Using Online Homework
(No More Excuses!)
Festival of Learning
Dan Burns
What Are These Students
Talking About?
i liked
It
is a very
how beneficial
you wouldtool!
immediately
It forced know
me to if
actually
you
got the
learn
answer
the material,
wrong or
rather
right.than getting a
problem wrong and thinking "oh well move on"
Iit like
wasitawesome.
and i like how
made
it forces
homework
you to
much
do the
homework
more
organized.
on time, keep kids in check.
It compels students to get the work done on
time and not get behind, which is crucial
because physics concepts build on each
other.
It
very effective
and efficient.
It is
helped
me to understand
whatIt makes
doing
homework
we learned
betterconvenient, and by
answering the questions one learns
everything they need to learn.
Online Homework Service Choices
• WebAssign
• Quest
What is WebAssign?
• Online subscription homework service
• Primarily used by math, science, and business classes
• Students have custom problems assigned with
numbers and answers unique to each student
• Problems can be assigned from your textbook and
other sources or can be created by the instructor
• Assignments are scored and graded instantly
• Students are given limited tries to solve problems
• Assignments have instructor-set due dates and times
What are the Benefits of WebAssign?
• Every student has a different
set of homework problems,
making copying difficult
• Students receive instant
feedback
• Due dates and times encourage students to
complete homework on time
• Instructors can enable a feature that allows
students to ask them questions online
• Students learn more using it
• Online instructor support is fast and
individualized
• Students like it!
+
=
My Experience with WebAssign
• Used in AP Physics since 2005/06 school year
• 90% of students complete 90% of the
homework correctly and on time
• Creating assignments and recording grades
takes no more time than traditional homework
• Students collaborate on homework in
meaningful ways
• Student performance on the AP Physics test has
improved dramatically
Student Performance
Comparison
• WebAssign has been used for 7 years in AP
Physics, 2006 – 2012 (year of AP test)
• AP Test data from previous 5 years is averaged
and compared to 7 year average with WebAssign
• WebAssign was used for about half of assigned
homework from 2006 – 2009
• WebAssign was used for all homework after
Block schedule started, 2010-2012
• No other major change was made to the course
during this 12 year span except for changing to
block schedule in 2010
AP Test Scores Improved with WebAssign
Traditional HW Vs WebAssign
90
80
% Students
70
60
Traditional
50
40
WebAssign
30
20
10
0
% 5s
% 4+5s
% 3+4+5s
Students Earning AP Scores of 4 and 5
Increased the Most
AP Score % Increase with WebAssign,
shown with % Student Increase
100
Percent Increase
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
5
4+5
3+4+5
Student
%Increase %Increase %Increase %Increase
WebAssign helped Mitigate Loss
of Class Time in Block Schedule
AP Scores before and after Block with
WebAssign
90
80
% Students
70
60
50
Pre-Block
Block
40
30
20
10
0
% 5s
% 4+5s
% 3+4+5s
Student Performance on the AP Test
Ave #
Taking Test
% 5s
% 4+5s % 3+4+5s
Before WebAssign
(01 – 05)
67
15
29
76
After WebAssign
(06 – 12)
94
25
57
81
Half WebAssign
(Pre-Block)
(06 - 09)
92
26
58
82
All WebAssign
(Block)
(10-12)
96
25
56
79
How Can I Get In On This?
• Webassign.net
• 30 day free trial
• $10.50 per student for the entire year
(depending on your textbook)
• NMF, School Site Council, and Home and School
Club have funded WebAssign for AP Physics
How Do I Set Up a WebAssign Account?
•
•
•
•
Click on “Faculty Sign Up”
Complete form and wait for email verification
No charge to set up your account
Now create a course
How Do I Create a Course?
• Click on “Create”, then select “Course”
• Complete course settings and select number of
sections
• Select the textbook that you use for your course
• Select other available question banks
• Now upload roster for each section
How do I Upload My Student Roster?
• Students can self-enroll
using a credit card
• Instructors can upload
spreadsheet files or tab
delimited text files
• Instructors can copy and
paste a roster
• Aeries class rosters can be used for pasting
• Give each student the same password at first
• Now create and schedule an assignment
How Do I Create and Schedule an
Assignment?
• Click on “Create”
• Select “Assignment”
• Use default settings at
first, alter as you learn
• Select problems from book and other sources,
save assignment
• Select “Schedule” and enter an ending data and
time
• Instruct students on how to use WebAssign
How Do I Instruct Students on How to
Use WebAssign?
• Issue login information
• Have students login during
class if possible
• Assign “Getting
Started” student help section
• Create a first-day handout
using information from
instructor help section
• Sit back and watch the magic!
How Do I Get the Most Out of WebAssign?
• Make assignments due frequently
• Make homework worth at least 15%
of their grade
• Use the “Practice” feature and give 35 tries per problem
• Create review assignments and let
students work on them during class
• Activate the “Ask Your Teacher”
feature
• Participate in a WebAssign webinar
• Flip through the WebAssign
Instructor’s Guide
What is the Future of WebAssign?
•
•
•
•
•
WebAssign Plus available for newer textbooks
Links to tutorials and hints
Links to relevant sections of an eBook
Embedded video problems
Interactive simulation
problems
• Improved iPad compatibility
For More Information:
• WebAssign Faculty Support,
http://www.webassign.net/user_support/faculty/
• WebAssign Webinar Training Sessions,
http://www.webassign.net/user_support/faculty/we
binars.html
• WebAssign Video Tutorial,
http://www.webassign.net/user_support/faculty/tut
orials_training.html
• WebAssign Best Practices,
http://www.webassign.net/user_support/faculty/bes
t_practices_and_tips.html
What is Quest?
• Homework service operated by the University
of Texas
• Similar to WebAssign except not tied to
textbooks
• Select questions from question banks
• $179 per year for entire school
• 90 Day Free Trial
To Use Quest you must first get a Free EID
https://idmanager.its.utexas.edu/eid_self_help/?geid=
You can then create courses, and
assignments
Students obtain an EID, enroll in your
course, and start doing their HW
For More Information:
• Search “UT Quest” online
• Quest Instructor Signup,
https://quest.cns.utexas.edu/instructor/
• Quest Introductory Video,
http://web4.cns.utexas.edu/quest/intro/
• Instructor FAQs,
http://web4.cns.utexas.edu/quest/support/instr/
• Faculty Testimonials,
http://getquest.cns.utexas.edu/for-faculty?wid=2
WebAssign Trial
Assignment
• Go to Webassign.net
• Username test# (# is any
number from 1 – 20)
• Institution is losgatos.ca
• Password is same as
username
• Click On “Sample Physics or
Sample Math” under current
Assignments
• Use “Ask Your Teacher” and
“Extension Request” as
needed
Quest Trial
Assignment
• Go to
https://utdirect.utexas.e
du/
• Username is db33367
• Password is on1inehw
• Click on “Student View”,
then “Online HW
Workshop”
• Click On “Sample Physics
or Sample Math” picking
a number that was
assigned to you