Web-Based 24/7Practice and Feedback

http://dwb.unl.edu

Mastery Learning

Key notion is that students will meet established criteria.

This means that students need access to unlimited practice.

The WWW provides a wonderful medium for this.

Experience at UNL

• AP Chemistry (nearly 10 years)

• 15 courses in chemistry pedagogy for teachers

• Materials for teaching reading (underway)

DWB Server

• DWB servers have ~7 G traffic/month

• >50,000 ‘hits’ on midweek school days

By comparison, the CEHS has ~10G traffic/month including external backups.

24/7?

24/7 is not a myth.

We see traffic nearly every hour of the day, and we see traffic on both days of the weekend.

We peak Tues Wed Thurs during the school year.

Practice Item Formats

We have nine practice/test item formats.

Essay Format

Essays require human grading. The learner completes an essay. This is stored for reading, and the teacher receives an e-mail notice that an essay awaits reading. The learner sees a model response immediately. Reader comments are forwarded to the learner, but the essay is evaluated P/F.

Essay Format

Essay Feedback

Automatic Evaluation

All eight of the other formats are evaluated automatically, and feedback is sent to the learner.

Blank

This item format is open-ended. Many stems are possible, and each stem can accept numerous answers.

“Incorrect” answers are stored for purposes of evaluating the question.

Blank Format

Blank Format

Multiple Choice

A standard format where may different stems are possible (up to 9), many foils are possible (up to 8), and the order is variable. Also, the feedback can be specific for each foil.

Multiple Choice Format

Multiple Choice Format

Check

Check is a sort of multiple multiple choice. There is one stem, and there are two groups of responses -- accepted and incorrect. The number of correct and incorrect can be varied, so the appearance of the question changes. Learners need to check the accepted answers.

A question might be ‘Which of these persons has served as president of the United States,’ and Benjamin Franklin is an incorrect choice.

Check Format

Rank

Given a list, the learner is asked to rank the list (highest to lowest, smallest to biggest, earliest to latest).

Rank Format

Matrix

In this format, learners assign a label to each of several members of a list. It’s a sort of matching format.

Matrix Format

T/F

A paired list of items is stored, one true and one false. A number of these are selected, ordered randomly, and either the true of the false version is included in the item.

Matching

One or several stems are provided, and the ‘matches’ are chose from button drop-down list.

Matching Format

Short

The most powerful items we have are short answer. They look very much like ‘Blank.’ However, each one is individually programmed.

In some chemistry instances, millions of variations are possible -- different chemical reactions, different substances, different amounts, different conditions, etc. The answers are judged to be within an accepted range. Significant figures are evaluated.

Short Format

Short Format Feedback

Short -- Feedback

The key feature of the ‘Short’ format is that the learner is shown a worked-out example for the problem using exactly the same reactions, substances, amounts, etc.

Learning from worked-out examples has very good learning outcomes.

Short (Chemistry)

Chemistry Feedback

Making This Happen

Developing an appropriate, functioning practice system requires a great deal of work.

If you want to just write items, look for a commercial program. I heartily recommend EDU developed by my colleague, John Orr.

http://www.brownstone.net/

Old Back-end

I’ve used HyperCard to run behind my Web materials for almost 10 years.

HC is no longer supported. You can’t buy a Mac that will start on System 9.2 any more.

Runtime Revolution

A tool for rapid application developmenthttp://www.runrev.com

I admit to being very fond, possibly inappropriately fond of this application (RunRev).

Runtime Revolution

Apache is the server software.The action statement in the form is directed to

RunRev.ACGI Dispatcher generates an AppleEvent. RunRev

detects this event (with a handler).Information is passed to RunRev.RunRev scripts parse and process the information,

creating whatever responses are needed. Responses go back to the sender through Apache.

Our Servers

Typical Course

Item Buttons Disappear

Item buttons disappear when a learner logs on after the item has been successfully completed.

HC (3/28/04)

HC Example

WebStar (3/28/04 -- 12:15 PM)

Hub (RR, replaces HC Home)

Library Stack

Example Script

Projects

Impact of self-explanation on student learning in chemistry.

Teaching reading.

Communications systems for Our Zoo to YOU.

Projects

Database. Developing database (MySQL) structure for analysis of learning.

Learning RunRev

I will be teaching RunRev in TEAC 882A this fall. This is not a distance course. Meets Wednesdays, 7-10 PM at UNL.

Questions

Trial copy from: http://www.runrev.com

Various pricings. A serious license is $1K/y, but a really good stand-alone copy of the application is ~$150.