By Matthew Bailey.

MyMathLab is a great program that allows teachers to over-assign work while simultaneously adding needless expenses to students. MML is tedious and overbearing, allowing teachers to simply set the assignments and forgot about it until it comes time to put in grades three days after the final. While some teachers may be responsible in their use of MML, there is always someone who will abuse their power.

MML is not expensive if you consider the cost of textbooks, but textbooks are notoriously overpriced and MML is an expense on top of textbooks and calculators. Professors, once students themselves, should understand that finances are not easy, yet they still use a program designed to cost students money. Simply having an email ending in ‘@nsula.edu’ gives free access to extremely expensive programs such as Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, etc., but not, MML the latest in scams from Pearson™.

While students suffer from MML, the teachers benefit. The program takes away the grading and commenting that was previously done by hand. Now, the professor can set assignments ahead of time, have them open and close at certain dates, and have them automatically graded for correctness. A great concept, but open to abuse. The teachers don’t have to consider how much homework they’re assigning because they don’t have to grade it. MML, in a single blow, increases student homework while nearly eliminating any “teacher homework.”

Pearson has studies posted on their website about the benefits of MML, but from my own experiences, as well as others, MML does not promote learning. If anything, it crushes any enthusiasm a student may hold for the class through overwhelming amounts of randomly-generated busywork. MML is a scam.  It is frustrating and disappointing that the NSU Math Department cares so little about their students that they help perpetrate it.