Friday, January 27, 2012

Are We Too Reliant on SpellCheck?

I give my students online quizzes. Online, open book quizzes. Online, open book, open internet quizzes. It's not like I can monitor their sources. They have an inordinate amount of time (3 hours) for a 10 point quiz. Yet, they spell things wrong, and the computer marks them wrong, and then they whine to me that they got it write but they spelled it wrong.

IT WAS OPEN BOOK! CHECK YOUR SPELLING!

So, do I give them the points? I'm think yes on this first quiz, and then specifically stating that it will be no from here on out.

12 comments:

  1. No on the first quiz. Although that works best if you warned them first.

    Yes-then-no mollifies now and makes for unhappiness later.

    Am I write?

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  2. I'd think you're write to not give them points, but you spelled it wrong.

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  3. NO. Do not give points if it is open book, open note, and it's spelled correctly in the book.

    Also, you can have them read "10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling" from The Oatmeal: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

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  4. No is the "write" thing to do.

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  5. Maybe warn them on the first quiz, but beyond that certainly not. If there's anything that makes you look just plain sloppy, it's poor spelling.

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  6. I get in beeg trouble for counting off for speeling all the time on evals and from profflakea.

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  7. I sympathize, I do. I also try to teach students from "where they are" rather than teaching them as if they were reasonably educated young adults. If you warned them that the computer only accepted properly spelled words, then bring down the hammer. If not and if they are like my students, who complain, "This is science, why should I be expected to spell?" (told to a professor who spends his entire day writing grants, articles, exams, etc), then I think you have to give them a break. On their skulls (I kid). Deduct some partial credit and warn them that stupid things, like not spelling words learned in 4th grade, is punishable.

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  8. I have them lose (or "loose") partial points. Never had anyone complain much after I reminded them that the quiz was a take-home.

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  9. It's not "Spell Check," it's "spelling check." I don't know what "spell check" is". It sounds to me like software used by witches, to make sure they've cast the correct spells.

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    1. P.S. Yes, you are far too reliant on spelling check.

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    2. Now you know why we have GRADUATE STUDENTS who don't know the difference between "except" and "accept": I was just dealing with one.

      But then, one of my best graduate students ever had never heard of the War of 1812: I suppose she thought "The Star Spangled Banner" was written by Jimi Hendrix. If anyone tries the excuse that she was a grad student in physics and not history, I'll add that she was a graduate of New Mexico Tech and a NON-PROGRAMMER: she couldn't program in any computer language at all, severely limiting her usefulness in science and to me.

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  10. I thought the MS Word program was once called "SpellCheck" but I'm afraid the memory is not what it used to be. Maybe "SpellCheck" was in Word Perfect? I have heard many people refer to the application as "SpellCheck" as in "did you even bother to run SpellCheck before turning this in to your professor?" Otherwise I'd say, "did you even bother to check the spelling before turning this in to your professor?" and not "did you even bother to run a spelling check before you turned this into your professor?" I distinguish between human copy-editing and machine SpellCheck, but I suppose that's rather arbitrary of me.

    I can accept a physics major not knowing the causes of the War of 1812, as it does tend to get glossed over in American public schools, while the Revolution and the Civil War get a lot of air time. But to have never heard of it at all ... I find that unacceptable for any living American of normal mental faculties.

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