Let's discuss the availability of hw solutions online.
We all know that many homework solutions are available online. With current search technology, it is easier than ever to find a specific solution one is looking for. Does looking at these solutions hinder learning? Is it ethical to look at them? What is the best way for a professor to deal with the availability of homework solutions online?
Let's discuss this "forum style" below.
- Something interesting happened on the ECE301 page (Spring 2009) the other day: somebody revealed that there is an online version of the solution manual and gave the link for it. I personally have known about the existence of this online solution manual for a long time, so in the past I have always taken that into account when assigning homework in ECE301. But I suspect many professors are unaware that the answers to the homework questions they give can be found online. It would be nice to hear what students have to say about that. Mboutin 15:53, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
- I think looking at online solutions is cheating. Anybody caught doing it should be punished. --Alibaba 16:12, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
- Mmmmm… I think is a little bit insensitive to say that looking to solutions online is cheating. First, the objective of homework is to motivate students to familiarize with the course concepts, and develop a set of desired skills. Taking a look to a solution is part of that learning process. The unethical behavior shows up when the student does not study and/or does not try to first solve the problems without a solution. If the student works very hard on the homework without looking to a solution, then the objective of the teacher was accomplished—the professor made the student to study, think, and learn. Consequently, there is no problem with the student searching for extra help. Moreover, finding a solution (after trying the problem by him/herself) may help the student to learn where is his/her mistake. --Hsantosv 16:34, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
- While it may technically be cheating for a student to find answers online, it would be very hard to regulate this form of cheating. I agree with Hsantosv in taking the "spirit" of homework rules above the "letter" of homework rules by saying that any supplementary help in doing the homework, be it a solution manual or studying with friends, is helping the student learn despite producing an element of unoriginality in the student's submitted answers. Resourcefulness in finding helpful references is an important skill for an engineer to have, however how this skill is wielded will either advance or hinder an engineer's overall effectiveness; e.g. using a solution manual to check your work will help reveal your specific mistakes, but copying from the manual will give no reference to your own performance and understanding. In the end, it is the student's choice how he will utilize available resources (to his advantage or disadvantage). It would be naive to ignore the accessibility of online solutions, so I feel it is better to present those available up front, with the Professor's knowledge, as was done in the ECE301 course which Mimi referenced, and in an ECE608 course I took several semesters ago. Now, particularly in undergraduate courses, it may be productive to "protect" students from their own temptations by also assigning original homework problems for which there are no online solutions (which was done in ECE301 after the online solutions were posted). I feel, however, that there is still something to gain from assigning problems for which the students do have access to the solutions, since it will drive at least some of the students to work problems and check their own work. --Landis Huffman 19:48, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
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