ORGANIC CHEMISTRY ONLINE HOMEWORK SYSTEMS Justin Houseknecht (Wittenberg University, Ohio)

Online Homework Systems  Relevance  Examined Aldehydes and Ketones chapters of:  Cengage’s OWL – McMurry  McGraw Hill’s Connect Plus – Carey, Smith  Pearson’s Mastering Chemistry – Bruice, Wade  Wiley’s Wiley Plus – Klein, Solomons  Sapling Learning – any, McMurry  Web Assign – any, McMurry

My Impressions  Cengage’s OWL is easy to use and tutorial  McGraw Hill’s LearnSmart  WileyPLUS is most powerful  Sapling Learning is between  Mastering Chemistry (Pearson) and Web Assign more limited

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Classify yes 13 no ID Unknowns yes1 no 3 62 Equilibrium yes no41 71

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results (cont) Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Mechanism yes 54 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno Relative Reactivity no Optical Rotation no 3 Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no

Quantitative Results - Summary Random?OWLSapling Web Assign Wiley Plus Mastering Chemistry Connect Nomenclature yes no Provide Products yes no Provide Reagents yes14 3 no Equilibrium yes no41 71 Mechanism yes 54 no Multistep Synthesis Steps yes 32 no Structuralno Spectroscopyno

(Non)Unique Features  Randomized questions  Hints and feedback  Improved student outcomes

Unique Features  OWL (Cengage)  Instruction oriented – Simulations and Tutorials  Very little synthesis practice  Easy to use / few choices  Includes many end-of-chapter questions  WileyPLUS  Opposite OWL – 32 RANDOM synthesis questions  14 random mechanism questions + linked mechanisms  Includes most book questions, all test bank questions

Unique Features  Connect and LearnSmart (McGraw-Hill)  Connect is mostly book questions, but not all questions from book are included  More multiple choice  Drawing interface was frustrating  LearnSmart useful for student self-assessment  Mastering Chemistry (Pearson)  Primarily book and test bank questions  Apparently no random items, but easy to pool

Unique Features  Sapling Learning  Between OWL and WileyPLUS  Answers not available online (?)  Well-balanced  Web Assign  Rather limited with respect to mechanism and synthesis

Conclusions  Most are highly viable options with OWL and WileyPLUS impressing me the most.  I’m happy to show anyone around these systems later today or tomorrow.

Acknowledgments  Kevin Bond, Wittenberg class of 2014  Zach Gamble, Sapling Learning  Sean Hickey, University of New Orleans, WileyPLUS  Stephanie Kahle, McGraw Hill