By the time homework has actually been collected and accessed, several classes have passed and opportunities for its effective use have been missed. Attempts to go back and correct wide spread misunderstandings based on the homework results are now out of context and create a break in the flow of the course. Further, the presentation of new material has probably already been adversely affected by the misunderstandings. We propose that the use of a Web based homework system can improve the effectiveness of homework as an educational tool. Using our Web based homework system instructors create and distribute homework assignments to their classes.
Assignments can currently include multiple choice, short answer and essay type questions.
Students retrieve assignments, submit completed assignments and view the results of previous assignments through individual, password protected course Web pages. Results seen by the students include grades, instructor's answers and comments from the grader. Instructors also have access to assignment overviews that allow them to see, on a single Web page, all student responses to a given question. These assignment overviews can be accessed at any time after an assignment has been assigned, including before the due date and during the grading process. Web based homework systems provide effective solutions to many of the problems of paper and pencil homework and thus enable homework to be more effective as a teaching tool.