Do You Use Cramster? Course Hero?
Tuesday May 19, 2009
Lisa W. Foderaro wrote for the New York Times Sunday about student Web sites like Cramster and Course Hero, and how they're changing the way students study and teachers teach.
On one hand, the sites are a great way for students to learn from each other, to investigate what they got wrong on a test, to find the correct solution to math equations they missed. On the other, it can be a strong temptation to cheat.
How do you use student help sites? Have you ever been tempted to cheat?
There is a teaching side to this issue.
“As faculty, we need to be better educated about what the possibilities are, and the truth is you can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” said David A. Sachs, an associate dean in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University.
What are your thoughts about this? As either a student or a teacher.
Comments
I’m a college student and I’ve been using Cramster for about a year now.
The site has never tempted me to cheat… because I only access it when I’m doing homework (which my prof. assigns for practice) or when I’m studying for a test. I’d like to know how professors feel about it. Hopefully they’re ok with it because it has really helped my grades.
I’ve heard of CourseHero but haven’t tried it yet.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for sharing your experience with Cramster. I have a feeling most students use it like you do, for honest help. People who use it for cheating will probably cheat any way they can. I, too, am hoping we’ll hear from some teachers.
Sorry, Deb. Most students use cramster to have other people do their homework for them. How do I know? I found cramster in January 2008. I knew some of my students never came to me for homework help and they were doing weird things with their homework. So I searched the web and found cramster. I’ve been active on cramster since then, primarily to make sure that none of my students are using it. But most of the users simply post their homework on cramster and wait for someone to do it for them. They only give the highest rating to a response if you give a full solution, with all calculations and answers. Most of the students have online homework, so they just copy the answer from cramster into their homework system. This isn’t just a feeling… this is my conclusion from my first-hand experience, spending more hours than you can imagine on cramster in the past 18 months.
I was wondering. Thanks for sharing your experience, John. How disappointing, but not really surprising, I guess. I hope there are other students like Michelle who use it honestly. What a shame that you’ve had to spend so much time investigating. How do students who cheat with Cramster on homework pass the test?
Deb–
You raise an important question about the irresponsible use of Cramster and test scores. A student who wants to do the minimum and copy homework, grab a friend’s lecture notes instead of attending class, or collaborate on a take-home exam, can find the medium that suits his desire – whether that medium is in a library or on Cramster. But in the end, exams are the great equalizer. For the most part, students are judged by their performance on exams – the students who take short-cuts along the way will be penalized.
John–
I am sorry to hear that you have a poor perception of Cramster.com. The instances you describe of students copy/pasting solutions are instances of plagiarism. We do not tolerate plagiarism, and invite you to email integrity@cramster.com with any questions or concerns. For more information, please see our
Anti-Cheating Policy.
I recently posted a blog questioning readers about the ethics of online homework help, and found the user-submitted comments to be quite insightful– read them here.
Finally, John, I would like to continue this conversation and use your experiences and suggestions to improve upon the Cramster.com learning model. I can be reached via email: carleigh@cramster.com, or phone: 626.737.0393×707.
Carleigh McKenna
Marketing/Communications Associate
Cramster.com
Well guys I’ve never used cramster for asking doubts but I do indeed feel quite similar to John. Some students like Michelle here are very much thoughtful and some even ask not to or don’t expect you to give away the final answer. However how many are indeed sincere students ? So, it’s not got much to do with cramster. They would get the answers from their friends anyway. And some are pathetic enough to rate you not helpful for just leaving out the final answer !!!
I am currently Graduate Student and I discovered Cramster and Course Hero about a year ago. I have only used these websites as a study aid.
While I wouldn’t ever condone cheating, I do think collaboration amongst students can help improve a student’s performance. If the goal is truly for students to learn and perform well, collaboration between students can enhance learning not hinder it, and isn’t that in the best interest of both students and educators? There are many students (including myself) who want to know how to study effectively, where to concentrate their focus, or how to meet the expectations of a particular professor in a particular course. When used for these purposes, I would say websites like these can help students collaborate and improve.
As for the professor who has searched for his students on these websites, I can certainly understand (and applaud) his desire to keep academic dishonesty in check by checking the websites to make sure his students are doing their own work. However, there should be a way for students to obtain help from peers without it being considered cheating. As for myself, I didn’t even know you could post homework on the website and have someone do it for you…but then again, I am not a math major, nor do I have any desire to cheat. In addition, I would be afraid to use a solution that was provided to me by someone else (especially someone I didn’t know) without first checking to make sure that it was actually the right answer. Not only that, but if I didn’t actually understand how the individual arrived at that answer, how would I be able to explain myself if questioned, replicate the work on an exam, or be able to follow the same steps if I was given another problem? Helping students solve complex equations can be a helpful learning tool, but only if it helps them understand HOW to do it themselves, so that their learning is enhanced, rather than circumvented.
I have always wanted to make sure the work I turn in is accurate and thorough, but I do want it to be my own work. I participated in many study groups and study sessions as an undergraduate, where several of us would meet, look over each other’s notes, quiz each other, hand out study guides, etc., in order to prepare for exams. I have seen classmates proof each other’s papers, correct each other’s homework, and give each other ideas on how they could improve. If I knew someone had already taken a class that I was interested in taking, I would ask what the individual thought of the class, how difficult the course work was, what material would be covered, etc., in order to know going into the course what was expected. I’ve never viewed these types of interactions amongst students as cheating, and I never felt that my professors did, either.
The fact that there are now websites available which allow more students to interact and collaborate can be a good thing, when used appropriately. Yes, there are always going to be a percentage of students who are simply looking for shortcuts and want to get an “Easy A” but those students have always existed. The fact that some individuals cheat shouldn’t stop students who are honest from trying to do everything they can to perform well in their classes. If the objective is to have highly motivated students who are willing to use all available resources to increase their knowledge and improve their ability to perform well in class and on examinations, then I would contend that websites such as these can be a good thing. I would hate to see a few “bad apples” spoil it for the rest of us.
Hi Brandy,
Thanks for such an insightful post. It’s nice to hear how sites likes these are used by students with integrity. I’m so glad they have been helpful to you, and appreciate that you shared your experience with others on the site. Thank you! I hope you’ll stick around and share your thoughts about other topics.
Deb
I’ve been using Course Hero and its been a useful tool in supplementing me in my notes and study guides. I agree with Brandy and feel that this site has effectively and efficiently help students study. I’m a hard working student who goes to all my classes, takes notes and does well on exams. But I know sometimes my notes might not be as thorough as I would like and finding material on Course Hero helps fill in those gaps. And so my studying has become more concentrated and effective on certain subjects that I would of missed without using notes other students have complied on the site. I think sites like these are the future for students and have changed the way students can become deeper and well rounded to succeed in their courses.
Education is a source of empowering knowledge and Course Hero has become another outlet for more of that knowledge. I think ultimately it will help students perform and meet all areas of academia.