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page This is a fairly advanced lesson, depending on how much depth you require form the students. It is for High School students in science classes. Specifically, it is designed for a Physics class, but could also be for a physical science class or environmental science class. The students need a basic understanding of what energy is, and how electricity is related to energy. Everything else they will learn along the way. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

Curriculum Standards (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page

Science Standards Addressed

Physical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy.

Students apply the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.

Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

The Process (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page

The project will probably take several weeks. It is a lot of work.

The process is thoroughly described in the “student” process slide

Beyond those instructions, the lesson is flexible…

It could include more than one class

You could add more types of energy, or take some away to create more or less work

You can change the team sizes, or even have one big group with alll three teams incorporated

It is important that students have access to computers for this lesson, as it is a WebQuest, but one computer per team is sufficient.

Resources (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page All resources should be available on the internet. I have not provided the students with websites for every piece of information that they need so that they get a chance to search and evaluate website credibility and usefulness for themselves, but you could provide them with more websites if you want. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

Evaluation (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page The project is successful if all students come out of it with a basic understanding of the types of energy sources researched. They should all have some idea of what they are, how they work, the advantages and disadvantages, and what’s required for each one. If all students have this understanding, it’s a success! The rubric is a suggested rubric, but you can certainly change it if you like. There’s nothing magical about it. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion

Teacher Script (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page

The WebQuest model is best suited for learners who can navigate the Web on their own and can read the kinds of material commonly found on the Web. We can stretch the format to reach primary-aged learners, developmental English Language Learners and special populations by creating a facilitated WebQuest, one that requires an adult or older peer to drive things.

If you are that facilitator, here is what you need to do:

Put the student in question in a team of competent, helpful students whith whom he or she will work well.

Help the student find the necessary websites to gather the needed information.

Help the student interpret and organize the information.

Make sure that the student is involved with the team work and not just ignored, but that the student is not a burden to the team either. Help them make a useful contribution to the team.

This page is linked to the Process segment off of the Teacher Page

Conclusion (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Teacher Page This lesson makes students use advanced levels of thinking. It also gets them thinking about the environment and how we impact with our everyday electricity consumption. Finally, they get to make a final decision and could even present their decision to the school board, making the project meaningful outside of the school setting. Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion