2008 Woodie Awards
Website offers database of exams
Marissa Lang
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
As exam time nears, students with too little sleep and too much caffeine will be looking for alternatives to make their studying easier.
Years ago, they could have walked over to the Stamp Student Union and dug through boxes of yellowing old exams, hunting for anything to help them out.
But now, a new website will give students the same access to old test materials from the convenience of their dorms. Koofers.com is similar to many other academic websites, such as RateMyProfessor.com and ourUMD.com, allowing students to rate professors and view grade distributions.
Unlike its competitors, however, Koofers offers online access to old tests, study guides, notes, quizzes, and other course materials available for download to any university student who registers.
Koofers provides the service free of charge, and thanks to the Student Government Association's donation of the thousands of tests which used to be housed in their Student Test and Referral Center, they will be posted just in time for finals.
The website's founder, Glynn LoPresti, said that while the concept of Koofers may seem revolutionary to students, they are simply applying new technology to an old practice.
"A lot of organizations keep these giant stashes of files [of past exams], but not nearly as many people end up benefiting from them as could," LoPresti said. "What we're offering is 24-hour access without having to dig through nasty old boxes to find what you're looking for."
These "nasty old boxes," however, are exactly where the idea for Koofers originated, he said. Born at Virginia Tech, "Koofers" is derived from the word "coffers," which refers to the bins old tests were kept in.
Student support is essential to the Web site's success, LoPresti said, because students upload old study guides and tests to add to the stock.
While the founders admit that teachers are often hesitant to embrace the idea, they do not feel the site will contribute in any way to an increase in academic dishonesty or cheating.
Years ago, they could have walked over to the Stamp Student Union and dug through boxes of yellowing old exams, hunting for anything to help them out.
But now, a new website will give students the same access to old test materials from the convenience of their dorms. Koofers.com is similar to many other academic websites, such as RateMyProfessor.com and ourUMD.com, allowing students to rate professors and view grade distributions.
Unlike its competitors, however, Koofers offers online access to old tests, study guides, notes, quizzes, and other course materials available for download to any university student who registers.
Koofers provides the service free of charge, and thanks to the Student Government Association's donation of the thousands of tests which used to be housed in their Student Test and Referral Center, they will be posted just in time for finals.
The website's founder, Glynn LoPresti, said that while the concept of Koofers may seem revolutionary to students, they are simply applying new technology to an old practice.
"A lot of organizations keep these giant stashes of files [of past exams], but not nearly as many people end up benefiting from them as could," LoPresti said. "What we're offering is 24-hour access without having to dig through nasty old boxes to find what you're looking for."
These "nasty old boxes," however, are exactly where the idea for Koofers originated, he said. Born at Virginia Tech, "Koofers" is derived from the word "coffers," which refers to the bins old tests were kept in.
Student support is essential to the Web site's success, LoPresti said, because students upload old study guides and tests to add to the stock.
While the founders admit that teachers are often hesitant to embrace the idea, they do not feel the site will contribute in any way to an increase in academic dishonesty or cheating.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Christopher Conroy
posted 5/12/08 @ 5:32 PM EST
I haven't tried the service out, but I'd like to point out that the Math department offers a testbank of past exams on their website: http://db.math.umd. (Continued…)
Kon the Lion
posted 5/12/08 @ 10:03 PM EST
I tested out the site, not much different from department test banks and "ourumd". This service is bound to fail unless students are willing to anonymously submit old study guides, homework, tests etc. (Continued…)
Kon The Lion
Kon the Lion
posted 5/12/08 @ 10:04 PM EST
I tested out the site, not much different from department test banks and "ourumd". This service is bound to fail unless students are willing to anonymously submit old study guides, homework, tests etc. (Continued…)
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