Overview of
MyAccountingLab [MAL]
as a Homework
Management Tool
for AMIS 3300
Spring Semester 2014
How to Learn
Management Accounting
class attendance
and participation
textbook reading
and study
work textbook homework problems
comprehension
A Changing Resource Environment
• The course textbook, until recently, was a
single-source, hardbound product. Grading
homework was a paper-based, laborintensive process.
• Today, textbook source and form options
are abundant and on-line homework tools
exist.
Motivating Homework
• Suggested homework is often ignored by
students with negative learning results.
• Graded homework is usually worked by
students but, if paper based, has significant
disadvantages:
–
–
–
–
Quality issues [paper, legibility]
Grading fairness for different solution presentations
Correct answer feedback only after due date
Copying of another student’s work easily possible
Understanding MAL
MAL is a textbook-specific tool for student learning by
working textbook problems. It is priced by the publisher
in a very attractive bundle with the textbook.
This presentation will cover the following points:
• MAL used as the basis for homework has advantages for
both the student and the instructor.
• There are concepts that, if understood, make working in
MAL more efficient.
• Registration and Login orientation is useful to provide
an overview of the process for first time users of MAL.
• An example is to help you understand the use of MAL
features.
MAL Homework Advantages
Graded homework, if on-line based, has significant
advantages:
– No quality issues [no paper, 100% legibility]
– Grading fairness using template-based solution
presentation
– Correct answer feedback as the problem is worked
– Each student has a unique version of the problem
rendering solution sharing impossible
– Record of work done for grade credit
MAL Homework Concepts: Assigned
Homework Items Availability
• In AMIS 3300, each chapter has two groups of homework assigned.
The recommended group is not counted toward the course grade; the
graded group is.
• However, note that both recommended and graded groups are
important for learning
• The recommended group is available until the course ends.
• The graded group is available for graded performance in a time
window. This time window is chapter specific and can be found in the
Homework section of the course web site. Specifically, the time window
is detailed in the Module 1, 2, 3 and 4 Homework Plans shown in the
web site.
MAL Homework Concepts: Assigned
Homework Items Availability (cont)
• The graded group is available for inspection after the end of the
available time window until the end of the course by using the results
tab but only if the homework assignment was activated by opening
one of the items in the assignment. It is the student’s responsibility to
activate assignments to enable review during the quarter.
• Please note that if you do not activate this homework, you will lose
access to it for the remainder of the semester.
MAL Homework Concepts: Types of
Homework Items
• “Static” version of a homework assignment is the textbook
version of the homework problem. The recommended
homework items will be the static version.
• “Similar to” version of a homework assignment is like the
textbook version of the homework problem but with different
numeric facts. The graded homework will be the “similar to”
version. Each student gets a different set of numeric values.
MAL Homework Concepts: A
Hierarchy of Terminology
– A homework assignment corresponds to a textbook chapter.
– A chapter homework assignment consists of several items
[exercises, problems] from the end of the chapter textbook material.
– Within a homework item are several units; each unit usually has
several response boxes for the answers to a problem requirement;
when some or all response boxes in the unit are filled, the “check
answer” button is activated ; three attempts [if needed] are available
for answer checking of a unit before the unit is graded and the next
unit is available; skipping ahead is not allowed.
– For graded homework, after the last unit of an item is completed for
the first attempt, a second attempt at a new version of the item is
allowed. After the second attempt is completed, the item is not
available for further graded work. For recommended homework, the
attempts are unlimited in number but the item is the same each
time. For recommended homework a “try again” button appears.
MAL Registration
[the first time MAL is accessed, registration is required]
MAL Registration
[the first time MAL is accessed, registration is required]
MAL Registration
[before using MAL to submit homework assignments, registration is necessary]
Create an Account
Use or Buy an Access Code
Use an Access Code
Buy an Access Code
Purchase Paper Text or eText
Purchase Paper Text
Purchase Paper Text
MAL Registration
[the first time MAL is accessed, registration is required]
MAL Sign In
[each time MAL is accessed, sign in is required]
MAL Sign In
[each time MAL is accessed, sign in is required]
MAL AMIS 3300 Homepage
Important MAL Functionality
• Do Homework
• Results [review homework]
• Calendar
Important MAL Functionality
Do Homework
Important MAL Functionality
Review Results
Important MAL Functionality
Calendar
MAL Homework Example
For class illustration of MAL as a homework tool, the
following example, Textbook exercise 3-21, Chapter 3,
page 88, will be use.
the homework assignment is called
“Demonstration Homework”
consisting of two items –
a “static” version of exercise 3-21
and
a “similar to” version of exercise 3-21.
Exercise 3 - 21
Exercise 3 - 21 Solution
• Fixed cost = $48,200 + $68,000 + $13,000 = $129,200
• Contribution margin = $27,000 - $23,000 - $600 = $3,400
• Breakeven quantity = $129,200 / $3,400 = 38
[TNI is target net income; TOI is target operating income]
• TOI = TNI / (1 – tax rate) = $51,000 / (1 - .4) = $85,000
• (F + TOI) / cm = ($129,200 + $85,000) / $3,400 = 63
Hints for Homework Success
• The following behaviors are recommended to maximize
your learning and course performance on graded
homework:
– Immediately begin using MAL to learn how it works using the
demonstration homework assignment
– Work well ahead of the end of the time window for graded
homework.
– Always activate a graded homework assignement so that later
review is possible.
– Read and solve (on paper) your unique “similar to” version of the
problem as a starting point, then use the MAL template to report the
answer.
Registration and Login Information
• An email was sent to inform you about course resource
requirements and acquisition options. The email is available
for viewing from the course web site “Homework” page.
• This PowerPoint presentation is also available from the
same web page.
• A third item on the “Homework” page is a step-by step list of
instructions to register for MAL and, optionally, purchase an
access code and/or the text material. This is another place
to find the course ID.