College students prefer online homework rather than handwritten due to its beneficial use by both students and professors

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With the increasing use of technology in the classroom, many college professors have required assignments to be submitted online rather than submitting a paper assignment in class. This switch from paper-based homework to web-based homework over the past few years has led to differences in classroom performance as well as an overall student preference to complete homework online.

Courses in all fields of academia such as math, science, and english courses have been using online tools and websites for students to complete and submit their homework. In all fields, most students preferred to complete assignments online rather than with pen and paper.

This overwhelming preference of completing online assignments leads to question if there are any benefits or drawbacks associated with either method. Although research has found little to no difference in classroom performance based on both homework methods, there have been found benefits to both students and professors for completing homework assignments online.

Researchers found the benefit of online homework being faster, easier, and more convenient for both students and professors 

The study previously mentioned at The University of Tennessee at Martin and Western Illinois University also analyzed the benefits and drawbacks associated with online homework. Researchers asked what students overall liked and disliked about completing their homework online. 

The like likes of students included that the online homework was faster, easier, and more convenient, allowed one to get immediate feedback on their grade, and allowed them to submit the assignment before it was due thus "getting ahead." The dislikes of online homework included the possibility of getting locked out and technical difficulties with the computer or Internet. 

The researchers also analyzed the benefits and drawbacks online homework had for the professor of the class. The benefits found included freedom from students copying or distributing their work and also freedom from scoring the homework by hand. The drawbacks included the effort that was put into managing the online work such as setting up the assignments, training the students to use the software, and troubleshooting the software with student problems. 

Although there were several drawbacks to online homework, the benefits seemed to outweigh the consequences. The overwhelming preference of online homework can be attributed to the benefits associated with it. The research suggests that an increased use in online homework along with becoming more familiar with the software will decrease the amount of drawbacks. 

The views on the benefits and drawbacks of online homework can differ based on the preference of the professor. Graduate Coordinator of The Center for Teaching Excellence at The University of Maryland Emily Grossnickle responded to whether she believed there were any benefits associated with online assignments. She discussed how online assignments are a newer approach that may be more meaningful to students and that you can do more online than you can do with paper.
                                         

Despite student preference of web-based homework, researchers found the classroom performance to be comparable between web-based homework and paper-based homework

Researchers at several different universities have compared the classroom performance of students based on their method of completing homework assignments in various courses. In response to every study, students were found to prefer completing homework online rather than handwritten. In each case, results revealed that there was no significant difference in performance based on the students method of completing the assignments.

At The University of Tennessee at Martin and Western Illinois University, researchers compared the preference and student performance in completing online homework and pen and paper homework in an international marketing course. 

This study used two groups in their research methods: a pen and paper group, and an online group. Both groups obtained the homework, completed, and submitted their homework corresponding to their assigned method. When the homework was submitted, it was graded and results followed assessing the performance on the homework and the student's preference. 

The results found that 90 percent of students preferred the online method, leaving only 10 percent preferring the pen and paper method. The performance on the assignments however showed no significant difference between both methods.

Quiz 11

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Despite the calming efforts of scientists and health professionals, recent Ebola aid workers are viewed as a threat in their local communities and are therefore receiving medical treatment and being quarantined even though it is not necessary.

Students Found The Web Beneficial To Learning Based On The Purpose Of The Web Usage

New is not always better: active learning is more successful without the use of technology

In this digital age it is common to see laptops and tablets used in college courses. The question that comes into play is whether or not these technological devices are beneficial to the learning process. Research suggests that taking notes the old-fashioned way with pen and paper allows for better learning of a subject than with laptops. The reasoning behind this argument is that writing notes by hand lets students’ process information better, whereas laptops create distraction and make the user take part in multitasking. Although laptops are convenient from time to time, I have found that I take more comprehensive notes by hand and can better recall the information I have written down. While technology is a growing aspect in our society, going back to basic techniques such as handwritten notes may have a significant impact on our lives.

Researchers found longhand note taking to be more beneficial than laptop usage, allowing students to synthesize and process the information they were learning

Researchers at the Princeton and the University of California, Los Angeles have conducted several studies on the advantages of taking notes by hand instead of on a laptop in the article “The Pen Is Mightier Than The Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking”. There were three studies that tested the participants on overall, factual, and conceptual performance based on their use of laptops or with pen and paper. These studies looked at the performance of laptop and longhand participants after taking notes on a lecture. The analysis revealed a pattern between the performance, word count, and verbatim overlap. They found that the more notes that were taken, the better the performance. Laptop users showed to take more notes, but also showed to have higher verbatim overlap. However, the study also found that high verbatim overlap led to worse performance. They suggested that the high verbatim overlap from laptop use had a negative effect on the performance and thus suggested the benefit of longhand note taking. They reached the conclusion that although laptop users wrote more notes, they tended to be written verbatim and mindlessly. This conclusion supported the longhand note takers who were able to process and synthesize the information they were learning, showing benefit over laptop usage.

Laptop usage was found to have negative consequences to other students in the classroom according to researchers 

Similar research has been conducted by researchers at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in their article “Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms: A Formative Analysis”. This study examined the benefits and consequences from students in higher education and their use of laptops for note taking as they have become more popular in classes over the past few years. The results found that there were several benefits to laptop usage such as note taking and academic activities. However, there was a negative consequence with laptop usage and that was causing distraction to other students in the room. This leads to a discussion of whether the benefits outweigh the consequences. Going back to the previous study, they would suggest that the benefits found in this study do not outweigh the consequences due to the results they found in quality of notes that were taken.

Although active learning is most successful using longhand note-taking techniques, the technique is ultimately based on the preference of the students

Despite the growing popularity of laptop usage in class, one might consider the potential negative effects it can have to their learning. Although laptop usage allows for more note taking, the results found in the first study mentioned showed that they were verbatim and did not allow the student to process and synthesize the information as well as longhand note takers. The other issue that comes with laptop uses was mentioned in the second study, where it caused distraction, not just to the user but to others in the classroom. It is important to consider all these factors to see which will be the most beneficial. Taking the results of these studies into consideration will allow you to decide if using a laptop in the class is right for you.   

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