Student Comments

These are non-edited and non-filtered comments from students using Conceptual Academy at Texas Tech University, Fall 2016 semester.


 

  • love it!!! super helpful when studying for the test
  • it is helpful in some ways like the reading check
  • I really like using conceptual academy and i absolutely love how you do videos along with the lesson. I tried at first to read the book and not watch your videos, but now, i depend alot on your videos !!! they are super super helpful in learning the material
  • Conceptual Academy has honestly been a huge help. I am a visual learner, and the fact that experiments are done in conceptual academy also helps a lot. I have noticed that after doing these MY GRADES HAVE IMPROVED.
  • Conceptual Academy is definitely working for me. I enjoy the FYI documents because they really help me, and I feel they are good practice before the exam. I dont feel like Conceptual Academy needs to be tweeked.
  • I like using the conceptual academy videos because of the visual models of what we are learning, however, I think I learn best from the book just because I am such a visual learner that reading the information myself works best for me.
  • Conceptual Academy offers a limited amount of examples, therefore I feel I am only confident in answering questions that are similar to the examples given, however the examples in class are more complicated and vary. I do like the available access.
  • I use it as a self check and review for after i read the chapter
  • It’s a great way to learn it’s just hard to continously remember to watch the videoshow. You don’t realize that u didn’t watch a video till ur on the way to class and it stacks up.
  • I’ve actually really enjoyed it. I have found that I learn really well by watching videos and following along that way. Lectures are really not that useful to me so I’m glad we have the option.
  • It’s cool. I learn a lot of stuff that helps me prepare for the tests
  • The best thing about conceptual academy are the videos explaining the chapter. The video quizzes are not my favorite but I know they are suppose to help
  • I like Conceptual Academy. I think when used properly it is very very beneficial. I like the video aspect and that the quizzes give instant feedback as to some basic comprehension.
  • The videos and quizzes have helped me understand chemistry more effectively.
  • It did a great job of explaining terms and visualizing how things worked.
  • Conceptual Academy has helped me understand certain concepts from the book a whole lot better through your explanations in the videos. It is also easy to keep up with.
  • It helps
  • My experience on conceptual academy has been getting more explanation from what I read in the book and understanding the content more.
  • I like it because you can go at your own pace
  • I really like conceptual academy. I think it’s very helpful and it works well. It’s cool because you can do more then just multiple choice questions. It doesn’t glitch as much as I thought it might.
  • The videos helped but some of the assignments were due over the weekend and I forgot to do them which caused me to lose points.
  • I think it’s good but the wifi isnt working right now so I have to be on my phone’s wifi which is using up my data
  • Conceptual academy is good to use but with all of the videos they get kind of boring to watch. And by having to have 600 points it is hard to stay on top of the material when you have other co-curricular teams that you are on. If the points were more then it would be better.
  • The videos are really making a positive impact while studying.
  • It helps in addition to learning from reading the textbook. I think the video check questions could be more in depth instead of just picking out specific parts of the video and ask more about the subject itself. Overall though it is beneficial to learning alongside the textbook.
  • I think conceptual academy can be very helpful if you are able to learn from the videos. I think it is nice to have the quizzes at the end as well. Overall it can be a good study tool if you are able to learn that way!
  • I like that you put review ew questions and chapter summaries on conceptual academy. The videos are nice to because they give a summary of the chapter section.
  • It’s helpful for knowing what I need to study and what I already understand.
  • Its good but the dates recently have been off. I wish the videos themselves were just one instead of having 5 twn minute videos condense it into 1 twenty to thirty minute video
  • Conceptual Academy is helpful at times, you really have to focus on the videos and make sure you don’t miss anything. Sometimes you talk to fast so I miss material and Im constantly have to rewind the videos. But other than that it has been a positive experience
  • i enjoy that the videos are short and informational. It makes me feel better about this class.
  • I like conceptual academy because it helps to prepare me for the tests… especially the practice pages.
  • I enjoy watching the videos. I think it helps me espeically on the day of the test being able to go back and rewatch you explain things that I dont understand and work out problems as you do. The questions are super straight foward and helpful in learning.
  • good experience, I keep up with it pretty well and take notes from the videos. I like the reading quizzes, it makes me actually read the textbook.
  • I like it for the most part, I would like more powerpoints and worksheets
  • Conceptual Academy has helped me learn the information before it is presented in class. I think the quizzes have really helped me learn the material.
  • I enjoy it, but I with the points for video questions and reading questions weren’t on separate pages
  • I somewhat learn from it. Sometimes I miss stuff from the videos and having to watch the videos again to look for missing information is kinda tedious
  • i enjoyed watching the videos after reading the chapters because it explained the material a little more indepth. however, i wish we could have seen some more mathematical problems worked out (when applicable). I tend to struggle with remembering the correct steps to take so seeing it done a few more times wouldve been helpful
  • I can follow along in class, take notes, and study the practice exams we take and still make a 40 on the test. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I think I just get anxiety about taking the test and over think evrything.
  • Watching the videos helps me better understand what I have read in the textbook and goes into more detail on topics I may not have understood reading.
  • i use conceptual academy when needing to understand a lecture again I’m just terrible at remembering to do the quizzes
  • Conceptual Academy works for me when I read the book, answer book questions as I watch the lectures.
  • I really think it’s helpful. I like that it prepares you for class and you can always go back to the videos for reference!!
  • conceptual Academy does help me, it just helps to review all the material here in class. Ive realized sometimes we don’t really go over all the material in class and it leaves me wondering with questions. I like that you touch on everything on conceptual academy. I like how clear you are and how the videos are not so long to bore us to death.
  • I like that if you dont have the time to watch the videos then you can use þe book on the quiz because they follow
  • Good
  • I love that I can move at my own pace. I like being able to take notes with your videos because I can pause the video if I get behind on taking notes or if I don’t understand something the first time I can go back and rewatch the videos. You can’t do that in a lecture class of 350.
  • My experience with conceptual academy is great. The videos are very helpful and they prepare me for the test. Conceptual academy is also helping me with things that I do not understand.
  • I thought that it was a pretty good experience and the videos helped with the course too.
  • The information on Conceptual Academy is beneficial; however, peronally, it is hard to stay tuned some of the time. It’s easy for me to zone out when watching the videos.
  • If you watch the videos before the class date it is an extreme help. It is also very helpful when reviewing for the tests. Some of the Kai and mailey videos seem like they do not help, but once you apply them to what you are learning then they mostly do
  • I like conceptual academy. Using it along with notes from the book can thoroughly cover the course material. I do however wish that SOME of the practice quizzes at the end were as hard as the in class questions
  • Conceptual Academy has been helpfully in reinforcing material from the text and also reviewing material.
  • it’s super helpful and very easy to follow. I hate how I can’t see how many points i have
  • It has helped me understand certain concepts and helps me stay on track.
  • Watching the videos help a lot.
  • I like how learning catalytic provides detailed answers to problems.
  • watching the videos really help me grasp the concepts better than just reading out of the book. It acts as another lecture, but with this lecture i can go back and rewatch it if need be
  • The more visual the better! the video with the power points with definitions and more descriptive are fantastic! I like that it makes me read the book. I dont benefit from the kai and mili videos.
  • The video and reading check questions have helped me a lot.
  • Im starting to like it better! I most of the time have the quiz up and the video up at the same time. However i dont like the sometime out of place dates that fall on days that we dont normally have hw on that day like a random sunday because i forget to take it.
  • It helps in some ways but it would be better if you could write out the words going on in the video because I often would get confused and have to re-watch the whole 10 minute video to find answers.
  • I like conceptual academy but sometimes the answers to the questions can be a bit tricky to find and then retain for the questions. I have answered almost all questions but have gotten a lot wrong and I pay attention to the videos and do my best. Maybe some different questions would help
  • Like the videos. Very informative. The point system is weird. I thought I would easily reach 600, but that is not happening even though I keep up with the video quizzes and reading quizzes.
  • alright, hard to concentrate sometimes
  • conceptual academy works well. the only complaint is that some of the videos are so long it is hard to focus and you can miss an essential detail to the quiz
  • the questions after the mini video lectures help me use what I just learned to help put it in my memory
  • My experience in Conceptual Academy has been getting more explanation from what I have read in the book and I love how the vidoes explains to us alittle more
  • I will say I like the material, however the “due” date is an issue for me. A lot of nights I don’t get home until late so that midnight cut off for points has me put off.
  • I love the online videos because I can go back and rewatch the lectures if I don’t understand something. I was taking the video quizzes wrong I thought there was only one video quiz for each lesson so I missed out on a lot of points. Learning experience was great!
  • Being able to go back and review the lectures before tests helps more than anything. I love how passionate you are about teaching and I can tell through your online and in class lectures.
  • Its been very explanatory and helpful when I am struggling certain subjects in chemistry. It really helps to watch and listen to these videos, as well, while going along in the book.
  • It is a great learning tool. However, It’d be beneficial to add a feature where questions could be asked, or perhaps incorporating a frequently asked question per section.
  • The videos are extremely helpful and I like that if I dont catch something the first time, sometimes I can re-watch the videos to get a better understanding or help connect them to the next lesson.
  • i enjoy conceptual academy, but the videos longer than 8 minutes are way too long!
  • It is alright!!! There are sometimes a lot of videos for one section!
  • I’ve found the videos very helpful and take detailed notes on all of them. That is my main way of studying.
  • It helps a lot but I am having trouble gaining points even though I do almost all of the quizzes.
  • wonderful i have learned a lot throughout the course the videos were very helpful and i could relate with it more since it was my teacher conducting the videos
  • I like conceptual academy because it introduces me to the material beforehand. It also helps because if I am ever confused on a topic, I can go back and rewatch the videos to help understand the material. I feel like the videos go more in depth than the book and the questions at the end make sure you are actually retaining what you learned.
  • I like using it.
  • I do not like conceptual academy. it’s hard for me to watch a video and remember what I just learned on the video, also I’m not very good at paying attention for long so I tend to zone out during the videos. But the quizzes are helpful
  • I forget to do this a lot. But when i used to remember to do it i thought the videos were helpful.
  • It’s a good idea so that we get more practice in class.
  • Its pretty rad, bro
  • It was helpful when I needed to go back to review something before a test but i didn’t like how we had to rely on the videos to learn everything rather than coming to class to learn.
  • Sometimes the quizzes help me out, but at other times I wish the stuff we learned in the videos were learned in class instead, so we could take notes. But if we’re just going to keep using conceptual academy then I think it works fairly well and teaches enough.
  • Love It and helpful
  • It’s helpful.
  • I like working with Conceptual Academy. The documents you post on FYI pages with reviews are very helpful, although I feel as if many students are not taking advantage of them. I am not sure if that is because they do not know they are there or if they just do not feel them necessary to look at? Overall good experience!
  • For me, it was hard to pay attention and learn from it. I have ADHD and try to not use medication to focus and computers easily distract me. I learn better from hearing it and practicing what I learn, like in the lecture
  • It’s good to use the videos as extra information from the text book to get more knowledge
  • The videos are pretty good but the quizzes are hard to keep up with like I didn’t know during the past two units that each video had a quiz.
  • Its a great tool to help better understand what is going on in class. It is also a great study tool to re-watch the videos before an exam.
  • i like coneptual acedmeny. I slack sometimes with it and I wish the videos were combined a little more but i like being able to replay if i dont understand
  • It’s very helpful. Also comes in handy when studying
  • conceptual academy is somewhat helpful. I feel as if it’s sometimes hard to gain a better understanding rather than reading from the textbook.
  • I wish it was more in depth. But I like the videos for extra information. I wish the questions were a little harder and more like the l exam. But overall I’ve enjoyed the website.
  • I don’t watch the lectures anymore because they don’t help me at all..I did a lot better on the second test without watching a single lecture, but the quizzes and reading the book help the most and just re-reading when I study.
  • It is very helpful with teaching me the information for the course.
  • I like it. I like how the videos explain and add on the info in the textbooks. The Kali and maile videos are not my favorite.
  • I like the point system and the videos.
  • I think it was a good tool to use, maybe just add some more questions o it for more output experiences for the student
  • I personally really benefitted from it because I could always go back and watch them if I needed clarification.
  • I like it. It helps me understand while I read the book.
  • I really like conceptual academy because it helps explain everything in a setting where I can go back if I didn’t understand something rather than stop the professor and ask them to repeat something. I also like how it wants you to read the booo too. I feel like that pairing is helpful
  • Its good i like how you can go back and listen to past chapters and the fact that you dont have to just read the book
  • Extremely helpful, probably wouldn’t be doing well without it. I love that i have access to the lectures at all times, but I hate that ours
  • The video’s are clutch, thank you for putting in so much effort to making Chemistry a interesting experience for everybody!
  • I like how it goes into further detail for me, not a biggest fan of the reading quizzes because they do not come from our videos
  • its a useful tool that allows me to better understand certain concepts
  • I find it very knowledgeable and I’m great at learning visually, but I find it hard to continually go online every other day to watch videos over and over again. The one thing that frustrates me is that some videos have three or four videos along with it instead of it being a certain number.
  • It is helpful and helps me learn
  • It really helps me understand the concepts. But sometimes it closes earlier than the day of the class and I’m unable to get points for the quizzes.
  • conceptual academy is a great study tool and can really help you out if you need a new technique for studying and a better understanding of things.
  • I think it is a very good program, I just forgot pretty often to go on the night before class and do the work for it. If it was open up until the start of class, that would be GREAT!!!
  • It’s really helpful! It breaks down the readings into easy to understand lessons and the quizzes solidified what we just learned.
  • Helps me understand the materials in class by explaining in more detail.
  • I enjoy the book the most. I haven’t utilized Conceptual Academy as much as I could have but I wish I did.
  • it is hard to be diligent in watching long videos outside of class. The 4 minute ones are okay, but I find myself avoiding the 7minutes. The experiment videos are kinda cheesy. But the format is nice.
  • CA is working for me very well. I take notes on the videos and quizzes, which in turn helps me to learn and study. I also feel as though it keeps my in check with the class.
  • It has helped out a lot with learning the material. The worksheets have helped guide me in learning the material as well.
  • Conceptual Academy is very helpful with the lectures. The questions help show whether or not you have a clear understanding of the material being presented. When I miss question on conceptual academy, it lets me know the areas I need to focus on more and study.
  • I really like conceptual academy and being able to look back at lecture videos to review concepts.
  • The program works great. I just wish our grade was not based partially on conceptual academy.
  • Great, I love the videos and the practice exams
  • It is very helpful learning the videos at home and then going over the material in class and it also allows you to go back and rematch the videos
  • I honestly didn’t complete as many points as I should have but for the ones completed so far, I enjoy how you are explaining everything through videos. It makes me feel like another lecture session at home
  • I like it! I feel like it would be easier if you would get emails reminding you of an assignment you have due that day on there
  • its so good!!! i love it
  • i enjoyed using this program, when I took chem 1305 last fall they used a different program and I wasn’t able to learn as much as I did through this program.
  • I like getting to go back and review the lectures before exams.
  • I’m learning a lot more with the videos and when i read along with the textbook its even more understandable
  • I have overall enjoyed the experience. I think that it works very well and would love to use it more for the final with questions to review. I wish we could go back and view all of the conceptual academy questions as a review
  • Conceptual Academy has help a lot with visual learning and looking at examples. I like how I can pause and go back as many times as i need to understand the concept.
  • I like the videos but the quizzes are not very representative of the information in the video. I think more questions that go from easy to hard would be best. some units have a lot of videos too which deters me from watching them. So maybe a short fast review for every topic would be best
  • It’s working really well for me! I like watching the videos and coming to class prepared for the class.
  • The videos are a good resource for studying and are easy to follow.
  • good
  • Conceptual Academy only works if you actually use it. I have heard complaints about it, but those are from the people who don’t actually treat the videos seriously. However, i do prefer a more typical classroom setting with notes. The lack of homework is appreciated though
  • I like the way it mirrors the textbook. It is very helpful. I would like to see more questions on the reading exam.
  • It works really well and combined with the reading of the textbook it is a good study tool to have, in order to prepare for the exams.
  • I like it a lot because you can watch the videos at your own pace and go back whenever you need to. You can’t rewind an in class lecture. I like the chapter review summaries a lot and all of the doc share papers. I find I learn best when I’m testing myself so that helps a lot.
  • I like the videos but some of the questions do not make sense
  • Like conceptual academy because it gives me a summary of what I read before watching the videos. It let me sees what I still need to study or don’t need to study.
  • Conceptual Academy has proven to be a good way for me to receive lecture. However I cant solely depend on the videos, rather I feel that reading the book afterwards serves its purpose well.
  • One huge problem I have with it is that sometimes I go back to the quizzes AFTER I take them to see the questions for review, and it shows that I haven’t taken them. Like it doesn’t always save the quizzes!!!!!!
  • Its great I just don’t always have time to do it. But the extra points in class have been great because I come to every class and still need a 100 points
  • I Like the videos. They are very helpful. I wish every class had Conceptuademy
  • Some of the video questions are not about the actual information but about minor details in the Kai and Maile videos. I would rather be tested over important information about the videos. Other than that the videos are easy to follow and helpful.
  • I think Conceptual Academy provides a good experience to learn the material. Hoever, the Kai and Maile portions are my least favorite, as they seem silly and don’t always resolve the question, especially when students do not have those materials in dorms or apartments. Sometimes the videos are a bit long, but I think they are good for covering the material.
  • I have a hard time with videos teaching me chemistry. They are helpful with some questions, but I get more out of you explaining in more detail in class
  • I really like conceptual academy. Having the videos is helpful because I’m able to pause and write notes or back tract. The quizzes are helpful as well because they make me think about what I just learned from the video.
  • It has been a great way of learning the material. I enjoy the videos and I learn better from them.
  • I wish that the explanations were so difficult to understand.
  • I personally like lectures better. I focus more in class than watching a video on my computer. However, I do like the examples you show. I don’t like the kai and Maile vidoes. I feel they are unnesecary to watch
  • The videos are great and very helpful! I rewatch them before every test and I have felt good on every test. I like how the videos get you thinking.
  • I found it very helpful, and enjoyed the videos
  • Helps me understand the lesson before I even come to class. I like how easy it is to be able to earn points. Makes the lesson easy to understand.
  • I believe that the conceptual academy concept is good but I believe that the format of the website could be improved and having worksheets for each section would help
  • Sometimes the dates don’t add up to our class dates which is confusing and annoying because I’ll miss points. I really enjoy the videos but sometimes I’ll cheat and pull up the quiz on a different tab and not even pay attention to the video.
  • Good
  • I really like the lecture videos on there. I don’t feel like the questions afterward really help for studying the test.
  • I enjoy watching the lectures and being able to go back and review them. I do not enjoy the quiz questions after as much because sometimes they confuse me about the lecture. Even though I enjoy watching I wish there were more definitions and lengthier explanations, including some work out problems.
  • I like the videos but I wish we could get points for quizzes we missed before the final so that we may have the chance to see more related questions.
  • It’s been alright, it doesn’t really help me understand what the topic is and the kai and Maile parts don’t help at all either.
  • I like the videos, but the in class lectures are what help the most for me. I like the question quizzes because if you understand the material, you will, most of the time, get the questions correct.
  • I enjoy it, but watching the videos even when I watch it I sometimes get the questions wrong during the quizzes
  • I don’t feel like i am learning as well on Conceptual Academy as I would during a lecture based class or by just reading the book
  • Its a good place to start and it goes along really well with the book. It helps prepare you for class, however if you miss one its very very easy to fall behind and can be hard to stay on top of.
  • the video quizzes really keep me on track with not getting behind, the FYI page always helps me gather a better understanding
  • conceptual academy is decent. it helps to me to review a small but but wish the videos went into even deeper detail.
  • It’s good
  • I love it! It’s so convenient and the videos are great!
  • The lectures are easy to watch. Sometimes I wish they had more definitions and more clearly relayed the information from the textbook. Sometimes it’s hard to relate the review to my notes from conceptual academy.
  • i like it
  • I think the videos really help but having them due every single class is sometimes a struggle to watch on top of all our other homework when we could be learning some of what are in the videos in class. I just think the videos should be condensed and more time should be spent talking about the videos in class.
  • I really like conceptual academy, I am able to go back and rewatch the videos before the exams and that really helps. I also like that it’s broken down to the dates of class. The only thing I wish we could do is set a reminder that went to our calendar.
  • I enjoy conceptual academy overall.
  • It helps me understand more of the conceptual questions thAT I don’t really understand in class. I understand the questions that you really have to think about and understand the material to get because of conceptual academy
  • It was not my favorite. I find that personally it’s harder for me to learn from videos vs learning from a lecture.
  • It helps me to understand this class a lot better. The videos give me a visual I can watch over and over again.
  • Conceptual academy’s videos explains the problems and questions I have very well. Anytime I don’t understand something I go back and watch the video again to get a better understanding.
  • Watching the videos before class helps a lot.
  •  

“Again, thank you so much for working with us and providing better ways for our students to be successful! I have been receiving very positive feedback from students using the videos!  Today, one student commented that seeing the videos for the light chapter and then starting the chemistry unit (which builds on the concepts just covered) really was, as he said, “quite cool” and he was “getting the ideas”!  His input was very encouraging since he usually has negative responses  due to poor success in the past (he is a repeater of the course). Again, thank you for your time and all the efforts you have made to help students and instructors make learning and teaching a great experience!”

Linda M. Bates, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Chemistry/Physical Sciences, South Arkansas Community College

I just had to write and share this with you. I did a “practice” pyramid format exam with my students today, and I was blown away by their reactions! This has been a pretty quiet, non-interactive group, but WOW, was it different today! I got reactions that ranged from “this is a neat way to take a test” to “I can’t WAIT to take the test next week!!!” Umm, did I hear that correctly? They were very interactive with me and each other, and their correct answers drew cheers. The hardest part was for me to keep my mouth shut as they debated and discussed. The bottom line….THANK YOU for creating this book, course, and Conceptual Academy. It is phenomenal, and I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun teaching a class!

Diann Thomas, Ph.D.

Director, Chemistry Laboratory Technology Program, Ozarks Technical Community College

Sample Video: The Periodic Table

 

 

 

Sample Video: Glaciers