I have watched many of my colleagues—with very different technology backgrounds—learn to use WebAssign very quickly. They may not utilize all of the available features during their first semester using it, but as their skills and confidence grow, there always seems to be another useful feature to discover. I have found WebAssign to be extremely adaptable to each instructor’s needs since he or she can do as little or as much as wanted within WebAssign. For example, an instructor can simply assign homework and download the grades to an Excel file; or he or she can utilize the homework, the announcements feature, the message boards, the built-in email system, and the grade book. In fact, I use my institution’s version of Blackboard/WebCT (1) only to post lecture notes and other class resources.

Perhaps the most important aspect of an online homework system is, “How do the students like it?” Typically students find WebAssign to be very user-friendly. Of course it is homework, but I think that students find it a little more fun than paper homework. They like being able to get immediate feedback on their answers (no matter what time of day or night), and they like having multiple submissions so they can go back, check their work, and often find their mistakes. Their least favorite aspect of numerical questions is significant figures. Students can be given no credit for answers with the incorrect number of significant figures, given partial credit for getting a correct answer with the wrong number of significant figures, or this feature can be turned off so significant figures are not checked at all. I check for significant figures throughout the semester because this encourages students to continually review these rules and use them properly in the laboratory portion of the course.

My favorite features of WebAssign are the randomizations, the Message Boards, and the grade book. First, even with a very large class, the randomizations in the available questions restrict students from simply copying answers from their friends. They must discuss the method by which an answer was found in order to solve a different randomization. It is my hope that this reinforces the process of problem solving, not just memorizing.

Second, the Message Boards provide a mechanism to efficiently help students with the homework problems before they are past due. I can answer student questions online where all students in the course can read my responses. I can correct misconceptions and monitor students’ understanding of important concepts while they are working on the assignments. Since TAs and other students can also contribute help through this tool, it is a great way to encourage cooperative learning.

Third, using the WebAssign grade book, students can monitor all their grades in my course throughout the semester. TAs even enter lab grades directly into the grade book. As a result, no one can come to me at the end of the semester and say they did not know how they were doing in my class.

The technical assistance at WebAssign is very quick and thorough. I can contact them with a question or a problem and get an answer the next business day, if not before. Also, if it feels like an emergency, a user can call and speak with someone who can usually talk them through a solution. When you are getting started, WebAssign will send out a representative to conduct a training session. The staff has always worked very hard to help me adapt the program to my needs and has done what was necessary on their end to help me and my students.

One unique aspect of WebAssign is that it is not owned by a publishing company, so its users are not limited to one publisher’s textbooks: they support more than 400 textbooks in 11 different disciplines, including 122 titles in chemistry alone (2). One major advantage to WebAssign is being able to change textbooks (and even publishers) without learning a new online homework system. I have used it with two Pearson Custom textbooks as well as with Silberberg’s Principles of General Chemistry (3) and Harris’ Quantitative Chemical Analysis (4). I was extremely pleased to find the transition from book to book so simple. Many of the end-of-chapter problems in supported textbooks are available for use in assignments with a simple search and selection tool. Each of these questions is coded to match the textbook wording with the advantage of at least five randomizations for most questions. Additionally, there are supplemental questions and test bank questions available for use for many textbooks (2).

Payment for WebAssign access can be made by either purchasing an access card in a campus bookstore or by paying directly online before a two-week grace period is over. Access cards can also be prepackaged with many textbooks. The basic, one-semester price for WebAssign access is $15.45 per course; this price can increase if enhanced content is added. Special pricing is available with some textbooks. More information on pricing can be found on the WebAssign Web site (5).

Literature Cited

1. Information about Blackboard/WebCT may be found online (accessed Feb 2009). WebCT, previously a separate course management provider, is now a part of Blackboard.
2. For a list of supported textbooks and more information about their support, go to the WebAssign Web site, (accessed Feb 2009) and select the Content tab.
3. Silberberg, Martin. Principles of General Chemistry; McGraw-Hill: New York, 2009.
4. Harris, Daniel C. Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th ed.; W. H. Freeman: New York, 2006.
5. Pricing information for WebAssign is available online (accessed Feb 2009) or contact WebAssign support.