I’m sitting here frustrated with a chemistry assignment that is due online by 11:00 p.m.—that’s in three hours. Instead of completing it, I decide to take out my irritation on the system like every other good American citizen does. Let’s talk about the education system. Specifically teaching methods. And even more specifically, online homework programs.
Lately, I’ve been wondering why I have lost the motivation and sense of pride I used to get in being academically inclined to do my homework. I don’t care if I know the information that is given to me on a file in a homework account. It is not going to be graded by my professor for its authenticity, but simply for the percentage that the program accumulates for me. This means that I am not going to want to genuinely put in the time to learn the material behind what the program wants for me to do, which is to plug in the right answer to its algorithmic grading system.
The path by which I came to the solution to that answer is not questioned. It is a rare occasion when a professor forces a student to stand up in front of his peers to test his knowledge when the topic at hand is being discussed. The student is not held accountable until the exam, which they cram for with all-nighter study sessions fueled with loads of caffeine (or other forms of stimulants). I understand that this all can be easily blamed on the students. Students should always strive to comprehend the problem, not just look in the back of the book for the answer key.
Online homework programs are a new age convenience that is not ever going away, and the appeal is evident. It saves the professor time and effort in grading the homework, saving time in the classroom for lecturing and going over any problems the students are facing. When read, on paper, online homework sounds like it betters the teaching method by making the classroom a more efficiently spent time for difficulties with problems and to move through more material with all of the extra time left over. This is the perfect method… for the perfect student.
A student is not going to like every subject they are required to take, and I believe it is the job of the professor to not only provide the students with the correct material for them to succeed, but to also physically engage with the students while holding authority over their academic success. This brings me to my main criticism of online homework, which is how it takes away from the connection the professor has with the student.
When a professor physically checks a student’s homework for completion, they are simultaneously learning the student’s weak points at the topic at hand while more importantly holding the student accountable for doing their own work. Online homework programs conveniently provide professors with a tool that does their job of grading for them while also counterintuitively encouraging students to just find the answers online instead of engaging themselves in the work. The decline of academic success is on the rise, and providing students with the means to do their homework online only enhances this problem.
