Category: myomlab

Tips for using myomlab

Guest Post: My Semester with MyOMLab at U. Illinois-Chicago

 

 liotine2Our guest post today comes from Prof. Matt Liotine in the Dept. of Information and Decision Sciences, University  of Illinois-Chicago.

I teach OM using Jay and Barry’s book in my classes. My students use MyOMLab, which has numerous student and instructor on-line resources, including an e-book. The resources include the book’s end-of-chapter problems. I assign a subset as homework problems for my students to work on line. The problems are algorithmic, meaning that students can work on the same problem, but with different numeric values, thereby ensuring academic honesty. I give students 3 tries at a problem. During each try, MyOMLab tells a student whether their answer is correct and gives them hints for another try. If the student fails to get a correct answer after three tries, MyOMLab will present the student with the same problem but with new values. This process repeats until the student gets it right. Instructors can specify how many times the process can repeat. I set it at a high number, so I would expect every student to get 100%!

 

While instructors can create their own problems, I use the problems that are already available. I do, on occasion, edit problems to make the wording more understandable to foreign students. MyOMLab also has an “Ask My Instructor” feature, which allows students to email their instructor with questions while working on a problem and enable the instructor to actually see the problem they are working on. Many of my students take advantage of this feature.

 

Blackboard is our UI-C learning environment. Since MyOMLab does not have algorithmic versions of the book’s multiple choice test items, I create large pools of questions on Blackboard, using the book’s test items. Blackboard can randomize questions and answer choices, enabling many students to simultaneously take a test on line while ensuring academic honesty.

 

MyOMLab also serves as a virtual teaching assistant, automatically grading homework assignments. It can export grades into Blackboard via spreadsheet format. MyOMLab can be directly accessed from Blackboard without an additional sign-on, making it more convenient for students and instructors. I recommend that instructors encourage students to use the many resources available, including the multimedia videos and the tutoring sessions with Jay and Barry.

Guest Post: Another Successful Semester with MyOMLab at Temple U.

 

HowardWeiss2Howard Weiss is Professor of Operations Management at Temple University. He has developed both POM for Windows and Excel OM for our text

In the past, I have guest posted about my students’ appreciation of MyOMLab– and that appreciation is even greater now! At the beginning of the semester I always ask students about any experiences they have had with the MyLabs. This semester, for the first time, well more than half the class had previously used at least one of the following; MyAccountingLab, MyMarketingLab , MyMISLab or MyStatLab. These students were already familiar with the MyOMLab structure so they could use it with no explanation. Further, about 1/4 of the students were concurrently enrolled in MyFinanceLab and MyOMLab. This makes for a single sign-on to get to both courses; and the synergy among all these labs greatly improves the students’ experiences and productivity.

Past students had commented that the exams were not like the homework in that students could not redo problems on the exams while they could on the homework. Because of their observation, for each topic this semester I gave both homework and a quiz on MyOMLab. The students very much liked having the dual assignments each week.

My courses this semester were online/hybrid courses. While using MyOMLab makes homework grading easier in face-to-face classes it is even better in online sections because it enables homework submission without the students having to send me an email with attachments as they had done in past online sections.

Even though the course is online I do give my exams face-to-face. From the onset of my usage of MyOMLab the students have very much liked getting the exam results immediately after completing the exam. My better students review their exams after getting the grade and ask me questions about their mistakes. This seldom happened when I gave final exams because the students never saw their graded exams. Reviewing the exam makes for a great learning experience. After all, one of the best ways to learn is from our mistakes.

 

Guest Post: MyOMLab Provides Demonstrated Learning

LAFishOur Guest Post today comes from Dr. Lynn A. Fish, who is Professor of Management at Canisius College.

As the educational world continues to add more online elements, I remained skeptical of the educational value and security issues associated with these systems. However, when it became obvious that students were merely copying homework from one another and I faced a course overload, it became clear that something radical needed to be done. While one can argue for or against the need for homework, I’ve always been a proponent of using it. So, I blindly entered the world of online homework in fall 2011. As a ‘techno-jinx’, I held my breath waiting for trouble to break out. It didn’t!  Students seemed to adapt to it with very little difficulty.

Over the past 6 semesters, I have surveyed students on course specifics including MyOMLab homework. The majority indicate that MyOMLab is easy to use or they are able to overcome the minor issues. The most common minor issues students cited are rounding and decimal issues. From my standpoint, using MyOMLab allows each student to have different problems (algorithmic setting), requires less time for grading, and gives students immediate feedback. The ability to review each student’s assignment is available, but I find it unrewarding and time intensive to review. However, when a student is struggling, I can assist him with a particular problem from virtually anywhere in the world.

As a skeptic, I wondered whether the MyOMLab system offered educational value. After asking for student permission, I analyzed the relationship between MyOMLab and in-class performance. At an overview level, mild to moderate correlation exists. When analyzing further, there is definitely learning occurring through the MyOMLab system – at the scaffold level.

In conclusion, through student surveys, I’ve surmised that they find the MyOMLab acceptable, and through my own analysis, I’ve concluded that learning is in fact occurring. End result: win-win!

 

MyOMLab: A Few Hints for Starting the Semester

myomlabHere are five tips that Jay and I would like to share as you start the fall semester with MyOMLab.

1)    Students need an Email address and a Course ID. So be sure students have both prior to registering and purchasing MyOMLab access codes.

2)    Creating (not copying) a new class–one since July 10, 2013–is necessary to ensure that all of the new features are available.

3)    The best deal for those buying a MyOMLab access card may be at the Pearson web site and via www.myomlab.com.

4)    We find that some extra time getting everyone ‘on board’ with MyOMLab the first few days of class is a good investment. A review of the new features that are accessed from the MyOMLab opening page may be time well spent. Additionally, students may find the Getting Started videos accessed from the Student FAQ under Student Features helpful. They are well done.

5)    Our newly redesigned 24/7 site for instructor/students for technical support is: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/. Or you can Phone 888-433-8435  for Instructors or 800-677-6337 for Students. Our Community site has been updated to include ALL of the MyOMLab training videos, new success stories, best practices and more.   http://www.myomlabcommunity.com/

MyOMLab: Three New Features for Fall

myomlabJay and I have been working away for the past 6 months on three new features that you may want to incorporate into your use of MyOMLab this fall. We hope they add to the depth of choices you already have and you are able to make use of them.

1.  All new conceptual questions: Why is this important? Operations Management is both a quantitative and qualitative course. We have always had amazing resources for the quantitative aspects of the course in MyOMLab, and now we are beefing up our qualitative coverage. These questions are located right in the assignment manager, so instructors can assign them just like they would any other assignment, and they can integrate them into assignments with quantitative questions as well.

2.  New OM in the News section and assignments: This includes hand-picked articles from our blog that show how OM is used in the real world. A summary (300-400 words) of current articles from BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal (along with hyperlinks) are provided for each chapter. There are 4 multiple choice questions that go along with the articles, and you can assign them from the assignment manager.

3.  All new video assignments: One of the hallmark features of our text has always been the videos we have created (35 of them, including the 5 brand new Orlando Magic series that just came out) to accompany the books. Now, you can assign the videos along with 4-5 multiple choice questions to test understanding right within MyOMLab.

In addition, we wanted to let you know that 92% of the End of Chapter material is now in MyOMLab: Our OM texts already had more problems and assignments than any other book on the market. Now, that choice is reflected in MyOMLab.

MyOMLab: Need Help With MyOMLab for Fall?

myomlabJay and I want to thank you for adopting MyOMLab for your course this Fall semester.  About half the students in the country using one of our OM texts have now adopted this assessment/learning system–and the percent is growing exponentially. Whether you are an experienced user or brand new to the program, our team has created many resources and tools to help you get the most out of MyOMLab.

Getting Started:

Adopting a new technology component is rewarding and exciting but takes time and training. Pearson has recently published a new MyLab/Mastering Training 2013 catalog which details the various training opportunities and offerings currently available. These include self-paced training courses complete with a certification option, Faculty-Advisor-led live online training sessions, Video Playlists, an Interactive Training Guide and more. Please visit: http://www.pageturnpro.com/Pearson-Education/52147-Professional-and-Career-Course-Catalog/index.html#1 and navigate to the MyOMLab section on page 22 to choose the training option that works best with your schedule and needs.

 Interactive User Guide:

Located on the MyOMLab home page under the Tours and Training tab, this searchable user guide offers step-by-step instructions and links to our tutorial videos throughout. (Click here).

 Virtual Classroom Training Sessions – If you prefer a personal touch, we offer virtual training sessions led by experienced users. Click here to view the schedule. (Be sure to click “Show all meetings.”)

First Day of Class:

Here you will find both a step-by-step student registration document as well as a Getting Started First Day of Class PowerPoint deck.  Students will also benefit from the Student MyOMLab playlist found here.

Technical Support:

We also have a newly redesigned 24/7 site for instructor/students for technical support: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/  or Phone 888-433-8435  for Instructors or 800-677-6337 for students.

The MyOMLab Community Site:

Our Community site has been updated to include ALL of the MyOMLab training videos, new success stories, best practices and more.   http://www.myomlabcommunity.com/

Guest Post: Using MyOMLab at San Francisco State University

ozgur ozlukDr. Ozgur Ozluk is Associate Professor of Decision Sciences at San Francisco State University. Click here to see his syllabus, which is posted on our blog.

When I heard of MyOMLab, developed for our Heizer-Render textbook, a few years ago, I nearly jumped out of my seat. If you are teaching at a state university with no Ph.D. program (read no Teaching Assistants),  it seems impossible to stay afloat over the sea of grading during a semester. Exams, homework assignments, projects, quizzes keep piling up.

So I immediately signed up for MyOMLab. After a bit of a learning curve, it was a breeze to set up online homework assignments/quizzes for my classes. At the start, there were some painful moments, requisite with any technological adoption. But the members of support group for MyOMLab were responsive, helpful and open to constructive feedback. Once the few kinks were cleared, this online platform became an integral component of my teaching. I definitely felt less over-worked and more relaxed.

And what about the students? I can safely report that they are also satisfied with the experience. The beginning of every semester is not without its trials and tribulations, while the students are trying to feel their way through the online system. However, within a few weeks they feel at ease with using MyOMLab. They are happy to they have an assessment tool that provides them almost instantaneous feedback and helps them with their meta-cognition skills. Pairing the online platform with my office hours makes it a great learning experience. It is a win-win situation for both the teacher and the student.

myomlabIn a recent conversation with Jay and Barry at the San Antonio INFORMS meeting, I was shocked to hear that only a quarter of the instructors who use their OM textbook utilize this robust and versatile online assessment platform. If you are of this three-quarters majority and still reading, you owe it to yourself to give MyOMLab a try. You will not regret it!

“

MyOMLab: Tips For Using MyOMLab This Spring

myomlabJay and I want to thank you for adopting MyOMLab for your course this Spring semester.  Whether you are an experienced user or brand new to the program, our team at Pearson has created many resources and tools to help you get the most out of MyOMLab.

Getting Started:

Here are some resources to help as you get started with MyOMLab..

  Tutorial Videos – located on the Pearson Instructor YouTube Channel and accessible via the Tours and Training page of MyOMLab, these videos provide a visual demonstration of many tasks and functions within the MyOMLab.  They are separated into Playlists to find searching for the right video at the right time easier.

  • Click here  to access the Getting Started Video Series
  • Click here  (during the term) to access the Getting the Most Out of MyOMLab Series
  • Click here  to access the Gradebook Series
  • Click here  if you are a returning user and need to simply transition to the new term

 Interactive User Guide – located on the MyOMLab home page under the Tours and Training tab, this searchable user guide offers step-by-step instructions and links to our tutorial videos throughout. (Click here)

  Virtual Classroom Training Sessions – If you prefer a personal touch, we offer virtual training sessions led by experienced users. Click here to view the schedule. (Be sure to click “Show all meetings”.)

First Day of Class:

Here is  step-by-step registration and enrollment documentation that you can customize as needed to help your students get registered. (click here to access.)

Technical Support:

We provide both students and instructors with 24/7 technical support in 4 ways:

Search Online Knowledge Base ; Chat 24/7 with a Support Representative ;  Email 24/7 Help Request Form ; or Phone  877-987-6625

MyOMLab: Getting Ready for the Fall Semester–Some Tips

As we start this new semester, Jay and I would like to welcome new and returning faculty and the 15,000 new students who will be using MyOMLab this Fall. This is really wonderful software that we have spent many, many hours developing to make student assessment,  homework and exams easy for you as the instructor and enjoyable for your students. Our publisher has also made a great package of tools available to help you use the system and we encourage you to try them out.

  Interactive User Guides: Our searchable user guides offer step-by-step instructions and links to training tutorial videos, so you can read how to do something and then watch it being done! The guide also includes a “first day of class” form to distribute to students to help them sign on.

LIVE WebEx Training Sessions: Attend a MyOMLab training session. These are intimate virtual training sessions led by experienced users who can offer you advice. Click “Show All Meetings” to see the complete list of available sessions. There is a session almost every day that will meet your needs.

MyOMLab in New Design
Read about the latest version of MyOMLab and what it means to you. This is created by our Customer Experience Manager, Matthew Dorsey (matthew.dorsey@pearson.com).  Matt is available to help you get started this Fall. He understands all of the nuances of MyOMLab.

Tech Support:
1-888-433-8435
Monday through Friday,
8 AM to 8 PM (ET)

Your Local Pearson Sales Representative:

(Not sure who it is?)  You can search by school here: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/replocator/. Your rep will even come to your classes the 1st week to help get everyone started.

And please feel free to contact us at jheizer@omniglobal.com or brender@cfl.rr.com. Our marketing manager, Jami, also welcomes your call or email: jami.minard@pearson.com.

MyOMLab: What’s New in Summer, 2012

Good news for our MyOMLab users. Here are some nice updates that are effective on July 14th.

Blackboard Integration Blackboard users ware now be able to integrate their Blackboard course with any MyOMLab New Design course. This integration  allows for instructor and student single sign-on, inclusion of direct links to the MyOMLab course from within Blackboard content pages, and easy grade transfer. See www.pearsonhighered.com/blackboard.

Study Plan Enhanced Scoring This grades students on the number of sections or learning objectives they have mastered, rather than by the number of exercises they have worked correctly. It allows instructors to easily tie a grade to the Study Plan and quickly assess in which content areas students need more practice.

Study Plan Recommendations Page This new page provides students with a simplified, less overwhelming view of the Study Plan. Students will be shown the next five sections or learning objectives they should study, given easy access to practice problems, and provided with an automatically generated quiz that will allow them to prove their mastery of the material.

Quiz Me Automatically generated and customized by the instructor, Quiz Me allows students to prove their mastery of a section or learning objective directly from the Study Plan. This makes it easier for instructors to see in which content areas their students excel and with which ones they struggle. Instructors can choose how many questions make up each Quiz Me, the difficulty level of the questions included, and the score required for mastery.

Improved Study Plan Manager This new and improved feature gives instructors greater control over their students’ Study Plan experiences within a simplified framework. Instructors are able to customize the new Quiz Me feature, choose which course contents should be included in the Study Plan, specify which Study Plan contents should count towards their students’  scores, and more. A new overview page lets instructors to review their selections with ease.

Gradebook Alerts Gradebook alerts, accessible from the Gradebook, will allow instructors to view all students who have been inactive in their course for more than ten days, as well as each assignment that requires manual grading. Instructors can email students, grade assignments, and archive alerts directly from the alerts pages.

Guest Post: Using MyOMLab for Online Teaching

Our Guest Post today comes from Dr. Chuck Munson, who is Associate Professor of Operations Management at Washington State University. His earlier blog for us was called “Spicing Up the Assignment Problem”.

I used to shy away from overload teaching opportunities for online courses because I initially hated the whole online teaching experience and was almost embarrassed to call it “teaching.” The availability of MyOMLab (with a little help from the bad economy) has changed my views.

While I believe that there’s still no substitute for the face-to-face learning experience, online education does help serve a niche of place-bound students. And for my operations management course, MyOMLab removes a lot of time and strain. The time that I used to spend grading can now be spent on responding to questions and providing information to students. For many of the problems, the built-in learning aids can answer a lot of the students’ questions. Also, the students really like the extra chances that they get to solve questions correctly. And I’ve  found the test bank questions to work well—it’s very easy to select questions, and the multiple-choice tests that I’ve given (open-book and 2.5 hours to solve 25 questions) usually provide a good grade distribution. The excellent company videos seem particularly useful in online environments.

Here are some unsolicited student comments regarding MyOMLab from my spring, 2012 online course:

 “Great information and I liked the OM lab.”

“I almost feel that I got more interaction in this online course than if I were in person in a large lecture hall. MyLab was also a great experience—much better than many sites I have used during my WSU Online time.”

“The MyOMLab was crucial for success in learning the formulas for calculations.”

“Excellent—couldn’t have been better.”

“In the case of this class, the online environment works very well. The assignments and MyLab learning were both great, and I learned a lot.”

MyOMLab: Virtual User Event on June 7th

Jay and I thought you would be interested in this Virtual User Event being held on Thursday June 7th, from 1:00-3:00 Eastern time. Matt Dorsey, from the MyOMLab product team, will be giving a sneak peak at new features being released later this summer, including Blackboard integration, Study Plan enhancements, and gradebook alerts. In addition, there will be a discussion on best practices around the following topics:

• Having a smooth start to your MyLab course

• Higher Stakes Online Assessment

• Increasing Student Effort

If you wish to attend this event, just click here to register (http://tinyurl.com/MyLabUserEvent). After you register a confirmation email will be emailed to you with information on how to join the meeting.

MyOMLab: Getting Ready for Final Exams

Jay and I want to thank you if you chose to incorporate MyOMLab into your course this spring term. Some of you might be using MyOMLab to administer your final exams, while others will want to add scores to the Gradebook using Add Offline Items. Hopefully everyone’s students are using MyOMLab to study! Here are some  resources to answer all your “how do I” questions around finals.

Creating Online Tests:

Adding Scores to your Gradebook:

  • Most final exams are still given offline. If that is your case, learn about Adding Offline items to the Gradebook to see how you can upload the scores of your final exam to your MyOMLab Gradebook.

Help Your Students Study:

  • Manage Incompletes: Managing Incompletes will submit a zero for assignments students did not do. It also allows them to review that assignment from their Results tab for studying purposes. If students are telling you they can’t review an old assignment, you should manage your incompletes.

Power User Tip: Remember to export all your grades once the course is final. Check out the article for performing an Advanced Export.

Guest Post: Teaching OM in Both Online and Blended Courses

Dr. Wende Huehn-Brown is Professor of Business at St. Petersburg College. She has 17 years of engineering and management experience and holds a Ph.D. from the U. of Missouri-Rolla. She can be reached at huehnbrown.wende@spcollege.edu.

Five years ago I began teaching Operations Management using the Heizer-Render text entirely online.  I quickly saw how online students struggled with learning the lessons compared to my blended students.  So I spent many hours creating screen capture tutorials that worked through similar homework problems, as well as a lecture series to help students integrate the concepts and evaluate how they are applied in organizations.  I have used this technology in my classes for the past four and a half years. 

Currently, there is quite a bit of discussion about the evolving focus in online courses, but I want to emphasize we cannot overlook the impact on student learning.  In the blended classes I am able to add to this online format with active learning activities, simulations, and games at physical class meetings.  In January, 2012 I started using the New Design MyOMLab (I began the prior version in Fall, 2010).  I have always seen how blended student grades were significantly better than the grades of entirely online students.   (In the New Design instructor tools you can now view student performance by AASCB standards).  At this point my sample size is small, but blended students showed a 14% improvement in analytical skills and reflective thinking skills over online students.  These are vital skills our organizations need to be more competitive in today’s global marketplace.

Considering that all other course resources were the same, except for the blended physical class meeting, it left me pondering that modality value to student learning.  I acknowledge the integration of active learning activities, simulations, and games in our OM discipline.  Obviously, I have more data to collect, but I wanted to share the major impact on vital learning standards and encourage colleagues in this field to share their results.  What are your results?

Guest Post: The Numbers Don’t Lie

 Professor Howard Weiss at Temple University’s Fox School of Business writes about his experiences with MyOMLab. Howard, the developer of both Excel OM and POM for Windows,  is also Academic Director of  Temple’s EMBA program.

I just received my teaching evaluation scores from the Fall 2011 semester and once again they have improved. I have evaluations that go back to 2005, but Temple U. changed evaluation questions beginning in 2008 so I can only compare evaluations from 2008 and later. Fall of 2008 was the last year that I taught the course without MyOMLab.  The two questions that we consider the most important are:

  • The instructor taught this course well
  • I learned a great deal in this course.

My average score in 2008 on the first question above was 4.15. The average during my last 3 MyOMLab years is 4.43. On the second question, I have seen a steady increase. Before using MyOMLab the average was 3.95. Since 2009, the averages have risen each year from 4.1 to 4.3 to 4.4 this past Fall. Since the only change in the course has been my adoption of MyOMLab, I have to believe that use of MyOMLab is a major reason for the increase.

On the evaluations, several students write: “ MyOMLab was very helpful” or “MyOMLab contributes to my learning”. From discussions,  it is clear that they write this because  MyOMLab offers instant help when doing homework problems. They appreciate the feedback they receive when they enter an incorrect answer, and also the Help Me Solve This Option, which breaks down the problem step-by-step. They value the eText option which takes them directly to the right pages in the textbook. They don’t have to carry their textbook around, nor do they have to page through the textbook to find the relevant information. Of course, when they are stuck on a problem, they like the Ask My Instructor option and my responsiveness to their questions sent to me from MyOMLab. (I appreciate that the homework problem from MyOMLab is included in the email I am sent.)

 The only negative comment on the evaluations was in 2009, and was about  MyOMLab having little tolerance for round off errors. This has been corrected  and is no  longer an issue.  My hope is that MyOMLab will get even better and that my evaluation scores will also!