Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:20:39.028Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Online Homework for Agricultural Economics Instruction: Frankenstein's Monster or Robo TA?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Roger A. Dahlgran*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Abstract

This paper describes the programming required for online homework, evaluates its use, and presents methods for student identification and for processing student input. Online homework applications were evaluated in a real class setting. Generally, online homework is cost effective for large classes that have numerous assignments and repeated usage. Online homework appears to increase learning through increased student study-time allocations. Students felt that online homework made course website interaction more productive. They also indicated that online homework increased their perception of the value of lectures and that its use in other courses would be welcome. All findings were highly statistically significant.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ActiveState. ActivePerl: The Industry-Standard Perl Distribution. Internet site: http://www.activestate.com/products/activeperl/ (Accessed February 14, 2007).Google Scholar
Agarwal, R., and Day, A.E.The Impact of the Internet on Economic Education.” Journal of Economic Education 29(Spring 1998):99110.Google Scholar
Barkley, A.P.An Analysis of Online Examinations in College Courses.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 34(December 2002):445–58.Google Scholar
Barkley, A.P., and Haycock, A.Development and Use of the Homework Helper, an Online Homework Grader.” NACTA Journal 45(March 2001):2732.Google Scholar
Becker, W.E.Teaching Economics to Undergraduates.” Journal of Economic Literature 35(September 1997):1347–73.Google Scholar
Becker, W.E., and Watts, M.Teaching Tools: Teaching Methods in Undergraduate Economics.” Economic Inquiry 33(October 1995):692700.Google Scholar
Becker, W.E., and Watts, M.Chalk and Talk: A National Survey on Teaching Undergraduate Economics.” American Economic Review 86(May 1996):448–53.Google Scholar
Blackboard. “Educate. Innovate. Everywhere.” Internet site: http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.Bb (Accessed February 12, 2007a).Google Scholar
Blackboard. “Blackboard Inc. Completes Merger with WebCT, Inc.” Press release, February 28, 2006. Internet site: http://www.blackboard.com/company/press/release.aspx? id=822607 (Accessed February 12, 2007b).Google Scholar
Blackboard. “Blackboard and WebCT Complete Merger.” Internet site: http://www.blackboard.com/webct (Accessed July 16, 2007c).Google Scholar
Castro, E. Perl and CGI for the World Wide Web, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2001.Google Scholar
Clark, R.E.Media Will Never Influence Learning.” Educational Technology Research and Development 42(1994, no. 2):2129.Google Scholar
Connor, L.J.Design and Management of Teaching Programs with Survival in Mind.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 37(August 2005):489–97.Google Scholar
Dahlgran, R.A.Internet Usage in Agricultural Economics Instruction.” NACTA Journal 47(March 2003):813.Google Scholar
Dahlgran, R.A. “AREC/ECON/FIN 313 The Economics of Futures Markets.” Internet site: http://arec.arizona.edu/arec313. (Accessed October 15, 2007a).Google Scholar
Dahlgran, R.A. “Econ 518 Course Website.” Internet site: http://arec.arizona.edu/econ518. (Accessed October 15, 2007b).Google Scholar
Dalgaard, B.R., Lewis, D.R., and Boyer, C.M.Cost and Effectiveness Considerations in the Use of Computer-Assisted Instruction in Economics.” Journal of Economic Education 15(Fall 1984):309–23.Google Scholar
Desire2Learn. “Desire2Learn Innovative Learning Technology.” Internet site: http://www.desire21earn.com/ (Accessed February 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Dubois, J.Win32::OLE.” The Perl Journal 10(Summer 1998). Internet site: http://search.cpan.org/dist/libwin32/OLE/lib/Win32/OLE/TPJ.pod. (Accessed February 14, 2007).Google Scholar
Flanagan; D. JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd ed. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly and Associates, 1997.Google Scholar
Goffe, W.L., and Soskin, K.Teaching with Technology: May You Live in Interesting Times.” Journal of Economic Education 36(Summer 2005):278–90.Google Scholar
Goodman, D. JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook. Sebastapol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates, Inc., 2003.Google Scholar
Greene, W.H. Econometric Analysis. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990.Google Scholar
Hart, C., Kauffman, J., Sussman, D., and Ullman, C. Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 with C#. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2006.Google Scholar
Kolb, D.A. Experiential Learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1984.Google Scholar
Kozma, R.B.Will Media Influence Learning? Reframing the Debate.” Educational Technology Research and Development 42(1994, no. 2):719.Google Scholar
Lewis, D.R., Dalgaard, B.R., and Boyer, C.M.Cost Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Economics Instruction.” American Economic Review 75(May 1985):9196.Google Scholar
Lowe, D. ASP.NET 2.0 Everyday Apps for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2006.Google Scholar
Meltzer, K., and Michalski, B. Writing CGI Applications with Perl. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2001.Google Scholar
Microsoft. Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition Download. Internet site: http://msdn. microsoft.com/vstudio/express/ (Accessed January 21, 2007).Google Scholar
Molnar, J.J., and Fields, D.Using the Internet for Instruction: Experiences, Possibilities, and Considerations.” NACTA Journal 48(December 2004):1219.Google Scholar
MySQL. MySql Downloads. Internet site: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/ (Accessed February 14, 2007).Google Scholar
O’Kane, M., and Armstrong, J.D.Developing Course Materials Using the World Wide Web.” NACTA Journal 41(June 1997):1015.Google Scholar
Perl. Downloading the Latest Version of Perl. Internet site: http://www.perl.com/download.csp (Accessed February 14, 2007).Google Scholar
PHP. PHP 5.2.1 Complete Source Code. Internet site: http://www.php.net/downloads.php (Accessed February 14, 2007).Google Scholar
Ramstad, E.A Campus Connected.” The Wall Street Journal (12 March 2001):R25.Google Scholar
Ross, S.M.Delivery Trucks of Groceries? More Food for Thought on Whether Media (Will, May, Can’t) Influence Learning.” Educational Technology Research and Development 42(1994, no. 2):56.Google Scholar
Roth, D. Win 32 Perl Programming: The Standard Extensions, 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN, New Riders Publishing (www.newriders.com), 2002.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. SAS/STAT 9 User’s Guide, Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc., 2002.Google Scholar
Schwartz, R.L., and Phoenix, T. Learning Perl, 3rd ed. Sebastapol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates, Inc., 2001.Google Scholar
Simkins, S.P.Promoting Active-Student Learning Using the World Wide Web in Economics Courses.” Journal of Economic Education 30(Summer 1999):278–87.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G.W., and Cochran, W.G. Statistical Methods, 6th ed. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1967.Google Scholar
Stephenson, K., Reaves, W., McGuirk, A., and Deskins, H.Assessments of the Educational Value of Web-Based Instructional Materials for Introductory Agricultural Economics.” Review of Agricultural Economics 23(Fall/Winter 2001):492509.Google Scholar
Vachris, M.A.Teaching Principles of Economics Without ‘Chalk And Talk’: The Experience of CNU Online.” Journal of Economic Education 30(Summer 1999):292303.Google Scholar
Wall, L., Christiansen, T., and Orwant, J. Programming Perl, 3rd ed. Sebastapol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates, Inc., 2000.Google Scholar