Class Reflection: April 7

Monday’s class was interesting.  I always enjoy seeing the ideas that other people come up with.  When we look at other people’s Monster Lobe representations I am impressed by how intricate some of the designs are.  I really feel out of my element doing most of these assignments so I tend to feel insufficient when I see how outstanding most the work is. 

Figuring out the momentum of the Monster Lobe was a little challenging simply because we had to make assumptions again.  I feel like thinking this was is difficult if you have not done it in the past; if we could get our students thinking like this in elementary school I think it would help them solve problems later in life. 

Solutions to the Monster Lobe:

I asked my sister for ideas on solutions to solve the Monster Lobe problem.  She was unfamiliar with the Monster Lobe so I pulled up Google Earth and showed her some images of it.  She suggested that I put a portal to the Netherworld underneath it and just move it.  I laughed and explained that we are supposed to come up with real world solutions; she thought I meant with Minecraft.  I think she may be on to something, though.  It seems that moving part or all of it would be the best option.  Even if only a portion of it could be moved, the mass would still decrease making it, hopefully, less of a threat to the highway and pipeline. 

Another thought would be using something like a snow net.  I realize you couldn’t use this at just the base of the lobe because the mass, I am assuming, would be too great.  Still, what if you placed several of these at different points throughout the lobe (keeping in mind the mass the net could hold)?  Perhaps if this were done the lobe would, over time, separate into parts.  Then these parts would be more easily removed than the entire lobe.

Most people I speak with about this immediately suggest blowing the lobe up.  I still think this option should be kept in mind.  However, how would you blow it up without interferring with the plant and wildlife surrounding it (let alone the structures like the highway and pipeline)?

These are just a few ideas. 

P.S. I am a little nervous about going first. :)

Reflection of April 7

I really enjoyed this week's class because it caused me to think on a level that I am not use to on a daily basis.  I just wish I had a little more think time to work on the problems.  As I've said before, jumping from first grade level thinking and teaching to the level required to solve the class problems takes a bit.  I love every second of it! 

O.K. so I don't do Minecraft, so no, I couldn't move myself around to look at the different sites, and if I ever get two minutes, I will spend some time doing so.  I have no idea when that will be, but I will try. 

Monster Lobe problem is fun to think about.  I wonder why we feel the need to stop the frontal movement of the lobe and why do we think we need to stop the entire lobe?  Why can't we take pieces from it, divide it and reduce the momentum? I wish we could do a field trip to take a look at it!  Is there any way the river could be used as a water source for creating high pressure steam and use that to melt parts of the lobe, to drill tunnels through the lobe with the steam to weaken the lobe? 

These are my thoughts from the week.  My project is still moving ahead, super slowly.  The students are loving the process but the product isn't coming together, which is part of the lesson, right! 
Debbie Taylor

April 7 Class Reflection

I feel like a broken record because I'm sitting at my computer again raving about this class experience and how wonderful it is. But truly, there are many broken records for me because I've been challenged at every level to think beyond my limits and I've surprised myself by being capable of doing so even without a Calculus or physics class to draw from.  Whenever I sit down to reflect about the lesson, I discover the lesson I'm learning is not the lesson as it's done in class.  It's kind of Johnny Depp-ish, Pirates of the Caribbean-y state of mind. "Well, Chris, the problem is not the problem, the problem is your attitude toward the problem."   Thank you Capt. Jack Sparrow!
Tonight's lesson for me was not about momentum and velocity, it was about the pleasure and power of problem solving in a group of people who are also casting about in the deep end of the ocean for answers. I really enjoy experiencing the powers of many minds working together and asking questions.  I've always felt that the quality of your life depends on the quality of questions you ask of life, and I feel like I've been prompted to ask myself some really quality questions about how my own problem solving and teaching. I am already deeply aware of how sad I will be for this class to end and how deeply moving an experience it has been.  It's like breaking trail in deep snow, you can look behind you and see how much snow you've moved and how far you've gone! It's also exhausting :)

Monster Lobe Brainstorm solutions:
 Put wedges in its path and let the momentum and force associated with the Lobe's downward movement force it to dissipate itself so there isn't enough mass behind it to drive it forward.  Find someway to use it's own power to kill itself. It is a flow and it can be diverted.

If not wedges, then a series of culverts that would re-direct the bulk of the Lobe's mass and momentum.

Build a bridge over it and circumvent one half the problem, but that really doesn't do anything about the Pipeline problem that hovers right behind the Highway Problem. I think a suspension bridge might be an option  but it still doesn't address the Big Picture in a cost effective way because this really is a two-fold problem.

It's a Christmas miracle! I actually enjoyed class last night. Not only did I understand the math, after 12 weeks I can finally teleport and move around in Minecraft all by myself. Good grief.

I'm thinking about summer vacation already, remembering many childhood trips across a drawbridge to our favorite beach. Last week the idea occurred to me that it might make sense for the road to go above the Lobe so it could pass safely under it, just like the bridge is built to allow ships to pass. Someone else had that idea last night as well. (Sorry, I forgot who...)

A few things come to mind as I ponder this idea. The first would be whether or not there would be enough time to design and build a new road before the Lobe reaches the Dalton. The other would be whether or not there would be enough space under a new road for the Lobe to pass through. I know that pilings need to be evenly spaced for support. I also know that there would be stability issues as the pilings would be in permafrost. The permafrost would further be affected by the force exerted by the  momentum of the Lobe. However, the Golden Gate Bridge comes to mind. It appears to have adequate span and has held up under the tides of the Bay for 80 years. The permafrost issue was settled with the construction of the pipeline. Maybe the pipeline design could be modified for a road.

More adventures . . . this time 4/8/2014 fun.

I was excited to finish the Monster Lobe model.  It was very important for me to rise to the challenge.  I was pleased with the ending results.  I love this class, it is challenging me on levels that I did not know that I needed to be challenged.  As Chip said, this experience is making me "a better person."  I think that teaching physics with Minecraft would be a great adventure.

A solution to the Monster Lobe . . .
   I have considered a trench of some sort.  It would have to be very deep.  The idea is that the trench would stop the momentum.
   Another idea is a tunnel.  I figure that you would need to build a ramp for the Monster Lobe to climb to the top of the tunnel.  The Monster Lobe may be too close to the highway already to make this idea work.
   I still like the idea of chipping away at the Lobe and shipping the material to places that need it.  It could probably be used to irrigate dry regions or for building adobe buildings.
 

Reflection 4/7 - Lexie

Reflection from class

I enjoyed the class, as I usually do.  I did realize last night that I have been struggling with a lot of the material and topics recently that deal with velocity, momentum, etc., and I think it is because I never took a physics class.  I’m not sure if I it is necessary, but I am thinking that I might need to take a physics class sometime in the future.  I do understand more after last night’s session, but not enough to be able to apply it to other areas.  I would love to be able to connect physics topics to my math class, especially because I do teach high school.

Solutions to the Monster Lobe

There were a couple of solutions that I thought about, but I’m not sure how they would work.

• Building 2 tunnels under the lobe for the highway and pipeline.  I know that they have built huge tunnels in Boston and New York, but I’m not sure about how a tunnel would do in the tundra and permafrost.
•  Building 2 bridges that rise up 40 feet above the where the Monster Lobe would be.  To keep the structure safe, build those diversion structures (similar to what AEL&P built for avalanches) in front of the supports to the bridge
• Build a structure similar to an avalanche shed like the picture below.  What might work would be to build the slope of the mountain to meet the shed, so that when the Lobe approaches it, it will slide over the shed and not try to break through it.  If built correctly, the shed could turn into a tunnel for when the Lobe continues to move.

 

Reflection 10

My classmates and I did pretty well during the "room" assignments.  I think I can remember momentum = mass x velocity, as long as I don't mix up my m's :)

The units are always a little confusing to me (but not as frustrating as trying to write on the board in the room).  I wish I knew how to write the numerators and denominators correctly like the one shown as an example during class.  That would probably make it easier to cancel out than using the / symbol for fractions...

I think Debbie was on a roll as far as Monster Lobe solution ideas.  I think too often man tries to control nature, while nature is just doing what it needs to do... be nature!  Rather than trying to solve the issue, I think we should consider working around it.  At some point, the road can be diverted around the lobe and it will no longer be a concern (until it migrates into the next man-made object).  Otherwise, it's like taking medicine.  The side effects can be worse than the initial problem.

My second choice would be to break the thing so it has less mass and momentum.  That would require some planning however, as to what to do with the pieces left and how it will affect the landscape.  Breaking it may also cause some other problems, such as rock slides, etc.  Would have to consider all sides before deciding on a solution.

Monster Lobe Solution & Reflection

This week was great!  I always enjoy this class.  I feel like I learn so much!  I like that you had the comparison of larger mass momentum to smaller mass momentum.  It really put it into perspective.  Going into Minecraft is always fun too.  Those finished monster lobes were amazing.  I don't know how you ladies did it, that was a lot of time and energy spent on the lobe.  I applaud you and your kids.  Great water works Colin, that was cool.  Speaking about Minecraft, my son built his ship already in his Minecraft (my STEM project), but I am going to see if he doesn't mind recreating it in our world so that during my presentation maybe you guys can take a tour.  I'm also curious how we are going to present.  Are we going to send you the information we want you to put up when we are talking?  Or are we just going to reference back to our finalized paper?

My Monster Lobe solution is to somehow melt it down so that it just becomes this pile of debris that may continue to creep down the mountain, but it will be easy to clear out and won't be pushing through and destroying the road and pipeline.  If we could somehow super heat the lobe, it could become this glob of mud.  Turn it into a mudslide.  Another thing I was thinking of was digging a large trench and placing a smooth metal in it that would wind up into a tube that could divert the lobe to another location. 

On a Roll!

This week's energy lesson was actually a ton of fun (forgive the pun)!  I really liked starting the lesson with an explanation of how we might calculate and what assumptions might be made. It helped confirm that, while our team seriously lacked experience, we were on the on the right track...oh boy, and another pun. Seriously, they're just rollin' out.../facepalm. Unintentional!!

This week, I started in the roller coaster building group and have to say, being talked through the sign-in and design was great. Once we got rolling, we quickly realized the audio on the game was creating an overlap with our talk, so headphones were quickly plugged in and we were off. I did manage to modify my coaster to achieve a very high score...but I did not manage to stop before crashing through the barrier killing everyone onboard. /sigh I had reports of no survivors and demands for redesign, but was denied opportunity.


Just about the time I've got it down, we got morphed into Colin's Minecraft group and quickly discovered how great a full on belly-laugh sounds when we failed to stop, crashed through the barrier and went down in flames. Literally! hahaha!! I had such a great time problem solving where to start the tracks and someone else, I think Nicole?, just jumped right in and started creating new starting points, conjuring cars, and going for thrill rides in search of a view. Colin's teaser was to stop, just at the top of the platform, so we could enjoy the view...we managed, although we were teetering. Felt a bit like being tipsy on the boardwalk in Mexico? Wait, did I just say that?!

The final group I worked with was Chip's.  His teaser of course was to challenge us all to be able to land on the house top...which we were totally not supposed to do! So, once he got us UNdistracted from the not-challenge, we started learning about the different tools. It's really bizarre to feel so UNsmart in this class. I am the go-to person at my school when it comes to pretty much anything tech...and yet in this class, most of the time I feel like I am lost and stumbling

I will admit...I totally got sucked in to getting that roller coaster to work...so I did go back and finish it. I think I can live with a score of 2,502 where no one crashes and burns!

If STEM wasn't so important, and you guys weren't all so patient and supportive, I would be hopeless in this! In the meantime, I'm having a blast learning about the tools and resources out there and attempting to feel less overwhelmed and shift gears back into being productive. Ok, back to work. I have STEM lessons to write!
 

Reflection

I really enjoyed riding down the roller coaster.  When I began building my own, I discovered that my slope was not adequate to keep me rolling downward.  That will be something that I will have to tinker with.  First, I have to build my monster lobe and totally complete it.

Reflection on Class 3/31

Last night was lots of fun!  After our discussion and followup from last week, I started in the group for building the roller coaster.  The design process was very fun!  I had a little difficulty hearing Megan and the Brain Pop Roller Coaster lesson at the same time.  Still, I was able to create a roller coaster.  Of course, I was very disappointed when I came to the end and crashed through the barrier.  Then I did not have time to fix my roller coaster before I was put into Minecraft with Colin's group.

In Colin's group I was a little lost at first.  I think I was at the wrong roller coaster.  Once Colin moved me I was fine.  I was able to find the height at the base of the roller coaster.  Colin helped me figure this one out.  I get frustrated when I feel like I am not playing an active role in the group so I was glad that Colin was able to help me get involved. Thanks!  Just when I feel like I am getting better at Minecraft I find out I have so much to learn!

The next group I worked with was Chip's group.  This group was also fun.  I liked that the graph allowed the user to see the way energy was exchanged.  Very cool!  We also had a fun dicussion in Chip's group.  I still think it was fun to crash the skateboarder into the house.

After class was over I went back and worked a bit more on my roller coaster because I just couldn't sign off for the evening without achieving success.  My daughter walked over and pointed to where I needed to change my roller coaster and sure enough she was right!  This was after me trying to fix it for about 10 minutes.  In all fairness my daugher built a roller coaster for her 4th grade class a few years ago; I think she had an unfair advantage. :) Either way, I had a great time in class last night.