Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Below are my responses to the online learning activities of my group members!  There were all really fun to do and of course eye opening!

Jordanne's Online Learning Activity:
Our group had to go to the Water Quality Association  website and click on diagnose your drinking water.  Jordanne asked us to pick two contaminants that are either in our water or that are interesting to us.  From the two contaminants that we picked we then needed to note the source of the contaminant, the effects it has on our water, and the treatment options that are out there.

The first contaminant that I chose is one that I know is present in my water, it deposits soap scum and bathtub rings.  It is Calcium Carbonate, CaCO3.
The source of this contaminant is natural deposits causing calcium (limestone) and magnesium salts in raw water.
The effects are that it consumes soap which makes cleaning it more difficult, it creates whiteish scale deposits, and creates soap curd and lime scum residue.
The recommended treatment for calcium in one's water is to remove all calcium and magnesium ions with a cation exchange water softener.

The  second contaminant I chose is one that I haven't had to deal with, but thought was interesting.  It is Odor in the water (rotten egg smell).
The sources of this contaminant are: chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, organic matter, gasoline contamination, methane gas, and septic contamination.
The effects are that it creates a rotten egg, musty, garlic, and chemical smell.
The recommended treatment for odor in one's water is: Activated carbon, air stripping, oxidation/filtration, and disinfection/filtration.

Karly's Online Learning Activity:
Our group was given a couple different sets of questions that we needed to answer, some where personal and some where about comprehension of material and the subject.  The article that Karly had our group read was Physical Education in Schools - Both Quality and Quantity are Important .
Below are the questions that Karly asked our group and my answers:

• Did your elementary/middle/high school have a Physical Education program? Answer: YES
• If yes...
  

• How many days a week did you have PE class? Answer: Everyday
• How long were the classes? Answer: 1 hour
• Were you required to participate? Everyone had to participate, if you didn't you were given a packet of homework questions about whatever sport or game we were playing that day in gym.
• Did you enjoy this class? Why or why not? I loved gym, I was in sports in High School so I didn't mind gym at all.

      Answer the following questions based off of the article mentioned above

• What are the current recommendations for children and physical activity? Answer: 60 minutes of physical activity everyday!
  
• What are the percentages of schools that are currently providing physical education? Answer: 3.8% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools, and 2.1% of high schools.
• What percentage of schools DO NOT have a PE program? Answer: 22 percent.
  
• What are some of the benefits of PE in the school? Answer: Improvement not only in fitness, but academic performance as well.  There are also positive impacts on tobacco use, insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
• Now answer the following questions:

• Do you feel as though PE in the schools should be a required course? why or why not?
  
• If yes, up until which age/grade? Answer: Yes it should be required and I feel that it should be k-12.
  
• Do you think that it should be the parents job to make sure their children are physically active and not the schools? Answer: I think that it is both the schools responsibility and the parents. Both can have a great impact on whether or not a child is active or not.
  
• Do you believe that having PE in the schools incorporates other beneficial qualities besides   fitness? if yes, what?  Answer: Yes!  I would have to agree with all of the benefits that I listed earlier!  I feel like the more active you are the less likely you are to be out getting in trouble are participating in unhealthy things.

Maggie's Online Learning Activity:

Our group had to answer a variety of questions for Maggie's online learning activity too!  First we were asked to answer the following questions:

1.What was your school lunch like growing up? Answer: My school lunch was actually really great!  I come from a very small town and from a very small school.  We actually had homemade lunches for a while and everything was always very healthy

2. Would you consider it as healthy? Answer: Yes
3. Do you remember how it was paid for/ by whom? My parents paid for my lunch.  We had to bring in checks whenever the office notified my family that my account was getting low.  I don't know how much each lunch cost thought.

Maggie then asked us to read the Legislative Issue Paper, The Chicago Healthy Schools Campaign and to watch a video The Food Lobby Goes to School.  We then needed to answer the following questions:

4. What are some obsticles that got in the way of providing American school children with healthy lunches. Answer:  All the politics, marketing, lobbyists, and commodity groups. 

5. What health problems affect American children? Did this surprise you? Answer: I think the saddest health problem is type II diabetes.  I am not surprised by this, but I am definitely concerned. 

6. Consider what you have read and the video you have watched: What do you think is the #1 thing that you think can be done to improve school lunch? Answer: I honestly think that people need to stop being so greedy and thinking about their bottom line, and start thinking about the health of our nations youth.  School lunches need to be healthy and that is that in my mind.