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We have used SmartWork at Lehigh University for three semesters. I taught the class for one of those semesters and look forward to using SmartWork in the coming (spring 2009) term. Lehigh was one of the testing sites for the software, so we had access to it before adopting Chemistry: The Science in Context (1). Our course averages 250–300 students in each semester of Chemistry I, and 80–100 students in Chemistry II. At present, both courses are using SmartWork. Previously we used SmartWork with General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications (2); we encountered no difficulties using SmartWork with that text even though it is published by Pearson/Prentice Hall. SmartWork costs $15/student to purchase a registration code for the homework with a used text for 183 days of access; but the software access can be packaged with textbooks at a special price.
As a faculty member, I find SmartWork easy to navigate; the students have not had difficulty in registering for the sessions that are set up for each specific course section. The publisher can provide Webinar-type training, but I did not attend a session. As with almost any technology, there have been some technical problems; the most common one is that a few students lost access during the semester. There were not many such incidents, and all were resolved within 12 hours of my request for help.
Our campus course management system is Blackboard (3), and SmartWork integrates easily with that. One downloads the grade book from the homework system and then uploads it to Blackboard. As long as students have registered their Lehigh email addresses, the upload has worked fine.
The problem content of SmartWork is more than adequate for our needs; there are many problems in each chapter from which to choose. We use the system only for homework, but one can also administer quizzes. There are enough problems available to support both activities.
I really like the SmartWork system. I have used other online homework systems in the past, but I always felt the questions were confined to a certain type—equation editors didn’t work well—so mainly calculation or multiple choice questions were chosen. SmartWork has a user-friendly equation editor and students can incorporate charges with appropriate signs, balance equations, and insert formulas with subscripts quite easily. In later chapters, students can even build molecules. They like the ability to attempt the problems and get feedback if their answers are not correct. Students work the problem until they get it correct, or the system doesn’t give them credit for it. We make the homework assignment re-workable for a week and give a final deadline for submission of the assignment. Since they are re-workable, students usually receive full credit for the assignments. Both my students and I like the fact that there are many different types of questions available for each topic and that they can rework a question if the first (or second) answer is incorrect.
Students are more likely to do homework administered through SmartWork because they are earning points in the course by submitting their final problem set. If I just assign homework questions at the back of each chapter, it is unlikely that even five percent of the class will work them. I cannot hand grade homework assignments for a class of 250–300 students, so this option works very well for me. I get feedback by viewing individual problems for errors.
Literature Cited
- Gilbert, Thomas R.; Kirss, Rein V.; Foster, Natalie; Davies, Geoffrey. Chemistry: The Science in Context, 2nd ed.; W. W. Norton: New York, 2008.
- Petrucci, Ralph.; Harwood, William S.; Herring, Geoffrey. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications, 9th ed.; Pearson/Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2007.
- Information about Blackboard (accessed Feb 2009).
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