Chemistry Online Homework System Part 2

A few people requested a bit more information on the chemistry online homework system, which I introduced in my last post, so here goes. The system in known as JExam. It has the capability to administer both homework assignments and tests. The system is capable of asking students multiple choice, multiple answer, and fill in the blank type questions. The fill in the blank questions can be either numeric or text in nature. The system also has the ability to using basic word processing type drawing tools to allow students "draw" chemical structures, but this feature is still very early in its development.

The students are loaded into the system at the beginning of the term, and they are provided with a link to download the homework taking software. Each week students receive and complete one new homework assignment. In place of a homework assignment students receive a practice test the week before each exam. Students have to come to the chemistry building take their course exams, so that we can regulate the materials that they can use on the test. Students sign-up for a test time the week before the schedule test. Tests are administered in the chemistry computer lab over a 3 to 5 day period depending on the number of students in the course. No class time is used to administer tests.

I mentioned in my last post that like any form of evolving technology the system has bugs. One of the current problems we face is being able to create new questions, but not delete old questions, which through research we have concluded do not test their intended skill set. It turns out this bug is rooted in the initial poor design of the database that JExam uses. We have a programmer working on a new database design, but he has had to push that project to back burner a number of times to deal with security issues with the program that are more pressing. Since all of the students grades are stored in the system as new threats, in terms of hacking, viruses, and the like, become know he must deal with those issues first. In ideal world we would have an unlimited sum of money to pay a large team of programmers to fix all the problems, but unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world.

Online Homework and Testing System

As a TA and graduate student in the department of chemistry I have had the opportunity to work with our online homework and testing system JExam. This a system that has been built and developed here at UGA. Many other such systems exist, but what makes our system unique is its ability to administer both homework and tests. Most of the systems that are out there today do only one or the other.

These types of systems open up a wide variety of research opportunities for operators. Our system monitors a wide variety of things ranging from right and wrong answers to the specific response patterns on specific questions. This allows us to easily evaluate the effectiveness of individual questions, whole homework assignments, and whole tests in a few short minutes, and all of these evaluations are backed by a large amount of statistical data.

As with any form of technology there are always bugs. JExam has had an interesting and complex history with past programmers, and currently we working to improve the bugs that still exist in the system. We are also working to incorporate learning theories, such as cognitive load theory, into the system to make it a more effective learning tool for students.

What are your thoughts and theories about online homework and testing systems?

Virtual Demos Tech Talk

Today we hosted the first tech talk of the semester, and our topic was virtual demos. I thought that are talk went well. It is certainly hard to cover all of the material related to technology in an hour, but I think we did a good job of giving an overview.

Virtual demos present many pros and cons to the educator. There are considerations such as cost, layout, and time in selecting a virtual demo just to name a few. I think virtual demos are best used when utilizing a hands-on activity is not practical in the present classroom setting. I think that virtual demos also provide an effective tool for students to see abstract and microscopic concepts in an up close and personal manner. This assumes of course that the demo is presented effectively to the learner. I have yet to find a comprehensive list of guidelines for designing an effective virtual demo, so I leave you today with a question. What things must we consider when designing an effective virtual demo?

LMS to the Rescue

For those not in the "know", LMS stands for learning management systems. LMS formats, tools, and general usefulness in course organization have come a long way since my first exposure to them in late 1990's. I was very excited to learn about new features in eLearning Commons in class yesterday.

I particularly enjoyed learning how the assignment tool worked. As a lab TA I can see how this tool, complete with a grading form, could help produce more consistent grades on lab reports. This is particularly true when the lab course has more than one TA, and grading consistency becomes a big issue. Unfortunately the grading form and assignment tool are not perfect. Applying these tools to courses with large enrollments in quite time consuming and cumbersome. I hope that in the future these tools become more streamlined.

Next week our group will present our "Tech Talk" in class. Our topic is virtual demonstrations. I am excited to hear what experiences other people have had with virtual demos.