Students at the University of Nebraska and Lehigh University class tested SmartWork and had this to say about it:
About SmartWork’s hinting and answer feedback
“It was always surprising when my hints seemed to ‘know’ what I did wrong.”
“The system lets you actually learn from your homework by letting you check your answer, get hints, and receive feedback.”
“There were times that I didn’t understand something in lecture & after the practice from SmartWork, I fully understood it.”
“Hints were very helpful—almost always helped me correct an answer.”
“It helped me address my mistakes 80% of the time.”
“The hints usually got me going in the right direction … If I initially didn’t know how to get started on a problem, I used hints.”
About what surprised them most about SmartWork
“How much it helped me.”
“It was a great system that made doing homework easier and more efficient.”
“How easy it was to use—I really liked it a lot!”
“All the different types of questions that could be asked, i.e. multiple-choice, structures, etc.”
“The tools given really enable the user to enter an answer as if they were doing it on paper with all the arrows, subunits, symbols, etc.”
General comments on SmartWork
“It’s awesome … the trial and error aspect guarantees good grades as well as allows you to learn.”
“I would implement the SmartWork system as my way of doing homework.”
“It was very helpful. It definitely improved my understanding of the material.”
“[Tools] were clearly marked and easy to use.”