Modern tools for active student engagement: how effective is online homework?

摘要

The World Wide Web significantly changed the way we communicate and learn. Computer networks are not only used to transfer information or to play Java applets in our classrooms, but are also used to grade homework assignments. Physics instructors have multiple offers for online homework systems (PHGA, WebAssign, etc.). Almost all web-based assessment systems offer, beside instant feedback and a convenient grade book, a wealth of information that is often discarded. We identified different strategies that were adopted by students in solving physics problems by analyzing data regarding time management as reflected by PHGA records. The data used in this study are the time when student accessed the assignment (start time) and the time when student submitted the problem for grading (stop time). We identified different behavioral patterns by correlating the performance reflected by the students' scores with the duration of activity measured by the time interval between start and stop times, and its timing in respect to the deadline.