HUMAN RIGHTS - North Carolina A&T State University

Disadvantages for Students1. Students might not get detailed feedback. That is, usually(without significant programming) students do not find outexactly where they went wrong in a problem. Simply, theirfinal answers are graded. A good solution is for the teacher tocollect answers to many questions on-line, and ask studentsto submit their work on paper. The teacher can then chooseone question to grade by hand and to give detailed feedbackto the student.2. Technical errors may occur. For example, one evening thecampus network went down, which caused some frustrationfor those submitting homework at the last minute. Anotherissue is that students need access to a networked computer.(The access issue has decreased significantly here at A&Tsince 1998, and it will probably be a non-issue five years fromnow.) For some students, technology may get in the way oflearning simply due to a “hatred” of using computers. Yet, Isee using computers as a benefit for these students. We live ina technological society and learning to use computers is vitalto their education.There also are advantages and disadvantages for teachers.Time previously allotted for grading can now be spent oncommunicating with students, as mentioned above. The amountof time saved depends on many factors. If teachers write theirown questions, the time saved from grading is instead spent onwriting questions. In the long run (approximately two semesters),questions are reused and the time spent authoring questions isrecovered.As with any technology, there is an initial learning curve. Forexample, to use WebAssign, teachers must learn, at a minimum,how to create a class, upload a class roster, create assignments anddownload grades. A database of thousands of questions isavailable; however, that is something else to learn. All Web-basedhomework systems share these features, so teachers must learnthese things on whichever system is used.Which homework system should you use?First, understand that there is a difference between a coursemanagement system and a homework system. Coursemanagement tools – such as WebCT and BlackBoard – are usedto organize course content, chat rooms, on-line office hours(again, via chat), bulletin boards and homework. Although theyhave homework collection features, they are not as full-featured asthose offered by WebAssign or other quality homework systems.I recommend using a homework system over a coursemanagement system if collecting homework is the sole goal.When offering distance education courses on-line such as witheCollege, use both a course management system and a homeworksystem. Both can be used effectively together without competing.Course management systems do what homework systems do not,and homework systems are better at distributing and collectinghomework than course management systems.Second, consider whether you want to manage the server andsoftware yourself. If so, you can install many quality free versions,such as WWWAssign. (But understand that you will have tomanage all of the headaches yourself.) Even versions that are notfree, such as QuestionMark, require significant computerknowledge and experience. Those who choose this option shouldhave significant time, experience, knowledge and interest in thisoption.Otherwise, choose a service such as WebAssign. Its staff keepsthe servers running 24-7, and they also offer technical support andcontent (questions) so users have the option of writing or notwriting their own questions. When something goes wrong, supportis readily available. In addition, colleagues from various institutionsuse the same database of questions, so questions can be shared.Third, consider the features of the system and what it will beused for. For example, if you plan to give numerical problems,you definitely want the system to randomize numbers in theproblems so that students working together share how to do theproblem and not just the final answer. If mathematics is used inyour discipline, you want to be able to grade functions, so thatexpressions like (x 2 -1) and (x+1)*(x-1) will be gradedequivalently. If you frequently use essay questions or collect filessuch as programs or word or excel documents, then you want tobe able to easily grade the work and assign a grade and commentto the student. Does the system store questions so that they areeasily retrievable? If not, then reusing questions can be difficult.That is why a searchable database backend is so useful.However, for searchability, a classification system should be inplace. The most attractive feature to teachers so far has beenorganizing questions based on the textbook chapters. If you writeyour own questions, then you should classify the problemsappropriately to make searching easier.Last, consider price. Free systems are great but support andlong-term improvement of the software may be lacking. Look forprograms that offer technical support, fast servers, questions fromall major textbooks and a constantly improving product.WebAssign is the most full-featured homework system available.If you would like to use it with your course or want ideas, pleasecontact me at titus@ncat.edu. To use a course managementsystem, you may contact the Center for Learning Technologies,(336) 334-7857. ■A&T TODAY/SPRING 200125