An Online Homework Generation And Assessment Tool For Linear Systems

Of the students enrolled in upper-level Electrical & Computer Engineering (EECE) courses at Kansas State University (KSU), a percentage consistently struggles with concepts from earlier calculus and differential equations courses. This raises issues regarding how much mathematical knowledge students retain and how they transfer this knowledge to follow-on courses. In recent semesters, the KSU Department of Mathematics has utilized automated online tools to generate homework problems and assess student performance. This paper describes an extension of that approach to the Linear Systems course in the KSU Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. This online suite utilizes PHP, HTML, Java, and PostgreSQL to generate and assess homework problems in the areas of complex numbers, signals, transient response, Fourier series, and Fourier transforms. Features and benefits of this approach include a visually appealing user interface, custom problem sets for each student, online help, immediate score feedback, problem solutions, practice problems, and the opportunity for a student to rework categories of problems until they receive their desired score. From an assessment standpoint, the resulting database offers opportunities to correlate module scores with scores received on other online modules, projects, or exams, where scores can be aggregated or associated with specific problems. Cross-semester comparisons can also be performed. Additional parameters such as completion date/time, the number of attempts per module, the location of the student’s machine, and the time required to complete an exercise provide a rich information set for understanding student work habits. The ultimate goal is to close the assessment loop and improve course content based upon previous semester analyses. Early surveys and anecdotal results indicate that student response is generally positive but is subject to software problems typical of a new software release.