"So, the professor deliberately tempted people to look up something online, then amused himself by busting the people who did. Cute method, but it proves nothing other than "schmuck bait works"."
The way I see it, the people that are actually doing their homework wouldn't even be tempted by it..because they are actually doing their homework.
"Remember that this is homework, not a test. Yes, presumably the problem is doable without any reference material. The students don't necessarily know that, though. They do know that they've been prodded in that question to at least check their thinking or work against external information....which isn't available to them through the channels they've been permitted to use."
Checking your work against the correct answer and Googling the answer (and just writing it down) are two different things.
The way I see it, the people that are actually doing their homework wouldn't even be tempted by it..because they are actually doing their homework.
"Remember that this is homework, not a test. Yes, presumably the problem is doable without any reference material. The students don't necessarily know that, though. They do know that they've been prodded in that question to at least check their thinking or work against external information....which isn't available to them through the channels they've been permitted to use."
Checking your work against the correct answer and Googling the answer (and just writing it down) are two different things.