Physics of Star Trek essays

Physics of Star Trek essays Star Trek is a show that has been fascinating audiences for years with impressive devices like holodecks, transporters, and warp drive. But could any of these things ever really be used? According to physics, some of the devices are theoretically possible, but probably not practical. Scotty understood that physics is a rule that cant be broken, even if the shows producers did not. He told Captain Kirk numerous times "But I canna change the laws of physics, Captain!". One of my favorite things about Star Trek has always been the holodeck. In the show, the holodeck works by using tons of holo-diodes in the walls, ceiling, and floor of the holodeck. The sense of touching an object is created by force fields, and a replicator is used for creating things like food and smells to perfect the experience. In reality, a holodeck would work in much the same way. In fact, a very small version of a holodeck has already been created by researchers at MIT's famous Media Lab. Its about the size of a sugar cube and can create fully animated, high quality pictures. A couple of students even threw in a force field, so that now using a small pen, you can actually touch and manipulate the hologram. There are now ideas about how to build a holodeck style room, very similar to the one on Star Trek. Rooms like this would be invaluable to simulate dangerous or difficult situations. The rooms probably wouldnt be used for entertainment anytime in the near future because they would be way to expensive. Another one of my favorite things on Star Trek is the transporter. Cast members are able to travel large distances instantly. They simply step on the teleported pad then a couple of switches are turned on, some sparkly light appears along with bad 60s sounding special effects music, and the next thing you know the character is magically at their destination. But the really cool thing is that scientists are already exp...

Ongoing Formative Assessment Improves Student Learning

Ongoing Formative Assessment Improves Student Learning What is a Formative Assessment? A formative assessment can be defined as a variety of mini-assessments that allow a teacher to adjust instruction on a frequent basis. These continuous assessments allow teachers to use a variety of instructional strategies to help students reach instructional goals. A formative assessment is quick and easy to administrator and provides both the teacher and student with quick data that ultimately drives instruction and learning. Formative assessments focus on an individual skill or a subset of skills within a curriculum instead of the entire curriculum. These assessments are intended to measure progress towards a specific goal. They also provide students with a deeper understanding of skills they have mastered as well as skills they struggle with. There are many different types of formative assessments that can be used in any classroom. Some of the more popular ones include direct questioning, learning/response logs, graphic organizers, think pair share, and four corners. Every situation is unique. Teachers have to create and utilize the types of formative assessments that will be the most beneficial for their students and learning activities. The Benefits of Ongoing Formative Assessment Teachers who utilize regular, ongoing formative assessment in their classroom find that student engagement and learning increases.   Teachers are able to use the data generated from formative assessment to drive instructional changes for both whole group and individual instruction.   Students find value in formative assessments in that they always know where they stand and are increasingly aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.   Formative assessments are easy to create, easy to take, easy to score, and easy to use the results. In addition, they only require a limited amount of time to complete.   Formative assessments aid in setting individualized goals for students and monitoring progress on a daily basis.   The Best Type of Formative Assessment? One of the most advantageous components of formative assessment is that there is no single style of formative assessment.   Instead, there are hundreds of different types of available formative assessments. Each teacher can develop a deep repertoire of potential formative assessments. Furthermore, teachers can adapt and change a formative assessment to fit the needs of their students. This is important as variance helps keep students engaged and ensures that the teacher can match the proper assessment of the concepts being learned. Having options also helps ensure that students will most likely see several assessment types throughout the year that naturally aligns to their individual preferences or strengths as well as their weaknesses.   The best type of formative assessment is engaging, aligns with student strengths, and identifies areas in which additional instruction or assistance is needed. Formative Assessments vs. Summative Assessments Teachers who only utilize summative assessments to evaluate student learning is doing their students a disservice.   A summative assessment is designed to evaluate learning over an extended period of time.   A formative assessment gauges learning on a regular and often daily basis. Students are given immediate feedback that allows them to correct the mistakes they are making. A summative assessment limits this because of the longer time frame. Many teachers use a summative assessment to wrap up a unit and rarely revisit those concepts even when students do not perform well.   Summative assessments offer value, but in conjunction or in partnership with formative assessments. Formative assessments should build to an eventual summative assessment. Progressing this way ensures that teachers are able to assess parts to the whole.   It is a more natural progression than simply throwing up a summative assessment at the end of a two-week unit. Wrapping It Up Formative assessments are a proven educational tools offering value a lot of value for teachers and students.   Teachers can develop and use formative assessments to guide future instruction, develop individual learning goals for students, and obtain valuable information about the quality of the lessons being presented to students.   Students benefit because they receive immediate, ongoing feedback that can help them know where they stand academically at any given point.   In conclusion, formative assessments should be a regular component of any classroom assessment routine.