Course Information

Your Instructor

Leidy Klotz, Ph.D.

I'm providing this course for free because I think it's the best way I can help address our energy and climate obligations. I want to help you make real change, but I don't have time to hold your hand, and you wouldn't benefit from this anyway. So, my role in this course is mostly done:) Based on my experience teaching and researching sustainable energy, I have organized the content and assignments for this course in a way that will allow you to achieve the student learning outcomes.

I look forward to reviewing your tweets and discussion forums. However, I won't have time to comment on all of them, won't be doing any grading, and won't be able to respond to most private messages. That said, those of you who complete this course will be well-prepared for my other Canvas course in Sustainable Energy Innovation, where we will work together more closely.

Click the video below to see and hear your instructor's welcome to the course.

Play media comment.

Your Role

Participation in this course is free. So are the materials, including the book: Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air, by David MacKay Links to an external site.. You only need to be comfortable using a web browser and the Internet to participate. In return, you just need to do the following:

Course learning outcomes

For the six weeks of this course, you should plan on investing about 5-10 hours a week to complete the assigned topics for that week. Participants who do so will:

create a positive life-changing experience for themselves;
engage in the multidisciplinary collaboration that is essential to sustainable energy solutions;
practice skills for lifelong learning about sustainable energy as it evolves;
educate others about sustainable energy; and
evaluate demand-side and supply-side strategies for sustainable energy.

Be engaged

What you get out of this course depends on what you put into it. It's possible to slide through with a minimum amount of effort, but you won't learn as much. Discussion forums are graded automatically with full credit awarded for anything you write. But, if you don't put thought into them, you will be missing out. The discussion forums in each module offer you an opportunity to learn from other participants all over the world. For example, you can suggest items to be added to or removed from the course. Post at any time and I'll review regularly. Some of the best reading and video content comes from these suggestions. There will also be opportunities to reflect on your own learning, through reflective tweeting. Again, it is up to you whether you put real thought in and therefore learn from these activities.

Please sign up to follow me @leidyklotz Links to an external site. to get my tweets. For each reading and video assignment, you will tweet your main "epiphany" from the reading/video (it's time to sign up for a Twitter Links to an external site. account if you don't already have one). This means it will have to be short - but thoughtful! Please do not simply describe one of the readings/videos. Instead, share your #1 insight that was triggered by all of the assigned reading(s) and/or video(s). What had a transformative effect on you? Maybe this is something unexpected, something you will tell your friends, something you can use for your project or in your life, etc...

Twitter logistics: On all of your tweets for this course, add the hashtag "#150tons" at the end so your classmates can find them (and so you can get participation credit). Every time you tweet an epiphany, you should also scan through all of your classmates epiphanies on that topic and retweet your favorite. Your goal is to make your epiphany the one that is retweeted the most!

"Google it!"

In addition to the assigned reading, I expect you to constantly use Google. Google when you need help with the course content. Google your ideas, Google your obstacles, Google for more information on specific topics. Don’t ask someone else a question before you Google it. You’ll either find the answer or come up with a better question.

Learn to use Canvas

Be sure to read the Canvas Student Orientation to learn how to set up your profile, manage your communications, and access Canvas in various browsers.

Note: This course is designed to be accessed from a web-browser. While you are able to view the course from mobile devices, you may have the best experience on a laptop or desktop. Please plan accordingly.

About Accessibility: Canvas provides a user experience that is easy, simple, and intuitive. Special attention has been paid to making Canvas screen-readable. The Rich Content Editor encourages users to create accessible content pages (i.e. text formatting is accomplished using styles). Canvas is designed to allow limited customization of colors and schemes to be accessible for all users. The National Federation of the Blind granted Canvas the Gold Level Web Certification in 2010. Find more information by visiting the Canvas Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).

Follow the code of conduct

Canvas Network has a Code of Conduct that you agreed to when you signed up for the course. You should also follow my code of conduct - please don't cheat, lie, or steal in this class (or elsewhere). Any violations will result in your removal from the course.