Developed over the last 15 years at the University of Massachusetts and class-tested by thousands of students, OWL (Online Web-based Learning System) is a fully customizable and flexible Web-based homework system and assessment tool. With both numerical and chemical parameterization and useful, specific feedback built right in, OWL produces countless general chemistry questions correlated to Brooks/Cole general chemistry textbooks. OWL is the only system specifically designed to support mastery learning, where students work as long as they need to master each chemical concept and skill. OWL provides the framework for a Web-based virtual-learning environment that can improve your students' performance, automatically assess student homework, reduce your workload, and save you time as you manage your general chemistry course.

Benefits:

• NEW!-Intelligent Tutors--interactive problem solving tutors--ask questions and then give guiding feedback to help the student solve the problem. These problems are "parameterized" so that each time a student uses the material they get a different problem of the same type.
• Multiple question types, including fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, true/false, matching, and multiple required answers.
• Content--Instructors can alter the scope and sequence of existing content or author new questions in the authoring interface.
• Pacing--Instructor mode can time assignments, having specific start and end times, or change to student mode which is not timed.
• Feedback--Instructors have the ability to enable and disable feedback to the students and keep track of student activities.
• Assignment Flexibility--Instructors can create individual student extensions, specific students can redo missed units (an assignment), instructors can change a "quiz" to "homework."
• Question Features--Instructors can select randomized sequence of content, superscript and subscript readable in short answer questions, and parameterized numerical variables.
• Automatic Grading and Flexible Reporting--OWL's easy-to-use grading system allows you to grade students by pass/fail or percentages. By generating a variety of reports, you can check on the progress of an individual student or obtain a list of grades for all students for each assignment. At a glance, you'll be able to see where students are struggling perhaps suggesting what might need to be revisited in lecture.
• NEW!-Guided Simulations--interactive simulations of chemical systems--are accompanied by guiding questions to lead students through an exploration of the simulation. These concept-building tools use simulations to guide students to their own discovery of chemical concepts and relationships. Students can examine chemical systems by adjusting variables and observing how those changes affect the system.
• NEW!-Media-based Exercises--interactive explorations of animations, movies and graphic images--ask students to examine the chemical principles behind multimedia presentations of chemical events.
• NEW!-Math Remediation Modules provide math assistance to students with varying levels of math preparation and helps students to master the basic math skills necessary for solving chemical problems in a general chemistry course.
• Students are able to do all their homework electronically and receive a grade for it. OWL provides you with a paper-less homework world with automated grading and essential tools for easy customization.
• Students are not able to move on from a module until they have mastered the assignments. Credit is only received for those assignments mastered.
• Rich, detailed, and intelligent feedback, with step-by-step instructions that include text page references, is provided for those questions which students answer incorrectly.
• Deep parameterization (both numerical and chemical) allows students to re-try questions over and over, covering the same concept, but using different questions. Students learn by doing.
• Instructors can manipulate assignments, see the grade book, add their own questions, etc. Instructors are able to see where students are struggling, perhaps suggesting what might need to be revisited in lecture.

Questions in OWL are organized to complement the Table of Contents of the Brooks/Cole general chemistry textbook in use.