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NSC is now using the HyperLearning Meter (HLM) for online homework. Exams for record will be mailed or faxed to you, but for homework HLM makes access much easier. HLM is a Web-based system developed by Drs. Peter Denning and Daniel Menasce' and their students at GMU.

[Hyper Learning Meter]

HLM is very simple to use:

Your Web browser must be Internet Explorer 4.0 or later; or Netscape 4.5 or later. This is essential.

Click on "Course Material" on the NSC webpage and select your block of instruction. When you insert your username and password you will be linked to the homework sets, a webpage version of the homework that you can print, and a link to the HLM server for your class.

Fill in the HLM login: course (COM1, etc.) section (001 for now), name and password (the same ones you use for NSC).

At this point you can:

  • View concept map: this lays out the scope of material in the course
  • Virtual coach: see your scores
  • Self-Assessment: online homework
  • Certification: online exams

If you are in one of these and want to go to another one, click on the "tools" icon at the left of the browser screen.

After clicking Self-Assessment or Certification:

  • click on the exercise you want to complete and then click "generate test"
  • click the number of each question at the top to complete that question
  • when finished click "Grade Test"

Some important facts:

  • You can repeat a Self-Assessment as many times as you like; but you can only take a Certification once
  • Be sure to have HLM grade your submission before you quit, so the score gets into the database
  • If you lose connection during a Certification, you can pick up where you left off (but you can not back up), this is not true of Self-Assessment, you must start over if you lose connection
  • When entering numeric answers, always use at least four significant digit accuracy; HLM allows a little "fudge factor" but not much!
  • In some cases the comment that is printed after you submit your answer will show an answer in round numbers. This is indicated by the character ~, for example ~3 when the more precise answer is 3.010. You still need to enter your answer to four significant digits. The round number is a useful approximation when you are not working with HLM.
  • Also for numeric answers, never use commas or letters (this means no multipliers like M and no units like Hz)
  • On some questions you will see a number in parentheses under the question, like this:
    (1)
    This is an artifact of HLM question generation and is not part of the question you are supposed to answer.
  • NSC HLM questions use scientific programming notation, for example 1.25x1014 is expressed as 1.25E14; also exponentation is represented as ^ so 3^4 is "three to the fourth power"

Updated: 4/29/1999 

C o p y r i g h t   1 9 9 8
G e o r g e   M a s o n   U n i v e r s i t y
A l l  R i g h t s  R e s e r v e d
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