Role of Teacher Essay Example for Free

Role of Teacher Essay Teachers instill a want for learning within the student while formulating a structured path for the student to succeed. The role of a teacher is to stimulate this want to learn, while providing the necessary tools and guidance for the student. The classroom should be a learning environment that students are excited to participate in because the desire to learn is exemplified by the teacher. The best teachers I’ve had have instilled this desire to learn through a number of different skills working cohesively to help guide me through the educational process. These teachers had the greatest impact on me because they took my desire for learning personally, and did all they could to ensure the best possible learning environment. When learning is enjoyable, the likely hood of students continuing to learn independently of the teacher increases. Some of the skills that helped create this environment included patience, organization, awareness, encouragement, and an open mind. The best teacher I’ve ever had utilized all these skills, and I remember her from my freshman year of high school. I had ADHD as a teenager, and had trouble sitting still to say the least. My math teacher had the patience to work with me, while managing and guiding the rest of the students in the class. She developed a unique way to grasp my attention while other teachers could not, and her class ended up being the most exciting class in my high school career. Her awareness of my unique situation and having the patience and open mind to try teaching differently was what inspired my love of math. I received my highest grade that semester in her class because the desire to learn the subject came from within, but was exemplified by the teacher. She would not have been able to manage the entire classroom with this unique approach without organization and encouragement of each individual student. A few of these skills can make a good teacher, but a great teacher uses all of their s kills cohesively to create a positive interactive learning environment. The worst teacher I’ve experienced had a personal goal to be the hardest teacher on campus, rather than the greatest. Being a hard teacher doesn’t ensure a students success, and can deter the student from wanting to learn. A great teacher understands the needs of all their students, while working with their students to learn. When focusing on becoming the hardest teacher, unrealistic goals and expectations are set that can take away from the confidence of the student as well as the approachability of the teacher.  This creates a gap in the teacher – student relationship that can be detrimental to learning. While I learned a lot from a teacher who tried to be the hardest, they didn’t create a desire for me to learn. The class turned into a workbook, rather than a learning experience. While some subjects are naturally harder than others, I believe they an be approached uniquely and can be taught in a way that makes sense to any student given the right patience. This teacher was an exceptionally brilliant math professor, however – his class average was a failing grade which he was proud of. If the class average is failing, then he’s not teaching to the whole of the class or looking at the students individually. It’s possible to teach a hard subject in a way that the core ideas and theories can be grasped by al l the students and individually helped as necessary. It’s not one quality that sets a good teacher apart from another, but a number of qualities working together that create the right experience. When looking at the list in section 1.2, all of these are qualities of a good teacher. However, the number of qualities that make a great teacher is far too long to list. It’s instead, how well the teacher uses each of these qualities cohesively in and outside the classroom environment. These qualities include patience, approachability, confidence, awareness, and an open mind. These qualities are a complete necessity to the success in a teaching role.

Student Democratic Party Platform Essay -- Political Science Politics

Preamble As we look back upon the 20th Century we see the birth of American prominence. The century is marked with glorious American achievements ranging from the birth of the Space Age to the development of the Information Age. Now, as we venture through the new millennium, the potential of further American prosperity is enormous. At times this journey will be a perilous quest, but with valiant leadership this nation shall flourish. Only the Democratic Party is prepared to guide America towards this future. Under the watchful guidance of President Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party, America is finally moving in the right direction. In 1996, we, the Democratic Party, adopted and enacted a platform that has reinvigorated the American spirit of opportunity, responsibility, and community within our national character. Along with the hard work and determination of the American public this nation has achieved an unprecedented level of prosperity. Currently, the American economy is on a record setting pace that is continuously strengthening our economic security. The level of unemployment in America is at a record low. Almost every able-body American is on the job working towards their American dream, and we, the Democratic Party, will not be satisfied until everyone can enjoy their American dream. Through Democratic leadership the quality of life in America has vastly improved. America’s education system is improving, the environment is cleaner, families are healthier, and our streets are safer. Today, any American can claim that their lives are better off than they were 8 years ago. All across America the success of the Democratic Party platform can be seen. But we want more. The Democratic Party is determined to giv... ... first two years of college are free at any State or City University. This will result in a stronger economy and nation because as a whole society, we are strengthening the knowledge of our youth. A substantial amount of Americans are without health insurance. We propose tax credits for small businesses that provide health insurance, retirement benefits, and employment and internships to students. We also propose that tax credits be given to businesses that practice clean air and environmental safety. We believe that our youth is a key concern of the nation and we need to set certain measures to make them feel safe and secure as Americans. A measure that we feel that needs to be taken is to raise taxes on such products as cigarettes and guns. The Democratic Party believes in helping American families economically and socially through more equitable tax benefits.

Beowulf Essay

In the epic poem â€Å"Beowulf†, the poet presents both the elements courage and cowardice. These elements are very important and show up continuously throughout the poem. Although the poem is mainly about heroic battles, there are also many cowardly acts among the villagers. The poet significantly develops courage throughout the poem. It is shown when Beowulf challenges Grendel to a battle and ends up defeating him. It is stated that Beowulf fought without any armor and still won. Once done with the fight, he is faced with another battle which is Grendel’s mother. After a tough and long fight, Beowulf ends up winning as well. The brave and courageous thing about Beowulf is that he is willing to do anything and fight for his people, he gives it all his strength to save his village. For example, the challenge with Grendel started because he was terrorizing the Danes. Another example of courage in the poem is when Beowulf fights the dragon, it is clear that this is one of his toughest battles but he cares for his people and puts himself in danger. Beowulf accomplishes a lot for the survival of the Danes and the Geats. On the other hand, cowardice is also shown in the poem through Unferth. Unferth does not want to live under the â€Å"courageous† culture that is so popular in many men anymore. By this, he is letting so much happen to his kingdom and doesn’t care. The most coward thing that Unferth does is give away his sword, it was known back then that a virtuous warrior never parted from his sword. Just like Beowulf is very brave, he has his bad moment as well, he doesn’t want to admit that his time has come and that he is too old to fight the dragon. But the people in Geats show cowardice by not helping their king on his battle. Instead, they hide and just watch not even helping their king who has done so much for them. In conclusion, the epic poem â€Å"Beowulf† may have many brave people but it also shows how some throw away their position as king or do not want to fight for their people anymore, as well as the inconsiderate villagers. Both courage and cowardice are very well portrayed in the poem.

The Application of Virtual Reality in the Construction Industry Report

Introduction Virtual reality abbreviated as VR is a computer way of making imaginary things look like they are real. In this case, a simulation software is used which tends to make things look as if they are real even though they are not. Virtual reality involves the creation of animated and three dimensional objects which are then operated via a simulation software. Virtual reality can be applied in different fields of construction. It has several advantages and many firms are employing its use in their day to day activities in the firm. Several design works can be achieved through the use of virtual reality. (Howard 1992) Virtual reality involves the use of computer for modeling which may enable a person to interact with an artificial environment. The artificial environment is computer generated. In virtual reality, only two human senses are involved and they include the vision and the hearing sense. (Nobert 1988) The computer software for virtual reality must be kept up to date and try to imitate the real environment as much as possible. The main essence of virtual reality is to have an environment that resembles as much as possible the real environment. Failure to which the aspect of virtual reality will have not been realized.   (Howard 1992) History Basically from the name, real time has been used to refer to systems which are fast. They are compared with a clock in their execution. A system can only be referred to as real time if they meet their time constraints. In real time simulation, all the execution are meant to take place at the very time the process is being executed (Paul et al, 1987) Background for real time simulation Evolution Real time simulation has evolved in the recent past step by step with the evolution of computing technologies. The computing technology has improved greatly thus the improvements and evolution of the real time technology and a result a decrease in the cost and an increase in performance. The systems which were used when virtual reality was first discovered has undergone a stream of changes and improvements are still being realized in the construction industry. (Howard 1992) The construction industry has had several versions of virtual reality which include; different versions of AUTOCAD, coreldraw and other design software. The implementation of the virtual reality has had several advantages in the construction industry as it helps in saving costs and ensuring efficient representation of the prototypes. This also helps in decision making as the outcomes are first predicted before they are implemented. (Paul et al, 1987) There are several aspects that have to work hand in hand in order to ensure a success of virtual reality. They include the hardware, software and the operator. The operator The operator also needs to understand that the environment is just being imitated and not that it is the real environment. He/she therefore need not to expect perfection even though the system will try to perfect the situation but it is very hard to achieve. (Nobert 1988) Hardware Virtual reality is influenced with a variety of hardware which include the input devices and out put devices. The devices are designed in such a way that they tend to depict the sense of natural interaction.   (Bennet 1987) Software The virtual reality software are designed so as to provide the actual operation of an environment so as to achieve its reality nature. The hardware cannot operate on their own but there must be some special kind of software which will be used in their operation. (Paul et al, 1987) Background of virtual reality Virtual reality has been existing since time immemorial. It is not a new subject in the computing or construction industry. The first person to introduce virtual reality was Ivan Sutherland who introduced some concepts about immersion in a simulated world. (Sutherland IV, 1965). The main challenge in the implementation of virtual reality is to make the world sound real and look real. (Howard 1992) The main goal of virtual reality is to have the user fit in a loop of real time simulation. This is however not easily achievable. Some of the things that are required in order to realize this aspect include: User input – These are the channels that allow for the interaction between humans and the environment. A person can feed information into the computer system through the use of the user input and then wait for the response which in most cases should be real time. Sensory feedback: Our senses are used to realize this. The senses involved here are our vision and the hearing sense which tend to grasp the imitation of the real environment with the simulating machine. (John 2000) Benefits of real time simulation It offers the ability to test equipments that would cause damage to equipment or personnel. It offers the ability to test systems where there are no prototypes existing There is overall reduction in costs especially in the later phases of development It offers the ability to test systems at any time of the day without any form of hindrance. (Nobert 1988) Applications of virtual reality in construction Training personnel: Virtual reality can be used training personnel who are to work in dangerous environments. This is very useful especially in the construction industry where some environments may be considered risky. Training on safety precautions can be done using this method. It can also be used for simulating the training equipments especially when the equipment is expensive to acquire. There are some materials and training equipments which are expensive and not every firm can afford them. Having a simulator can help achieve the overall goal of training even without acquiring the real equipment. Some examples of workers who can also be trained using virtual reality include pilots and medical practitioners for conducting new medical/ surgical procedures.   (John 2000) Prototype design for new products: The virtual reality can be used to carry out a market survey for a new product and predict the possible customer reaction before trying the new product in reality. (John 2000) Entertainment: Virtual reality is used in designing gaming software so as to imitate the real gaming environment as much as possible. (John 2000) Development of virtual reality environments can make a very significance impact on how projects can be successfully completed in a construction industry. The techniques of Virtual reality have proved to have the potentiality of   enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of all the stages in a project. The virtual reality helps in laying down an organized process for the construction activity, these include: design, planning all the way to completion of the construction. Real time simulation This is an aspect of a computer property that makes it execute an action at the same time with a clock. It implies that there is no delay in the execution of the process. Once the process is complete then the computer program should also be in the position to have completed the execution. (John 2000) Software tools available for real time simulation There are several software tools which enable real time simulation and ensure that information is passed immediately a process is executed. However, most of these software for achieving virtual reality are difficult to design. Systems which support virtual reality can be subdivided into two: Toolkits These are in form of libraries with predetermined instructions. They provide a set of functions which are used to support the creation of a virtual reality application. Authoring systems These are programs which are complete with several interfaces for creating the virtual environment. They include scripting languages and other platforms which can enable the creation of the virtual environment. There are no systems designed yet which has the capabilities of supporting the virtual reality environment alone. Several systems have to be joined together in order to provide the capabilities of the virtual environment. Software tools available for real time simulation Some of the software tools which are available for simulation include: Screen capture Electronic performance support Assima Datango Install shieldcaptivate View let viewer Rapid builder (Nobert 1988) There are several other software tools which are available in the simulation environment. Some of which have not been fully exploited. Difference between real time simulations and other forms of visualization used in the construction industry include: Its application is usually mission oriented They are usually executed at the same time with the clock. Execution is done immediately. In real time simulation, deadline must be met regardless of the load in the system. Limitations of the simulation models There are several limitations that are found in the simulation model. These are due to the fact that achieving a complete and a perfectly simulated environment is not easy to achieve. Some of the limitations include: Lack of noisy data in the environment Most of the sensors tend to pick unnecessary data from the environment which in turn affect the overall performance of the system. This makes it very difficult to train the system so as to understand what kind of data to pick and which ones not to pick. The environment has too much noise and it becomes hard for the system to filter only the useful data for its operation. Incomplete and inaccurate Models There are situations in the real world which are very hard to emulate. This poses a major problem of achieving a perfect system to emulate the environment and make the situation look real. Lots of time for training a system For a system to operate almost perfectly, several tests have to be done. The tests come with some predetermined conditions which are used to set the system. A lot of time is wasted in trying to train the system so as to react positively to the set conditions and give the desired results. (Paul et al 1987). Case studies Case 1: Airport Construction San Francisco Airport Virtual reality has been implemented in San Francisco Airport. The use of virtual reality made it possible for people to know the types of machines they were about to encounter and   how to use them. The use of virtual reality also helped the constructors to put down the materials they would require before the commencement of the project. This also helped a great deal in ensuring that the project did not stop due to the absence of enough raw materials once the construction work had commenced. Figure 1 Source: Bechtel Briefs, 2007 Figure 1 shows how the airport was to be constructed. It also shows the position and the lengths of the runways. Virtual reality helped in the implementation of the project and to determine whether the project was viable and whether the airport could operate as proposed. Figure 2 Source: Bechtel Briefs, 2007 Figure 2 above shows the actual construction of the airport structures. It helps in determining the quantity of materials required and estimating the overall cost of the project. Case 2: New School of Environmental Technology in FUTA Akure The Building was first designed using virtual reality.   It gave the constructors and designers an opportunity to rehearse the construction of the facility in a 3 D interactive and immersive environment. This helps in increasing the conception of the design and improves the constructability of the project. We are going to base our research on a recent successful application of virtual reality in the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) where virtual reality was implemented and gave very good results. This made it possible to represent a three dimensional space realistically (Burdea, 2003). In FUTA, virtual reality was used in the design of New School of environmental Technology. It helped in ensuring a timely construction and the materials required for the project was accurately estimated. this resulted into an overall reduction in costing. Conclusion Virtual reality has undergone a series of changes in its development. It has taken several years to reach the current stage that the aspect of virtual reality has reached. It is still undergoing some improvements in order to realize its perfection. The advantages that come along with virtual reality has made its use very significant especially in the construction industry. Changes are being made in the industry and exhausting the capabilities of virtual reality is far from being reached. As days progress many innovations in the computer field are being realized which have a direct relationship with the improvements being realized in the construction industry in terms of efficiency and reduction in cost. (John 2000) References Burdea G. Coiffet P. 2003. â€Å"Virtual Reality technology, â€Å" Second Edition, John Wiley Sons. Howard R 1992 ‘Virtual Reality: The revolutionary Technology of Computer-Generated Artificial Worlds – and how it promises to Transform Society.   Simon and Schister Publishers. John VN 2000.   ‘ The Computer and the Brain. ‘ Yale University Press. Michael H 1994. ‘The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality,’ Oxford University Press. Michael LB 1992 ‘Cyber Space: First Steps.’ The MIT Press. Michael LB 2000 ‘ Virtual Realism’ Oxford University Press. Norbert W 1988 ‘ The Human of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society,’ Da Capo Press. Paul B Bennet LF Linus ES, 1987 ‘A Guide to Simulation,’ Springer Publishers. http://www.bechtel.com/may_2007.html