--- title: Expert TA Blog | The Expert TA Team (5) description: (5) --- # Expert TA Blog Select Category Academic Integrity Ed Tech Expert TA Instruction OER Other Physics Education Science This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. Posts by: ## The Expert TA Team ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Facebook_Blog_Post_Image_copyIII.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Academic Integrity,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/academic-integrity) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Ed Tech](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) ### [Academic Integrity and Online Physics Homework: 5 Strategies to Combat Cheating](https://blog.theexpertta.com/combat-online-cheating) 10/11/16 10:48 PM Higher education is constantly evolving through the use of the World Wide Web.  A classroom is no longer limited to a physical location.  In the same way, homework is no longer limited to a piece of paper.  There are countless advantages to internet technology aiding the teaching and learning processes, but there are also challenges as a result.  One of biggest challenges deals with academic integrity.  For students assigned online physics homework, there are many public-facing websites where textbook solutions are freely shared and available.  Most of these sites will pay for ad placement targeting students on Facebook and social media sites.  Sites like Chegg.com have optimized search engines to act as a catalog for all printed textbook questions, so it only takes a student a few seconds to find a solution to their homework problem.  This becomes a distraction at the detriment of the student who no longer gets the practice they need to be successful. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/combat-online-cheating) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Linda_Grisham_Award_Square.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Expert TA,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/expert-ta) [Other](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/other) ### [Blended Classroom Instructor Earns Award Using Expert TA](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blended-classroom-award) 9/28/16 12:06 PM The Expert TA staff would like to congratulate [Dr. Linda Grisham](http://www.massbay.edu/Faculty-Profiles/Linda-M--Grisham.aspx) of [Massachusetts Bay Community College](http://www.massbay.edu), who recently won a prestigious Course of Distinction (COD) Award from Massachusetts Colleges Online’s (MCO) [11th Annual Conference of eLearning](http://cit.necc.mass.edu/mco_conference/index.htm). MCO says this about their Course of Distinction Awards: Massachusetts Colleges Online created the Courses of Distinction Awards to recognize faculty whose course designs best exemplify online education’s potential to enhance teaching and learning. In addition to honoring faculty for their efforts, the COD Awards and the faculty showcases of the COD courses have become an important focus of the MCO annual Sharing Best Practices in e-Learning Conference. Dr. Grisham’s award recognizes her work with a Physics 101 class, which uses Expert TA’s online homework system,  along with other tools to teach kinematics, dynamics, energy, wave motion, fluids, heat and temperature and kinetic theory of gases and sound. "This hybrid online course was designed to provide a ‘blended’ experience for students, many of whom are life science majors pursuing careers in medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy and veterinary sciences,” said Grisham.  Dr. Grisham is one of many exploring the [blended classroom philosophy](http://www.educationdive.com/news/blended-learnings-evolution-brings-classrooms-closer-to-school-20/424963/) and uses Expert TA's online learning platform because she feels it allows students to come to class prepared to engage. "I expect my students to complete homework assignments that are designed to reinforce lessons and work done during class and then provide an overview of topics to be covered during the next class meeting,” said Grisham. “It is critical that students come prepared each class to work as active participants, and Expert TA provides a wonderful structure to foster an environment for student success." Expert TA allows students to learn physics online by [working through problems](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/practice-makes-progress) and receiving hints, feedback or both. Instructors have the ability to choose the problems that best align with their textbook content and lectures. **We are so pleased to see the homework applications we developed provide educators with the benefits we envision for them, but most of all we congratulate Dr. Grisham on this award and her outstanding work in the classroom.** --- ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blended-classroom-award) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Ed Tech,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) [Science](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/science) ### [Studying for the AP Physics Exam: A New Approach for Students](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/studying-for-the-ap-physics-exam-a-new-approach-for-students) 8/3/16 12:28 PM You probably already know that the AP Physics exam [recently underwent dramatic and fundamental changes](http://theexpertta.com/blog/the-changing-landscape-of-the-ap-physics-exam/). And students still studying for the old style of exam suffered. In fact, the College Board reported that more than 60 percent of those taking the Physics I exam in May 2015 did not receive a score high enough to earn college credit—up from 40 percent in 2014. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/studying-for-the-ap-physics-exam-a-new-approach-for-students) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Ed Tech](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) ### [5 Online Homework Settings for Better Student Engagement](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/5-online-homework-settings-for-better-student-engagement) 7/27/16 10:03 AM If you’re like many introductory physics instructors, you likely use an online homework system. These systems have evolved tremendously over the past decade, and now allow instructors to highly customize “assignments settings.” For example, instructors control how many attempts each student has and whether hints and feedback are available. While flexibility can be good, it can also cause problems. Parameters that are too strict can lead to frustrated and demotivated students. As problems mount, they eat into your busy schedule as you take the time to field student questions and concerns. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/5-online-homework-settings-for-better-student-engagement) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/analytics_01-1024x448.png) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Expert TA,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/expert-ta) [Ed Tech](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) ### [How Expert TA Analytics Worked for the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/how-expert-ta-analytics-worked-for-the-university-of-wisconsin-eau-claire) 2/18/16 4:54 PM Expert TA’s online homework system offers the most symbolic questions on the market, and they are graded as more than simply right or wrong. This partial credit grading, along with sophisticated feedback provided to students, leads to usage data that is examined in an offline service called *Expert TA Analytics*. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/how-expert-ta-analytics-worked-for-the-university-of-wisconsin-eau-claire) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Academic Integrity,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/academic-integrity) [Physics Education](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) ### [3 Reasons Not to Devalue Homework](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/3-reasons-not-to-devalue-homework) 1/28/16 2:50 PM In higher education, chances are you’ve heard or dealt with issues of academic integrity. Some claim that cheating is now such a significant issue that they can no longer assign value to homework. It is true that the availability of solutions and the ease at which students can share answers online have drastically altered the way instructors must approach class assignments. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/3-reasons-not-to-devalue-homework) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Bundled%20Textbooks.png) [OER](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/oer) ### [Why Bundled Textbooks are a Bad Deal for Students](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/why-bundled-textbooks-are-a-bad-deal-for-students) 1/25/16 7:23 PM In our experience, college professors work tirelessly to look out for the best interests of their students. They are well aware of the ever-increasing expense of a college education, and therefore are highly cost-conscious when choosing a textbook for their class. According to [OpenStax College](https://openstaxcollege.org/), the average student is now paying $1,200 each year just for textbooks. We have a longstanding partnership with OpenStax College, whose mission is to improve student access to quality learning materials, and we share their concern about the financial burden students face every semester.   ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/why-bundled-textbooks-are-a-bad-deal-for-students) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Expert TA,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/expert-ta) [Ed Tech](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) ### [Practice Makes Progress!](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/practice-makes-progress) 11/24/15 11:37 AM How can you tell whether a student really understands the class material? Education researchers agree that assessing this is difficult and that the best and most trusted measure is still an exam that is hand-graded by the instructor. On the vast majority of these exams, students are asked to show all of their work, and the instructor typically cares as much about seeing a student’s process as he does about seeing a correct final answer. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/practice-makes-progress) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Physics Education,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/physics-education) [Science](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/science) ### [The Changing Landscape of the AP Physics Exam](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/the-changing-landscape-of-the-ap-physics-exam) 11/18/15 4:55 PM The following article from Education Week outlines an important issue that we all need to keep our eyes on. The number of students taking the AP Physics exam doubled this past year, representing the largest single-year growth for any AP course in the history of the exams. This is encouraging in some ways; it is good to see more students active in STEM classes. Less encouraging? The percentage of students who earned a score that qualifies for college credit (3 or higher) dropped over twenty points: from 59.7% in 2014 to 39.2% in 2015*. We want more students taking the exams, but we also want them to do well. This will require everyone re-examining how these students are being prepared. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/the-changing-landscape-of-the-ap-physics-exam) ![](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hubfs/Theexpertta-July2016-Images/blog.jpg) [Instruction,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/instruction) [Expert TA,](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/expert-ta) [Ed Tech](https://blog.theexpertta.com/topic/ed-tech) ### [3 Ways to Turn the Bird’s Nest of Big Data into Your Most Powerful Tool](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/3-ways-to-turn-the-birds-nest-of-big-data-into-your-most-powerful-tool) 11/16/15 2:36 PM Big data is all the talk these days, regardless of what sector you are in; but just collecting data doesn’t provide insight.  The real challenge is in the analysis of that collected information, and often this analysis is left to the end user. Given the size and complexity of these data sets, thoughtful analysis is not always done. ![The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png?width=45&name=Expert_TA_Facebook_Profile_Picture.png) [The Expert TA Team](https://blog.theexpertta.com/author/the-expert-ta-team) [Read More](https://blog.theexpertta.com/blog/3-ways-to-turn-the-birds-nest-of-big-data-into-your-most-powerful-tool)