Online homework systems are great for many reasons. They offer students with more opportunities to practice and stay on top of the progress of the class. They are also allow teachers to better utilize their time and focus on developing new materials now that their time used on marking homework are minimized. The questions is, are online homework systems really as good as they seem? Here are five reasons why they are not.
#1) REASON: They thought we all have IQ less than 50
Remember the time when you first started with those homework systems and they have you work on an introductory assignment? How painful was that? It’s like when your mom asks you something so silly you find it insulting.
As much as we need to get ourselves familiar with the navigation of the site, we don’t need a beginner’s computer class. We know how to type, read and identify symbols, as well as dragging and double-clicking.
Why be so annoyed when you already know how to work everything, you may ask. Well, when that particular introductory assignment is redundant and unreasonably lengthy, it does get on your nerves.
SOLUTION:
There’s no easy way out for this one, just keep your mouth shut and get to work. On the bright side, you at least get to receive some credit for completing the no brainer.
#2) REASON: They are perfectionists and we are not
When you work on online assignments, most of the time (if not all) you are in a hurry. Whether you are hurrying to meet the deadline or rushing through so you can watch the video that is finally loaded while you are completing the assignment, you just want to get it over with.
You’ll think since they are smart “as a computer,” they’ll know what you are getting at when a ‘s’ or a space is missing between letters or when you keyed in a ‘r’ when you are trying to go for the ‘e.’ No, my dear, they just don’t. Everything has to be perfect for them.
SOLUTION:
Like the last, there is no shortcut for this one either. What you can do is to turn your perfectionist mode on and be careful with what keys you are hitting like you are taking a typing course.
#3) REASON: They are ambiguous and not in a good way
One thing that bugs people the most about online homework systems has got to be this one – the ambiguous “hints” they give you when you have a wrong answer.
It irritating enough when you find out that your uneasily achieved answer is incorrect. Having a longed-for but uselessly ambiguous “hint” to pop up just makes you that much more depressed and discouraged.
SOLUTION:
We cannot deny that though some of the hints are often pointless, some of them really do help. You just have to get the right “wrong” answer so they can give you effective guidance. The next time you get any hints, try to put yourself in the shoes of the program writer. There are just too many possibilities out there and they can’t always include everything. Re-do the question with the mindscape of the creator of the question and you will find it so much easier to get their desired answer.
#5) They make consulting your friend that much harder
Before going any further, let’s just get this across, CHEATING IS NOT RIGHT AND WE DO NOT SUPPORT IT.
We are simply saying that when you encounter a question you’re clueless about, the randomized question pattern in online homework systems make it at least ten times harder to go to your friend for help.
There is nothing harmful with a nice little academic discussion between friends, and online homework systems definitely make that impossible.
SOLUTION:
If working with someone else doesn’t work, you are on your own. If you realize that the questions are randomized, study ahead and well prepare yourself for the assignment. You obviously have nobody to blame if you know that in advance but still refuse to do anything about it. Again, on the bright side, if you’re the one your friends come to for homework, at least now you will be able to enjoy some kind of silence and not have to re-do the same question ten times just to explain it to your nice but kind of slow best friend.