Friday, January 13, 2012

InBox

I checked my email this morning and there's a polite note in there from a student wanting to know about using ebooks. I'm fine with students using ebooks in class, so long as they've got a glossary, notes, line numbers (or page numbers) and are decent editions. The one who emailed indicated that s/he'd be using a computer to read the text and bring it to class.

But here's the question: when I allow open text/open note essay exams, should I allow the computer to be used?

Yes? Sure, the student has been using it all semester and has his/her notes on there!

No? The student has access to the web and that may give an unfair advantage, or worse, the student may plagiarize and it would be a pain in the rear to find plagiarism on a hand written exam. Worse, if the student wanted to type his/her exam, that would seem to invite cutting and pasting.

***

One of the other things in my inbox came from our teaching center place offering us a class in using something called "Let Me Learn." I don't know what that is, but it sounds opposed to what I usually use, which are books labeled clearly "You are NOT allowed to learn!"

I wonder if the makers have any idea of the different meanings of "let"?

Edited to add: In my effort not to be a closed-minded jerk, I went and found the web site and looked around. And I went through their introductory powerpoint, complete with floaty words (you know, words floating onto the screen) and appearing pictures (the ones that appear in a windmill pattern or whatever).

If someone makes a craptastic powerpoint, do I trust them to teach anything in a useful way? Nope, alas, I don't. You?

4 comments:

  1. Clearly they mean the ME sense of "let," "disallow, prevent," as in the legal phrase "let and hindrance."

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  2. I used to give open book, open notes, open computer finals. Everyone in the class brought a laptop, so there wasn't unfair advantage. And they typed their responses and emailed them to me (they were told not to leave the room until they'd verified that I had received it) which meant that I had a much easier time grading -- deciphering handwritten, unspellchecked bluebooks is a pain.

    Leading up to the exam, though, one had to frequently remind them that the ability to copy and paste meant that regurgitation earned no credit

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  3. Crappy powerpoint usage should also disqualify you from other things, such as the right to vote.

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  4. What you said, Bardiac.

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