Exam today

I went out of my way to construct it so that you could answer the questions using the data given, without searching the web (except when that was explicitly called for)  – and that the answers weren’t easily available on the web. I said that explicitly. But folks still search by default. For example, one of the questions asked for Federal tax receipts if 92% of that number was $2.542 trillion. Snooping shows several students googling for government tax receipts. On student was looking for the definition of “receipts”, even though you don’t really need to know that either to answer the question.

They are, of course, using the computer as a calculator. Most have the calculator image, using the mouse to click the buttons. A few are using the google search bar to calculate from text input. I saw one ask Bing for

13 billion is what percent of 2.5 trillion

to no effect. I wonder how he/she did the homeworks. Another student has asked yahoo how to calculate the percentage of a number. I suppose I have to believe that if they can actually find the answer with that kind of search then they’ve learned what I want to teach – that they own the way they solve a problem – but I doubt that they will succeed. I won’t really know, since I can’t easily match screen images in the classroom with particular students sitting at the computers.

One student found a bitcoin to $ converter,  couldn’t figure out how to type 144 millibits into one of the boxes to get $ so searched for

what is 144 millibits worth in dollars

Once the search engines learn to do natural language parsing no one will have to know anything ever. Sigh.

 

 

 

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