Students who have had difficulties trying to access the online tutoring Web site www.smarthinking.com now should be able receive help without problems.
In December, the Louisiana Board of Regents purchased 900 hours of tutoring time from smarthinking.com as the first part of its online service efforts.
The Web site provides students assistance in a variety of subjects, including accounting, economics, grammar and chemistry.
Problems arose when the site prompted students for a user name and password to access the tutoring system. When prompted for this information, some students reported they did not know what data to use.
Tom Stewart, a University College associate, said any University student is welcome to use smarthinking.com.
When a student first logs on to smarthinking.com, he or she must enter the user name “batonlsu3” and password “study03help.”
After completing a registration form, students must choose a new, personalized user name and password to be used when accessing the tutoring system.
Mike Abbiatti, associate commissioner for information and learning technology for the Board of Regents, said despite these initial problems, response to the Web site has been positive.
“As of Jan. 31, we had over 250 individual sessions. The most active content area has been algebra,” he said.
Because the system is being offered to students at several colleges across the state, Abbiatti said the amount of users is expected to increase as more students return for the spring semester.
Some students said they never had heard of smarthinking.com or any form of online tutoring. While some said they felt an online system could be useful, others said there were easier methods to obtain help.
Danielle Alfandre, a linguistics graduate student, said it could be easier to get help online at home rather than have to wait until the next day to see someone in person.
Sarah Roy, a communication studies junior, said while she never had heard of smarthinking.com, she felt the concept of online tutoring was somewhat impersonal.
“I don’t think I would like it,” Roy said. “I just think it’s easier to go to the professor and ask questions.”
Abbiatti stressed smarthinking.com is only a pilot program that is still being evaluated.
“Our pilot is evaluating the usefulness of online tutoring,” Abbiatti said. “We are very careful not to bill this effort as a commercial for Smarthinking. Long-term plans will be discussed at the end of the pilot program.”