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 Technology News | August 2005 
Students Get Help With Homework From Technology
 Marc Saltzman - USA Today
| | Learning Spanish? Topics Entertainment's Instant Immersion: Spanish, Version 2.0 (www.topics-ent.com, $29.99) offers five CD-ROMs to help master the language with videos, dictionaries and lessons on vocabulary, phrases and pronunciation. |
High school and college students have used computers for years to type and print homework assignments. They also have used electronic calculators to solve and graph complex equations. And the Internet continues to be a valuable resource for researching term papers and school reports.
Savvy students this year can add new software programs and Web sites to their toolkit for writing essays, cramming for math exams, learning new languages and preparing science projects.
For instance, high-school students stressed over math may want to consider Riverdeep's "Destination Math: Mastering Algebra" (www.riverdeep.com, $59.99), which provides interactive lessons to help solve linear equations and graph linear functions and systems.
Learning Spanish? Topics Entertainment's Instant Immersion: Spanish, Version 2.0 (www.topics-ent.com, $29.99) offers five CD-ROMs to help master the language with videos, dictionaries and lessons on vocabulary, phrases and pronunciation. Versions also are available to teach French and German.
Microsoft, the world's largest and most recognizable software company, is also joining the homework help crowd with Microsoft Student 2006 (www.microsoft.com, $99.99). It's a DVD-ROM packed with organization tools, templates and content to help middle and high school students in a variety of subjects.
Students 2006 is different from other educational software on the market, says Kathy Schrock, a technology administrator for the Nauset school district in Orleans, Mass.
"In particular, all these templates and tutorials let students simply insert text and images, such as dragging and dropping information into a lab report outline, so students can now spend their time concentrating on the content instead of the form," Schrock says.
Students 2006 isn't Microsoft's first program for students. The Redmond, Wash., software giant also publishes the Encarta Reference Library (now bundled with Microsoft Student 2006) as well as Microsoft Office Standard Student and Teacher Edition, a discounted suite of tools including Word, Excel and PowerPoint that's available for both Windows and Macintosh.
"Because, after all, many parents are at a loss to help their kids in this subject," Schrock says Student 2006's online math help is one of its most valuable features. She also likes how Web searches also return related articles in Encarta encyclopedia.
"Type in John D. Rockefeller at Google.com and relevant Encarta articles will pop up right inside the browser," Schrock says.
Student 2006's built-in graphing calculator is slick, says Briana Lee, a 17-year-old student in Philadelphia.
"I was amazed at how well it graphed, all in color and 3-D, and even though it has many more options than a handheld calculator it was easier to use, and more fun," she says. Lee adds that she plans to use Student 2006 in college because she finds it so useful.
Computer software has dramatically changed the way Mohammad "Moody" Kassem, an 11th-grader in Beavercreek, Ohio, tackles homework.
"I usually can't go without the Internet or some sort of software to help me," Kassem says. "It's actually more in demand than most people think. Because if at 11 p.m. at night you have been procrastinating the history project that is due tomorrow, and you need help, who are you going to ask?"
Programs such as Student 2006 will catch on, Kassem says.
"(It) is going to be a blow out thing for all students," he says. "It's functionality, design and ease of use is magnificent."
At least one principal wonders if homework helpers might increase the economic divide between Americans who can afford technology and those who can't.
"Many families are expecting kids to be successful, so they find all kinds of programs to help them — for those that can afford it," says Mark Nettendorf, a 27-year veteran teacher and administrator in Bend, Ore.
Overall, Nettendorf thinks homework helper software and Web sites make sense if students use them wisely.
"I'm all for what makes them successful," he says. "The question used to be whether (students) relied too much on calculators to solve problems, and now it may be software, but considering teachers use these products all the time, I suppose it will continue to catch on with some students." |
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