The online method consisted of the following steps: (1) Obtain homework document from instructor's web page, (2) Complete homework, (3) Submit responses online at course website, (4) Get correct responses immediately from course website, and (5) Verify that credit was recorded in the grade book. The BlackBoard CourseInfo course management system hosted the course website, and provided the assessment and grade book functions. (Online method and BlackBoard are used interchangeably in this research. References to BlackBoard in this paper imply the CourseInfo product). The instructor's web page on the university server provided "static" homework documents, because students preferred to complete the homework prior to beginning the online assessment.
A student completed the homework "offline," and then submitted his or her responses at the course website on the university's course management system (in this case, BlackBoard CourseInfo Version 5.1). The student got correct responses immediately, and could verify that credit was recorded in the online grade book.
Student preferences were measured with a survey instrument. The survey was administered to students in courses that used the online homework method. The findings of Study One are presented next.