Just an observation after reading the complaints about homework questions.

I would label avg as a homework assignment as I remember having to write the same script for a class I took a couple quarters ago

Should we be concerned when people store assignments on the site?

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Re: Storage of source code that could possibly be a homework assignment
by cjf (Parson) on May 29, 2002 at 17:35 UTC
    Should we be concerned when people store assignments on the site?

    No.

    Update: I suppose I could elaborate, we shouldn't be concerned about assignments being stored on the site because:

    • False positives. Who's to say if it's a homework assignment?
    • Other's can learn from the code.
    • It would be more work for the editors
    • If a few people want to use it instead of doing their work, it's their loss, doesn't bother me any.

    So, in conclusion, No :).

[reply]
(jeffa) Re: Storage of homework source?
by jeffa (Bishop) on May 29, 2002 at 17:43 UTC
    Not really. Most universities use the C/C++ languages, very few use Perl. Also, it is the professor's responsibility to know when a student is cheating. Exams do a much better job of weeding out cheaters than assignments do anyway. The purpose of an assignment is really just to give the students exercise, and those students who do not exercise are going to pay when the exam rolls along. Unless they have a wireless PDA and can sneak off to the bathroom. ;)

    jeffa

    L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)
[reply]

      Hi,
      well, I for one use Perl in teaching, and I agree mostly with Jeffa. I can generally see if a student wrote his/her own code or simply got it somewhere. Making the students <emph>explain</emph> their code helps a lot. If they just copied it from somewere they will be unable to do that. And if they can, then they understand the code... And I gave them a homework to make them understood something, didn't I?

      Another problem altogether are homework's <emph>question</emph>, frequently made by our friend Anonymous Monk. These questions more often than not show that the person asking them has made no effort at all to try and solve the homework he or she has got. I never reply to them (exept by giving a RTFM style answer if I realy get upset).

      By, the way... homeworks' solutions on perlmonks are not a problem for me, as I'm here and can check :))))

      Cheers

      Leo TheHobbit
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Re: Storage of homework source?
by Starky (Chaplain) on May 31, 2002 at 23:27 UTC
    Absolutely not. Apart from the verification problem (is it a homework assignment or not?), I think most students with the savvy to come to PerlMonks to try to find the answer to a homework assignment will probably come away with more understanding than they arrived with by virtue of the necessity of having to figure out how to navigate their way around the site.

    For many, they'll find the answer to the assignment and be on their way, but hopefully others will pause and maybe even linger.

    Fellow monks are quick to spot someone who posts a homework question. Those who do it once may not be prone to do it twice. That, in my opinion, is deterrent enough.

[reply]

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