Energy makes things go, and Bill Hershberger’s students at Miami Valley Career Technology Center learned about renewable energy in the form of biodiesel. Hershberger attended the Ohio Soybean Council-sponsored Ag Biotech Academy workshop and took home supplies to make biodiesel with his Retail Ag Related students, using the Making biodiesel from soybeans lesson.
Hershberger presented this lesson in conjunction with a small engines maintenance unit. The biofuels lesson was part of the fuels portion of the unit, illustrating how different fuels are made and how they react compared to traditional fuels. The biodiesel fuel is tested in putt-putt boats, part of the workshop supplies teachers receive. The students found the lesson interesting—they particularly liked testing the different types of fuels and the putt-putt boat activity.
Hershberger said the Ag Biotech Academy workshop helped add variety and depth to the lab lessons in his production agriculture curriculum by highlighting alternative lessons to extend learning.
