Students analyze an assortment of popular inventions to determine whom they are …
Students analyze an assortment of popular inventions to determine whom they are intended to benefit, who has access to them, who might be harmed by them, and who is profiting by them. Then they re-imagine the devices in a way that they believe would do more good for humanity. During the first 90-minute class period, they evaluate and discuss designs in small groups and as a class, examining their decision-making criteria. Collectively, they decide upon a definition of "ethical" that they use going forward. During the second period, students apply their new point-of-view to redesign popular inventions (on paper) and persuasively present them to the class, explaining how they meet the class standards for ethical designs. Two PowerPoint® presentations, a worksheet and grading rubric are provided.
A diagnostic test is an objective method of deciding whether an animal …
A diagnostic test is an objective method of deciding whether an animal has a disease, or not. Decisions made following diagnostic testing are usually dichotomous e.g. treat or do not treat the animal, therefore diagnostic tests are usually interpreted as dichotomous outcomes (diseased or non-diseased). In this case, if a diagnostic test is measuring a continuous outcome e.g. antibody titre then a cut-off for classifying animals as positive or negative must be selected. The figure below shows that whereever the cut-off is selected there is usually some overlap between results i.e. some diseased animals will have the same value as non-diseased animals and resulting in some false-positive and false-negative results.
Students learn about the Seattle teacher's boycott of high-stakes tests and the …
Students learn about the Seattle teacher's boycott of high-stakes tests and the larger testing issue, and consider a range of opinions about the effect of current high-stakes testing on teachers, students, and our education system.
Students determine the coefficient of restitution (or the elasticity) for super balls. …
Students determine the coefficient of restitution (or the elasticity) for super balls. Working in pairs, they drop balls from a meter height and determine how high they bounce. They measure, record and repeat the process to gather data to calculate average bounce heights and coefficients of elasticity. Then they extrapolate to determine the height the ball would bounce if dropped from much higher heights.
Hypothesis tests are very commonly used in epidemiological investigations, and a wide …
Hypothesis tests are very commonly used in epidemiological investigations, and a wide number of tests are available. These can be classified into groups according to the data types in question, according to whether a specific underlying distribution is assumed when performing the test (in which case, the test is known as a parametric test), and according to whether or not the data are matched or independent (i.e. whether comparisons are being made at the individual level or the group level). As described earlier, qualitative data are not numerical in nature, and include categorical and ordinal data (such as the breed of dog, or the body condition score of a cow). Quantitative data are numerical, and include variables such as weight, age and height.
In this sophomore design course, you will be challenged with three design …
In this sophomore design course, you will be challenged with three design tasks: a first concerning water resources/treatment, a second concerning structural design, and a third focusing on the conceptual (re)design of a large system, Boston’s Back Bay. The first two tasks require the design, fabrication and testing of hardware. Several laboratory experiments will be carried out and lectures will be presented to introduce students to the conceptual and experimental basis for design in both domains. This course was based in large part on the Fall 2005 offering of 1.101, developed by Prof. Harold Hemond.
In this sophomore design course, you will be challenged with three design …
In this sophomore design course, you will be challenged with three design tasks: a first concerning water resources/treatment, a second concerning structural design, and a third focusing on the conceptual (re)design of a large system, Boston’s Back Bay. The first two tasks require the design, fabrication and testing of hardware. Several laboratory experiments will be carried out and lectures will be presented to introduce students to the conceptual and experimental basis for design in both domains. This course was based in large part on the Fall 2005 offering of 1.101, developed by Prof. Harold Hemond.
This sophomore-level course is a project-oriented introduction to the principles and practice …
This sophomore-level course is a project-oriented introduction to the principles and practice of engineering design. Design projects and exercises are chosen that relate to the built and natural environments. Emphasis is placed on achieving function and sustainability through choice of materials and processes, compatibility with natural cycles, and the use of active or adaptive systems. The course also encourages development of hands-on skills, teamwork, and communication; exercises and projects engage students in the building, implementation, and testing of their designs.
6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for …
6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems and to help students, regardless of their major, feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class uses the Python 3.5 programming language.
6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for …
6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems and to help students, regardless of their major, feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class uses the Python 3.5 programming language.
Student groups use the Java programming language to implement the algorithms for …
Student groups use the Java programming language to implement the algorithms for optical character recognition (OCR) that they developed in the associated lesson. They use different Java classes (provided) to test and refine their algorithms. The ultimate goal is to produce computer code that recognizes a digit on a scoreboard. Through this activity, students experience a very small part of what software engineers go through to create robust OCR methods. This software design lesson/activity set is designed to be part of a Java programming class.
This course introduces concepts and techniques relevant to the production of large …
This course introduces concepts and techniques relevant to the production of large software systems. Students are taught a programming method based on the recognition and description of useful abstractions. Topics include modularity, specification, data abstraction, object modeling, design patterns, and testing. Students complete several programming projects of varying size, working individually and in groups. Students are now introduced to software engineering in 6.005 Elements of Software Construction, which is available on OCW in two versions, as taught in Fall 2008 and Fall 2011.
In this interactive lesson, students learn more about the high-stakes testing debate, …
In this interactive lesson, students learn more about the high-stakes testing debate, explore different points of view about this issue, consider their own views, and identify actions they can take to address their concerns about high-stakes testing.
Based on their experience exploring the Mars rover Curiosity and learning about …
Based on their experience exploring the Mars rover Curiosity and learning about what engineers must go through to develop a vehicle like Curiosity, students create Android apps that can control LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots, simulating the difficulties the Curiosity rover could encounter. The activity goal is to teach students programming design and programming skills using MIT's App Inventor software as the vehicle for the learning. The (free to download) App Inventor program enables Android apps to be created using building blocks without having to actually know a programming language. At activity end, students are ready to apply what they learn to write other applications for Android devices.
Students investigate the materials properties such as acoustical absorptivity, light reflectivity, thermal …
Students investigate the materials properties such as acoustical absorptivity, light reflectivity, thermal conductivity, hardness, and water resistance of various materials. They use sound, light and temperature sensors to collect data on various materials. They practice making design decisions about what materials would be best to use for specific purposes and projects, such as designing houses in certain environments to meet client requirements. After testing, they use the provided/tested materials to design and build model houses to meet client specifications.
The Oral Proficiency Interview exam tests for speaking skills and is offered …
The Oral Proficiency Interview exam tests for speaking skills and is offered for various languages, including Arabic. The exam can be administered to students and professionals of all proficiency levels, starting from grade 11 in high school. The length of the exam, conducted by phone or Skype, is 20-30 minutes. Results fall on a scale of proficiency ranging from 0 to 5+. The exam resembles a conversation but goes through a specific set of stages: a warm-up stage to check the interviewee's level, a stage to probe for higher levels, and wind-down phase.
6.883 is a graduate seminar that investigates a variety of program analysis …
6.883 is a graduate seminar that investigates a variety of program analysis techniques that address software engineering tasks. Static analysis topics include abstract interpretation (dataflow), type systems, model checking, decision procedures (SAT, BDDs), theorem-proving. Dynamic analysis topics include testing, fault isolation (debugging), model inference, and visualization. While the course focuses on the design and implementation of programming tools, the material will be useful to anyone who wishes to improve his or her programming or understand the state of the art. Students are expected to read classic and current technical papers, actively participate in class discussion, perform small exercises that provide experience with a variety of tools, and complete a team research project.
In the past building prototypes of electronic components for new projects/products was …
In the past building prototypes of electronic components for new projects/products was limited to using protoboards and wirewrap. Manufacturing a printed-circuit-board was limited to final production, where mistakes in the implementation meant physically cutting traces on the board and adding wire jumpers - the final products would have these fixes on them! Today that is no longer the case, while you will still cut traces and use jumpers when debugging a board, manufacturing a new final version without the errors is a simple and relatively inexpensive task. For that matter, manufacturing a prototype printed circuit board which you know is likely to have errors but which will get the design substantially closer to the final product than a protoboard setup is not only possible, but desirable. In this class, you’ll learn to design, build, and debug printed-circuit-boards.
6.005 Software Construction introduces fundamental principles and techniques of software development, i.e., …
6.005 Software Construction introduces fundamental principles and techniques of software development, i.e., how to write software that is safe from bugs, easy to understand, and ready for change. The course includes problem sets and a final project. Important topics include specifications and invariants; testing; abstract data types; design patterns for object-oriented programming; concurrent programming and concurrency; and functional programming. The 6.005 website homepage from Spring 2016, along with all course materials, is available to OpenCourseWare users.
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