Posting Homework Online: Is It a Benefit for Students and Parents?

December 3rd, 2008 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Classroom Management, Special Needs

Lexi (named changed) has ADHD. She writes her assignments in her assignment notebook, but she doesn’t come home with all the books and materials she needs to complete her homework. Nearly every night Lexi asks her mother to drive her back to school to collect a missing book or packet.

Some nights Mom spot-checks Lexi’s assignment notebook against the homework the teacher posted online. It helps prevent missing assignments, Mom said.

The ’Net is a great educational tool, not just for classrooms, but for classroom communication as well. Teachers who host a classroom web page provide parents a resource for finding out about tests, projects, and assignments.

In the year since Texas high school teacher Susan Byrd has been posting homework online, she has received very few parent phone calls or e-mails about assignments.

Byrd recommends that teachers upload documents in user-friendly formats. “Not everyone has access to Publisher [and other programs], so you want to use generic programs,” Byrd said. “Also, you want to make sure that the file size isn’t huge because if a kid has dial-up at home, [downloading] is torture.”

While it’s convenient for students and parents to check the daily homework assignments online, some worry that posting assignments doesn’t encourage students to be responsible.

Suzanne Tingley, a former superintendent and author of Dealing with Difficult Parents, said it’s wise to post major assignments, mid-term exams, and research papers, but not daily work. She’s concerned that posting all assignments won’t encourage students to develop good study habits.

“When students go to college, no one will post assignments online for parents. The students are old enough in high school for that responsibility and posting homework online really teaches kids nothing,” Tingley said.

Posting assignments online also adds another layer of responsibility for the teacher, Tingley said.

Deb, a middle school social studies teacher in Wis., has been teaching for 19 years and posting student homework online for five years. Like Tingley, Deb worried about posting homework online because viewing assignments online doesn’t teach students to take good notes.

“I felt that it was taking away the students’ responsibility to write assignments in their assignment notebooks,” Deb said. “I have seen value in doing this and changed my mind. It not only helps students double check what they have recorded, but it also allows parents access to the information.”

Deb sees posting homework online as a reminder of work that needs to be done, but it’s not a substitute for assignment notebooks. She posts enough information online to remind students what they need to complete, but she doesn’t include every detail of instruction.

“Students know that with this resource there is little room for the excuse that they didn’t know what the assignment was or they forgot their assignment notebook at school,” Deb said.

Since she began posting homework online, Byrd has found that students turn in homework more consistently. Her classroom is 100 percent paperless, so students expect to visit the classroom site for daily work and grade updates.

“The kids see their current average right when they log on,” Byrd said. “It’s been enormously powerful.”

As a parent, Byrd relies on the system her daughter’s school uses to keep on top of assignments and tests. She checks the system twice a week and can see when big tests or projects are coming up.

“She’s more responsible because she knows I know what’s happening, too!” Byrd said.

Tags: ADHD, assignments, grades, grading