Part 1: Bibliographic Entry: 

 SERHAN, Derar, and Farouq ALMEQDAD. “MyMathLab & WebAssign: Students’ Perceptions of Their Use in Mathematics.” ISRES Publishing, 2019. 

Part 2: Terminology/Keywords:  

Web-based systems 

Web-Assign 

MyMathLab 

Math Education 

Paper-pencil homework 

Immediate feedback 

Flexibility 

Part 3: Précis: 

The author compares the results conducted in a study where 2 distinct groups of students utilized the 2 different web-based websites WebAssign and Mymathlab .The purpose of the study was to find out how students feel about these online websites. Some of WebAssign’s positives are that it gives immediate feedback, offers online tutoring while some disadvantages are that it is not easy to find examples as well as no face-to-face feedback. Some advantages of MYMathlab are multiple attempts, many resources like videos and being able to go back to work on it. Some disadvantages are system glitches (right answer but the system does not accept it, no partial credit and not being able to retain the knowledge. 

Part 4: Reflection: 

If the students in the participants class were in 2 different classes did, they both have the same level of difficulty because if one were easier, it would not be a fair case study. The author also states that MyMathLab creates “personalized adaptive study plan” how is that possible if everyone in the class is generated to follow the same schedule? I feel like I could look into a case study that has 2 similar level math classes with but instead of comparing 2 different online sources to compare 1 that uses paper H.W. versus one that uses online H.W to get an accurate result of which method work effectively. 

I feel like some of the disadvantages out way the advantages. Even though the high number of problems is meant for practice, what is the point of answering countless questions if you are getting them wrong only to not retain the information later. Personally, writing things down is going to help me remember them more than clicking on numbers online. And when you know you did everything right but for 1 step, but you cannot figure it out it only frustrates students and demotivates them to complete the work. 

Part 5: Quotables: 

“More studies are needed to explore how to improve students’ experiences with these systems and to further investigate the effects of online homework systems on student achievement and understanding.” 

“WebAssign is a flexible web-based instructional system. It provides learners with immediate feedback on their performance thus allowing them to do more practice in the areas they need most help with.” 

“MyMathLab creates a personalized adaptive study plan based on the collected data targeting each student’s individual strengths and weaknesses. 

Part 1: Bibliographic Entry: Rand, Seth. “24 Things to Consider When Designing and Developing a website.” Social Media Today, 6 Mar. 2014 

Part 2: Terminology/Keywords:  Domain name 

Hosting packages 

Backend services 

Brand’s identity 

Quality Design 

Call to Action  

Customer retention/short loading times 

SEO-friendly code 

Mobile sites vs. Responsible sites 

Captcha tests 

Offsite reviews 

Customer testimonials  

Comprehensive sitemap 

Part 3: Précis: The author summarizes ways to make a website more accessible and secure by including short loading times, having google verify the article, giving people easy access as well as having a straightforward design. The author gives 24 “needed” elements to having the ideal website. These include adding captcha tests, having great content, and making sure to engage with the viewer by making it easy for them to comment/contact the source. Some data that the author uses says is that “95% of mobile devices users count on their devices to search for local products and services” to show that the website needs to be accessible on all devices, especially mobiles. The author concluded website developers should develop their websites by seeing them from the viewer’s perspective to increase their efficiency. 

Part 4: Reflection: I agree with having shorter loading times as well as making the website functionable. Making the website functionable to is so important because I know how frustrated I would be if something did not work as it is supposed to. I need to research the effectiveness of captcha tests as well as how to attract viewers on a website. I am wondering how to make transitions (each page perfectly leads to the next) work efficiently no matter who the viewer is and that they do not encounter problems like “403-Error”. 

If websites like “College Board” and “Pearson”,” Big Ideas Math” are being used, why don’t we learn how to use these efficiently websites or why don’t we stick to 1 specific website for each need (switching resources every time feels like learning a new discourse over and over for the same reason?) What does it mean when it says a website is under maintenance? Fort example it says “This website won’t be available from November 15 6:00 am to Nov.18 6:00 does the website really change and if so, what is been updating exactly?  

Part 5: Quotables: “One way to improve a visitor’s ability to navigate your site easily (and help search engines crawl your site) is to add a site map. (section 7) 

“To increase customer retention and provide a positive user experience, periodically evaluate your website’s loading time once it has launched.” (section 10) 

“Adding these short tests to your contact forms will ensure that only humans are able to use your site’s resources – saving your business time and money.” (section16) 

I used Coggle to brainstorm ideas for the rhetorical analysis paper where I am comparing two different T.V shows Once Upon a Time and The Glory. This was a new experience for me, but it went well as it helped me compare and analyze the similarities and differences between the 2 sources. It also helped me jot down and organize some of my ideas on topics that I could use for my rhetorical analysis paper.

Although using AI can be highly beneficial in finding information but it also makes us loose our ability to focus. Like if we read on longer articles, we tend to drift off into space rather than stay focused. As Nicolas Carr says, “I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do”. We have all faced this scenario at one point or another. This leads us to usually skim the text or not read it at all. This then tends to lead us to miss valuable information. Choosing to analyze texts ourselves will make our brains stronger since we will eventually be able to focus on longer articles.

Using AI can easily help us find information quicker than ever before but is it good for us? When we just copy paste, information are we really learning? No, we aren’t. We have the capability to change this. According to Nicolas Carr, our brains are like plastic. We can mold them to fit us. We can change our learning methods in order to actually retain information. Rather than getting all our information from the net, we can use our brainpower to think for a solution to our questions. Instead of information being handed down to us, we can choose to thoroughly read printed text.

Even though AI is widely known today it might be worth limiting our usage, so that we are still inputting our own perspectives into our pieces. We get the best of both worlds we can Use AI to help us but still maintain our ability to think deep thoughts. In this way, we are learning because we are actively making mistakes which means we have to learn how to fix them.

Using Social Practices to understand semiotic domain requires you to know the actions you have to take as well as what the experience feels and looks like. It also requires you to be knowledgeable of the terminologies so, that everyone in your discourse community would understand. One example of a social practice is when I started being interested in baking/cooking. For example, to know what knife cuts like Julien or dices look like as well as how to achieve them properly to fit into that specific discourse community. As well as the different methods of cooking such as blanching, poaching and double frying are.

The problem of content is something that we see as a society in our daily life especially as our exposure to technology increases. Often the people around us especially the older generation feel that if we don’t learn it in school it seems “pointless” but according to James Paul Gee it’s not. I personally love watching T.V shows and though it may seem “pointless” it can make people aware of issues that are going on in the world such as climate change. It could also remind us of valuable information like speaking up for our rights.

I relate to James Paul Gee’s principle of learning a semiotic domain by actively learning instead of learning with a passive content. I personally struggle with this through Algebra. I’m learning formulas to pass my class and tests, but it would be more useful to me if I learned to apply those same formulas outside of class. To comprehend it in a way to use later on in life rather than just for the class.