Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Features
Making the Grade: Pilot Program Test-Drives GradeSummit
2/12/2002
Will students put more time into studying for a course if it means they're
more likely to get a better grade? D'es a Web-based format and immediate feedback
encourage students to use a study tool more than they would use a printed workbook?
What is the benefit to instructors of online study tools? These products seem
handy, but do they really work?
These are fundamental questions one could ask of any online study guide, workbook, or quiz package. Until they are tested, no one knows how effective such tools are. Last fall, instructors from several universities piloted a new product called GradeSummit to determine its usefulness as a study tool for courses in history, life sciences, chemistry, economics, and psychology.
One of the pilots was conducted at the University of Mississippi, where professor Michael Namorato tried GradeSummit in his American history survey, which enrolls 180 students. Says Namorato, "I was surprised how many students participated in the pilot. I offered extra credit for students who completed a series of assignments, which included at least 40 minutes on the 15 topics and passing an exam. Over half of the course completed the extra credit work."
Students also completed an evaluation of the product, calling it useful practice, helpful review, and good use of technology. Most students found the quizzes helpful study aids and appreciated the benefits of repetition from the lectures and textbook. Notes Namorato, "The biggest asset of the product is repetition. History is full of so many details that getting the material again and again really helps."
There were a few bugs, notably answers that didn't seem to fit the question and a couple of technical glitches. Still, students were able to navigate through the online material easily. Based on their feedback, Namorato is assigning GradeSummit to his American history survey course in the spring.
Although Namorato used the product as a study and diagnostic tool, GradeSummit can be used in a variety of ways. The product is primarily a diagnostic tool and includes thousands of questions written and peer-reviewed by professors in those fields. Students get immediate feedback on the quizzes. Instructors can also use the results of student work to tailor upcoming lectures, conduct student assessments, or even test students. By using the online tool, instructors could presumably save time they would otherwise spend on exams.
The online content is generic but parallels the information found in major texts for the courses covered. Because GradeSummit is a product of a collaboration between the GradeSummit company and McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., it is no surprise that the books GradeSummit links to are McGraw-Hill publications. However, both companies insist that the product is usable with any core textbook. McGraw-Hill offers the product as a bundled item with one of its texts or as a stand-alone item. Within a year, GradeSummit plans to release additional products for courses in accounting as well as geology, sociology, political science, business, and upper-division chemistry and economics.
For more information on the GradeSummit pilot program, contact Mike Namorato at hsmvn@olemiss.edu.
Recommended Reading
- Sun, Stanford Working To Archive History
In May in San Francisco, experts from leading universities, libraries, and research institutions around the world met as part of an ongoing effort to address a pressing issue: archiving the world's history, right up to today.
- The Quilt Coalition Rolls Out XO Communications for High-Capacity Network Services
The Quilt, a coalition of 28 regional network organizations, has added XO Communications Services to its authorized vendor list. The Quilt represents 200 universities and thousands of other educational institutions across the United States. With this new relationship, Quilt members can purchase XO's high-speed IP transit and network transport services at competitive rates.
- Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Wimba launched a new version of Wimba Classroom, the virtual classroom component of the company's Collaboration Suite. The new 5.2 release expands options for classroom capture and adds a variety of other functional and ease of use features.
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- Cognos Releases BI Software for Linux-based IBM System z Mainframe
Cognos, which IBM acquired in January, has released an update to its business intelligence software that will run on the Linux operating system on IBM System z mainframes. IBM Cognos 8 BI was being developed by the two companies prior to the acquisition, but assimilation of Cognos into IBM accelerated development.
- Facebook and Collegiality: A Serendipitous Social Niche
Facebook is a way to greet a colleague as if she or he is on your own campus: a wave at a distance, a hello at the corner burrito place, a honk as you both leave the campus parking lot. Informal collegiality has been extended over the miles.
