Sunday, March 24, 2013
Online Homework- Sarah & Amy
Online Homework is something that nearly every college student has used at some point in time. Using Online homework has several benefits, mainly convenience for professors with large classes and the way it keeps students accountable for their work. However, some negative aspects include the increased amount of cheating and the tendency to learn trends rather than concepts when referring to problems. Additionally, we discussed a few other ways to reenforce what is learned in the classroom like the Exeter method of teaching and contextual retrieval cues.
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In my opinion, online homework is not only a lazy method for the teacher, it also does not give feedback to the teacher. The teacher should give homework in order to get feedback like Dr. Buchanan mentioned in class, but if it is online the answers are also likely online. Online homework can be helpful to remind students if they understand the information taught in class, and if they did not understand it in class they must reteach themselves at home. I believe like any technology, if its uses are in the right context it can be beneficial to the learner. I think Turkle would say that it can isolate us to work alone and not learn from others. In my experience, when I have assignments with others I learn better and understand the information more. When I work alone or with the internet I usually find a shortcut to learning and getting a "good grade", which in the long run the information will not be encoded into my memory.
ReplyDeleteWhile online homework offers an efficient way for teachers to track and record their student's progress in a course, it is not a very accurate measure of how well a student understands the material. Online homework promotes laziness on both sides--teachers aren't putting forth the necessary effort to ensure their students are understanding the material, and students are going to find ways to cheat the system. On top of that, online homework has a very rigid structure, and it is important that students do their work in the exact format online problems are in. By enforcing a particular method to solve problems, students aren't allowed to solve problems in the way that is easiest for them. I personally always struggled with online math homework because the problems were always formatted in a way that didn't make sense to me. I understood the concepts, but could not apply them to the online problems. I think Rosen would argue that this type of assignment creates a barrier between the conceptualization of problems and application of solutions.
ReplyDeleteI wish that there were some classes where the lectures were posted online, and then you could come to class and it would be much more interactive. The teacher could have students work on what was previously "homework" right in the room and answer questions right away. Remember in grade school when you actually did work in the classroom and you were able to ask questions right there? This would also encourage a lot more social interaction, whereas it was previously disruptive to speak in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteTo be the best learner I can, I usually try to ask questions in class to clarify points. But its much more difficult to think of things to ask when the material is presented to you, rather than when you go to work problems by yourself.
Obviously, this method requires that classes not be too large, but this is how it should be anyways. Schools should be places of learning, not factories.
I wish that there were some classes where the lectures were posted online, and then you could come to class and it would be much more interactive. The teacher could have students work on what was previously "homework" right in the room and answer questions right away. Remember in grade school when you actually did work in the classroom and you were able to ask questions right there? This would also encourage a lot more social interaction, whereas it was previously disruptive to speak in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteTo be the best learner I can, I usually try to ask questions in class to clarify points. But its much more difficult to think of things to ask when the material is presented to you, rather than when you go to work problems by yourself.
Obviously, this method requires that classes not be too large, but this is how it should be anyways. Schools should be places of learning, not factories.
Sadly, what online homework really is intended to encourage is masked. It put on the back-burner by the immediate feedback grade. I know that I along with others see that I got that 89.7% then call it quits most times. Instead of the focus being on the work itself, it become centered around getting a good grade (as Monica mentioned).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that the roots of online homework weren't meant for that path. Online homework has so many unused capabilities. Having solutions attached, having video help (similar to Khan), and posting forums for student discussion. Although most teachers are not near motivated enough to use these capabilities, I have had teacher who have used online homework in full, and it has helped me exponentially.
Bottom line? Online homework needs to be better used by teachers--not students.
I have taken organic chemistry classes with assigned and graded online homework and assigned and ungraded homework from the textbook. Although I resent assignments that have to be completed with the aid of a computer—a laptop can be another sort of ball and chain—I found myself, surprisingly, much happier in the course with online homework. I think the advantage lies in the immediate feedback that online homework gives students about their own understanding. In the course with ungraded homework, I never knew for sure that my answers were correct. To verify against the book was a long and painful process, perhaps worse than the homework itself!
ReplyDeleteTreating online homework like a game made assignments pass pleasantly; each successful answer reinforced my good feelings with the simple encouragement of a check mark.
In reply to points brought out by Edward, Zack, and Hayden, I would have to say that I do like Online Homework for its ability to provide immediate feedback. However, online homework definitely creates problems in not allowing students to ask questions of the professor and in maintaining rigid deadlines. This leads to schools being more like factories, as Edward put it. Therefore, I would like to have online homework as a supplement to the traditional classroom, more than the sole means of performing classwork and/or homework for a course.
ReplyDeleteIn my ideal classroom, assignments would be delegated to students, to be completed using the online homework system, but would have no effect on the students' grades. This would prevent the pressure to cheat or work with others to figure out questions before a looming deadline. The next day, students would be able to come into class and ask the professor questions about the online homework and the class might work some hand-written assignments for clarification. This wouldn't take up too much time, though, as notes for new material would still need to be presented.
This online homework, as stated above, presents a good idea for students to have a progress check with their work but presents many flaws. I would have to point out my problems with such homework in the past. For Spanish, the Quia program does not recognise the differences for words that have the same meaning and the subtleties between groups of people (them formal and them informal, for instance). In my class, my teacher simply used the program as a recording device for our answers and hand-graded them. For other classes I have taken, such as Physics, the answers are dependent on the previous question and have little guidance as to where you are making a mistake. This is one of the largest problems I have with on-line homework that it cannot show you where your logic is flawed. This logic is at the root of all learning and is critical in the understanding of concepts and the further application of these topics into "real world" use.
ReplyDeleteI agree that online homework is a good studying tool for students to use because they are able to go directly back to questions that the teacher provided to clarify concepts and practice the topic at hand. But I do feel that it promotes "just getting by" because, as mentioned above, students are focusing strictly on the percentage for the most part instead of making a conscious effort to fully understand the material and get practice on the subject. I liked what Edward said about online homework being something that could be done before class and then talked about during the actual class period. I think this would encourage students to think outside the box and form their own opinions about the topics instead of just spitting back information that was previously presented to them in class. I think it would also result in more classroom interaction because students would have questions from the homework that they previously worked on. These questions could be answered because they would be about the current class period's topic instead of a student having questions on something that was already taught. Often times, these questions go unanswered because the topic of discussion has already passed, and the student often forgets about it or just lets it go. Although my personal experiences with online homework have not helped me all that much, I think the idea has the potential to be a great classroom aid if used in a more beneficial way.
ReplyDelete