41–50 of 158 posts
The high enough level of the tasks beats any cheating attempts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Homework's largely supposed to be about reinforcing the lesson for math courses. For other courses it's largely about reading which shouldn't be done in class. Tests/essays are for assessment.
Then why should homework be factored into grades at all?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then why should homework be factored into grades at all?
Incentive to do it.
As an aside, I see the point in learning new things, sometimes by pure memorization. But this does little to actually understand what's going on. But again, the Professor priesthood sees hazing as a rite of passage.
It is not cheating. It is leveling the playing field. Some students will inevitably have access to tutors or parents who can give them the full answer. With wolfram|Alpha all students have access to this. What this really show is that homework isn't the best tool for gauging student prowess.
This is not even remotely true. I think you seriously under-estimate the value of parents/tutors.
Students with tutors/parents will not just get the right answer. They will also be led to the right answer, over and over, and told what they need to practice in order to improve. Explanations will be tailored to their learning style. So they get direct help on assignments, but they also get regular indications about how to improve their performance in scenarios where they don't have that help.
Wolfram Alpha just gives the answer.
If homework in 90% of the grade, maybe it levels the playing field for letter grades in the course course... until a few years down the road when the student who didn't actually learn the material is screwed and has no way of catching up.
If homework is a more reasonable 20-50% of the grade, then the reckoning comes at midterm/final time.
> What this really show is that homework isn't the best tool for gauging student prowess
Well, that's certainly true.
It is not cheating. It is leveling the playing field. Some students will inevitably have access to tutors or parents who can give them the full answer. With wolfram|Alpha all students have access to this. What this really show is that homework isn't the best tool for gauging student prowess.
A machine usually doesn't help if you don't understand the concepts. If your stuck on a problem and one step along the way was off I can see how Wolfram alpha can help.
I would bet the vast majority of students are using Wolfram Alpha to complete homework.
Maybe when you ask general questions it uses an AI, but with functions and maths I think it only uses Mathematica.
You may cheat all you want on your homework, but if calculus tests are like they were when I was in college, taking your exam with no notes or calculator, if you've only cut and pasted from Wolfram Alpha all semester is going to lead you to getting an F in the course.
But it might seem like good time management to have Wolfram Alpha do your homework sometimes. That means it's going to take longer for a teacher to notice that you're not getting a concept well, and that means a lot more painful surprise-F's on tests.
As an employer, if I hire you to do a task, let's say build a toaster, I couldn't care less about how you achieved that - as long as I've got my toaster and it can help me grow my toast-making business I'm happy. Education should work the same.