Technology is our friend, but sometimes it doesn't always cooperate.  Log on to G. Web early in the week to avoid common technological pitfalls:  AOL timed out on me and dropped my connection ... my sister had to use the computer all night ... my parents were surfing the Net all night long and I couldn't get on .... the cat peed on the hard drive and our system blew up ...  Poor planning and procrastination on your part, isn't excusable.  Avoid putting yourself in such a situation by clearly communicating your needs (and locking up the cat) early in the week.  Remember, you may always use the computers in class during SSR to do your weekly Webwork.  And doing a hard copy version of Webwork is yet another way out of such a jam.

The difference between an "OK" Webwork assignment and a "high quality" one is usually found in the amount of supporting details and thought used to support the answer.  Use of specific rather than general details is highly favored, as well as the student's ability to synthesize their response by making connections in the question to their personal experience, the bigger picture, or the world at large.

It shouldn't be a mystery to you what type of score out of 10 points possible you'll earn on your Webwork.  Please keep in mind that full or high credit will be earned only by those who RESTATE THE QUESTION, use SUPPORTING DETAILS FROM THE TEXT to back up and clarify their answers, and provide an IN DEPTH RESPONSE.   Your graded assignment will be printed off and filed in your folder in approximately one week's time. As always, you should talk to your teacher and/or other resources if you have questions about the assignment.  Simply saying, "I don't get it" won't exonerate you.

If the link to the source article for the assignment doesn't pop up automatically and you don't care to switch back and forth between browser windows or to use the back button on your browser, print out a hard copy of the source article to reference during the answering of the questions.

For those having trouble with text being erased as they switch back and forth between the on-line article and this page, try opening up a new browser window.   This function is usually available under the FILE menu in your browser.  You can also try "right clicking" on the link. A window should pop giving you the option to open the link in a new window.  Another option would be to print off a copy of the article to refer back to as you do your Webwork.

Students may wish to use the online version of the Merriam Webster Dictionary to look up the definitions of words they encounter in articles they read for each week's Webwork.  For a really cool trick using the MW site to do your homework, add the MW Dictionary Button to your Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator toolbar (not sure if it works for the AOL browser).  Once this is done, all you have to do is highlight the word on the web page, click the button, and MW looks up the word for you.  If you're curious about how to pronounce this word, there's even a feature that allows you to hear the correct pronunciation. Wow!  Check it out.

If spelling is the bane of your existence, try composing your Webwork in a word processing program.   Use of the spell check function available in most word processing programs.  Unfortunately, though, this won't solve all of your problems.  If you use the correct spelling of the wrong word, spell check won't help you in this situation.  Spell check should be the last step after you've already put your work through the ol' fashioned editing process, which often involves reading your piece out loud then getting a reader to help you proof your work.  As a side note here, using a word processing program is a great option for AOL users who are inadvertently logged off in the middle of Webwork assignments ... D'oh!