Parents, it seems, are less equipped than ever to jump in and help out with homework assignments. So, if you’re a student, who do you turn to for help with your homework? Back in the day (seems like the Dark Ages, looking back), as a last resort, there was always the Library.
So have times changed? You bet. According to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study, both parents and students turn to the Internet. The study’s research revealed that the Internet has become an increasingly important feature of the learning environment for students, and is used as an essential study aid outside the classroom.
Students and parents report that the Internet is vital to completing school projects, and has effectively replaced the library. As many as 71% of students surveyed, report using the Internet as their primary source for researching, and completing major projects.
If you’re a student, or the parent of a student, consider bookmark the following web sites which will provide comprehensive and reliable educational information that can be used to research school projects, and homework assignments.
Since 1995, Refdesk.com, has served as a one-click springboard to many of the Web’s top dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculators, atlases, news headlines, and search engines. The site also includes a handy “homework helper” section that provides help in all subjects for students in every grade.
Have you ever wanted to know why an earthquake occurs? How CD burners work? What the sun is made of? These questions and a large number of others related to computers/electronics, automobiles, science, entertainment, and people, are all answered at this award-winning Web site. Simply type a query into the search window or peruse the topics by category. Extras include free newsletters, surveys, and printable versions of all answers.
The Web’s answer to those black- and yellow-striped Cliff Notes is Novelguide, a reliable and free source for literary analysis of classic and contemporary books. The site offers character profiles, metaphor and theme analysis, and author biographies.
Use these free CliffsNotes literature notes to help with your homework and tests. Browse the list to find the study guide you need.
This site provides help in mathematics-related subjects, including basic grade-school math, calculus, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and statistics. Practice exercises are automatically graded, and this free site also features a glossary, calculators, homework tips, math games, and lesson plans for teachers.
Shmoop (Official Honoree of Webby Awards – 2010) is a new learning and teaching resource, lovingly made by Silicon Valley professionals and academics from Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard and other top universities. It is an online study guide for books, literature, essays, poems, US history, and quotes.
With more than 12,600 entries this is one of the most extensive mathematics resources on the Internet.
Perfect for language studies, this handy Web site automatically converts text from one language to another. Just type and paste up to 1,800 words into the search window and then select the desired language. Alternatively, you can cut and paste a Web URL to convert the entire site.
No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare’s language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.
Science classes aren’t as easy for some to grasp as for others. At Science Made Simple, students of all ages can get detailed answers to many of science’s questions, read current news articles related to science, get ideas for school projects, and take advantage of unit conversion tables.
If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.
Bill Mullins' Weblog - Tech Thoughts 
Bill,
I consider myself reasonably up on things, but helping the kids with homework is tougher than it looks these days.
Thanks for this great resource.
Liam
Hey Liam,
Happy to help.
Bill
Thanks for the links, Bill.
Hi Paul,
Happy to help.
Maybe now, my friends with kids in school, will stop complaining. 🙂
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Being one of those kids in school myself (worlds oldest) and doing full time studies, let me say thanks for that list, and I will be sure to be checking out each and every one of those sites.
Having to be constantly writing assignments and the like, the internet has made it oh so much easier for students to do their research. Most of the time its current and far more up to date than any book can ever be even though the basic information that it’s based on may never change.
One thing that my lecturers are hot on and that’s the use of Wikipedia. Instant fail if it can be proven that information has come from there.
Plagiarism (I hate that word) is the bane of my life when writing assignments because we use the “Harvard Reference System” and it’s almost as if you can’t write anything or have your own thoughts without having read it or referenced it from somewhere else first.
Considering all the course notes and lectures that we are given are 100% plagiarised to start with, it gets a bit frustrating when we are constantly being monitored on it ourselves and having to prove otherwise.
There you are I’ve had my whinge for the day. 🙂
Cheers
John
Hey John,
Well, it’s a great whinge and a well constructed argument – one that I agree with.
There are virtually no new ideas, in the general context (I’m not referring to scientific pursuits, and R&D). What does exist though, is a new way of combining contemporary ideas, or expressing old ideas in a new way. Having been involved in the development of training and development courses in a past life, I know how difficult it is to be fresh and original without relying on previously published work.
Now, in blogging, I generally try to not look at any reference material on what I’m about to write. But, that can’t work in an educational environment such as you’re in.
I’m not sure there’s a satisfactory answer, other than relying on the fairness of the course instructor. Although, I must admit, that’s not something I’d do willingly.
Best,
Bill
Bill,
You do have a wonderful way of putting pen to paper (so to speak) and fully explaining yourself in a clear and concise manner, and more power to you for not having to rely on referencing anything that you blog on. It just shows how much of a good Wordsworth you truly are.
Me on the other hand actually struggle with the written word and do take a long time in just creating a normal sentence.
Cheers
John
Very nice list, I have used many of them they have helped a lot in the last year. I have also been using http://www.online-calculus.com its a good site the lessons are very clear and it doesn’t cost anything.