Home PublicationsL&LIssuesVolume 29 (2001-2002) February (No. 5)

Do I Have to Do My Homework? By Marcie Zisow Using technology to create meaningful homework assignment, activities, and projects.

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Subject: Technology use for homework
Audience: Teachers, teacher educators, tech coordinators
Grade Level: K–12 (Ages 5–18)
Technology: All
Standards: NETS•S 1, 3, 5; NETS•T II–III (www.iste.org/standards).

Perhaps the time has come for the goals of education to change. Just as the invention of the printing press in the 1400s transformed the intellectual life of the world, so has the invention of the computer in the 1950s. The computer reinvented knowledge by giving us a new way to view the world and ourselves. (Willis & Raines, 2001, p. 54)

The use of technology in the classroom to enhance student achievement is a timely topic that pervades educational literature today. However, the literature is practically devoid of evidence for the uses of technologies to enhance both short- and long-term homework assignments. (See What the Literature Reveals about Homework at the bottom of this article to read what several studies have said about homework in general.) Teachers often assign homework to provide extra practice to students without regard to individualized needs for such practice. In turn, homework is often viewed by students as nothing more than “busy work” and therefore inconsequential to their learning. What are some ways technology can be used by teachers to improve the quality of homework assignments and to positively affect students’ home learning experiences?

A New Framework for Doing Homework

E-mail has invaded our lives. Although a few years ago the question was whether a family owned a computer, today the question is often how many computers does a family own. The same is true in our schools. Computer labs, classroom computers, wireless technology, and laptops on carts—all with Internet connectivity—are becoming the standard. Technology committees are no longer researching whether e-mail should be made available to teachers and students, but rather how to encourage and integrate the use of e-mail throughout the school curriculum. Although the Digital Divide still exists, after-school computer labs, public libraries, community centers, and even shopping malls are making the Internet readily accessible. In addition, the availability of free e-mail accounts such as those available through Yahoo! and Hotmail make e-mail accessible to teachers and students. (Editor’s note: See the Resources section at the end of the article for these and other URLs.)

Using e-mail as a new, more efficient way for teachers to assign homework and for students to deliver completed assignments to teachers is now possible. Of course, until e-mail access is available to all students through home computers, teachers may have to modify homework deadlines for those who need to access e-mail at alternative sites. For now, the use of technology for assignments can be a worthwhile supplement to each of the traditional paper-and-pencil homework types.

Types of Homework

According to LaConte (1981), homework can be grouped into three categories: practice, preparation, and extension. Eddy (1984) provides a description of each type of homework.

Practice assignments. Practice assignments reinforce newly acquired skills or knowledge. Students who have learned about a particular chemical reaction, for instance, may be asked to find examples of the reaction in their own environment. These assignments are most effective when carefully evaluated by the teacher, when matched to the ability and background of the individual student, and when students are asked to apply recent learning directly and personally.

Preparation assignments. Intended to provide background information, these assignments can include readings in the class text, library research, collecting materials for a class demonstration, and other activities requiring the gathering or organizing of information before a class discussion or demonstration.

Effective preparation includes guidelines on why and how the assignment should be completed. In addition, accurately estimating a task’s level of difficulty and coordinating the assignment of difficult homework among various courses may help teachers avoid overburdening students.

Extension assignments. These assignments encourage individualized and creative learning by emphasizing student initiative and research. Extension assignments, which are frequently long-term continuing projects that parallel class work, require students to apply previous learning.

Technology can be used to change these three types of homework from paper-and-pencil “chores” or “busy work” to motivating learning opportunities that extend classroom learning into the home. Often, an assignment, including some mentioned as examples in this article, could be done with paper and pencil, but by assigning them to be done electronically, children are practicing valuable skills such as word processing, database use, and file management.

Technology-Based Practice Assignments

Emphasizing a student’s individual abilities and interests with regard to homework has been a daunting task in the past. Not many teachers had the time or energy to assign individualized homework assignments to meet student needs. In fact, the same assignment—one that all students could complete—was often given to all students regardess of their individual instructional needs, thus resulting in the “busy work” perception. At best, extra-credit assignments were offered for those who wanted to pursue a particular topic further.

Using technology, teachers can now move from the role of “assigner and designer” of the homework assignment to “facilitator” for the homework reinforcement process. Rather than requesting that all students complete a specified generic assignment, the teacher can ask students to use technology to practice the skills or display the knowledge learned. This practice moves the task from teacher driven to student driven. It asks the student to think about what has been learned and find real-life applications for that skill or ways to display newly acquired knowledge. The following are examples of practice homework assignments using technology.

Skill practice. After learning a particular skill (e.g., different types of verbs), create a Web site that teaches others that skill. Annotated Internet addresses with additional valuable information can be added as well.

Skill practice. Create an electronic worksheet and answer key that practices a particular skill or reviews information about a topic.

Journal writing. Create and maintain an electronic journal. Along with entries, include electronic clip art and illustrations created with a drawing program. Insert Internet addresses relevant to the journal entry’s topic. For example, if the entry is about a favorite sport, the student can include the Internet addresses for more inform-ation on that sport.

Journal writing. Share favorite electronic journal entries through e-mail, providing feedback on the entry, illustrations, and Web resources.

Spelling. Create a game or worksheet that other students will complete to practice the correct spelling of a weekly word list. Use a word processor to create the game or worksheet or employ the use of online resources such as Puzzlemaker to create word finds, crossword puzzles, and so on. Provide an answer key for the game or worksheet.

Equations. Create an electronic spreadsheet that will automatically perform a particular math operation (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, division).

Lesson summary. Use a word processor to write a summary of the day’s lesson and share it with parents.

Lesson summary. Send an e-mail message to a fellow classmate (cc to teacher) describing a particular concept, event, or person learned in class that day or week. Include relevant Internet addresses in case the classmate wants to learn more about it.

Technology-Based Preparation Assignments

Topic preparation. Conduct a Web search about a particular topic of study before the unit is begun, finding at least three sites on the topic. Send an annotated e-mail message to the teacher. (You can e-mail this assignment to students.)

Online library search. At home, search an online library for information about a particular topic. Cut and paste the information into an e-mail messge and send it to your school e-mail account, where it can be accessed during class time.

Bibliography database. For a specific topic, generate a bibliographical database of books on a particular topic that are available at a local public library.

Technology-Based Extension Assignments

Multimedia. Create a multimedia presentation of a predetermined number of slides summarizing a recently studied unit.

Creative writing. Create a newsletter, brochure, or pamphlet about a recently studied unit.

Picture book. Create an electronic picture book using clip art and draw tools about a recently studied unit.

Extended research. Within a particular unit of study, select a topic of special interest and conduct a Web search for valuable resources to further the study of that topic.

Extended research. Create a Web page of annotated links on a particular topic within a specific unit of study.

Extended research. Conduct a search on the Web, identifying an “expert” on a topic of interest. E-mail that person with specific questions.

Collaboration. Participate in a key pal project with a fellow student from another school who is studying the same unit. Periodically share what was learned about the unit, including any activities or projects produced.

Discussion. Participate regularly (weekly, biweekly, etc.) in a discussion newsgroup (via an electronic bulletin board), sharing information with fellow classmates about a particular unit of study. (You, as the teacher, can initially post some opening questions to stimulate the conversation.)

Collaboration. Work collaboratively to create a video about a particular person, event, or unit of study.

Management of Technology-Based Homework

Homework management is a matter of personal preference. Regardless of whether homework is paper and pencil or electronic, teachers must devise a system for the collection, grading, and return of homework.

Managing electronic homework takes an organizational system that meets the teacher’s desires. The important thing to remember is that students and parents should be aware of the teacher’s homework system with regard to receiving, grading, and returning policies. In addition, there should be guidelines for alternative homework in case there is a short-term connectivity problem and for those who do not have access to e-mail.

Filtering e-mail can simplify the task of seeing who has and has not submitted an assignment. Ask students to submit assignments with a particular title in the Subject box. Then set up your e-mail so that all messages containing those words in the Subject box will be automatically forwarded to a homework folder. For example, if students are told to submit Spelling homework with the Subject, “Spelling <Insert Child’s Last Name>,” when the teacher applies an e-mail rule saying that any e-mail arriving with the subject “Spelling” would be moved to a Homework folder, all submitted Spelling homework will automatically be filed there. The teacher now only needs to check off the names of those whose e-mail is in the Homework folder marked “Spelling” to know who has and has not completed the assignment. If the Subject word is misspelled, that e-mail will go to the teacher’s regular inbox and can be dragged into the Spelling folder on receipt.

There is no question that the types of homework examples provided here, although stimulating for students, could be a potential organization disaster for teachers. Traditionally, homework is assigned on a particular day and completed on a particular day. This arrangement is still possible, but it requires some ground rules for both teachers and students.

Teacher Ground Rules

1. Post assignments with clear expectations. If a presentation is to have a minimum of 10 slides and a maximum of 20 slides, this must be specified clearly.

2. When making assignments, take into account students’ ability to access computers, online resources, and any needed software. Give students without home access and necessary software the option to work in the school’s lab before or after school. If this is not possible, alternative paper-and-pencil assignments should be made available, alleviating any penalty to students for not completing assignments. In some instances, children may be able to make after-school or weekend plans with classmates who do have Internet access and necessary software, to work from a friend’s home.

3. Note the due dates along with the method of homework submission. That is, specify that a homework assignment is due in the teacher’s e-mail inbox by midnight on a particular day.

4. Clearly specify policies for late homework.

5. Electronic homework is a “new way of doing business,” so do not expect all to go smoothly immediately. This is a learning process, and it may take time to discover methods to make organization and record keeping easier.

Student Ground Rules

1. Read all homework assignment instructions carefully. Follow them exactly.

2. Make sure to submit assignments on time.

3. Include the proper, specified title in the Subject box. If you do not do this, your assignment may not reach your teacher!

4. Technology is a tool. Sometimes, for reasons beyond your control, it will not be operating correctly. Complete your assignments well in advance of the due date so technology failure is not a problem.

The use of technology is a widely accepted practice in classrooms across the country today. Extending the use of technology to the home by assigning meaningful homework accomplishes three goals. First, it encourages meaningful homework assignments designed to meet the individual reinforcement needs of students. Second, it provides practice of valuable technology skills that will serve students well beyond the completion of the homework itself. And third, it provides students with homework activities that are engaging and fun, perhaps alleviating once and for all the age-old question, “Do I have to do my homework?”

Resources

Hotmail: www.hotmail.com

Puzzlemaker: www.puzzlemaker.com

Yahoo!: www.yahoo.com

References

Eddy, Y. (1984). Developing homework policies (ERIC Digest). Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

Keith, T. Z. (1981). Time spent on homework and high school grades: A large-sample path analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 248–253.

Knorr, C. L. (1981). A synthesis of homework research and related literature. Paper presented to the Lehigh Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, Bethlehem, PA.

LaConte, R. T. (1981). Homework as a learning experience. What research says to the teacher. Washington, DC: National Education Association.

McDermott, R. P., Goldman, S. V., & Varenne, H. (1984). When school goes home: Some problems in the organization of homework. Teachers College Record, 85, 391–409.

Paulu, N. (1995). Helping your child with homework. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Available: www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Homework/title.html.

Rutter, M., Mortimer, P., Ouston, J., & Maughan, B. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ward, B., & others. (1983). The relationship of students’ academic achievement to television watching, leisure time reading and homework. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Willis, E. M., & Raines, R. (2001). Technology in secondary teacher education. T.H.E. Journal, 29(2), 54–64.

What the Literature Reveals about Homework
Homework, whether valuable to student achievement, is an integral and expected part of the education system in the United States. The literature on this subject presents inconclusive evidence concerning the relationship between homework and academic achievement, because controlling the many variables involved in the homework process makes such studies nearly impossible to conduct (Knorr, 1981; LaConte, 1981; McDermott, Goldman, & Varenne, 1984). A study by Eddy in 1984 revealed that students’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions of homework are that it helps students achieve better grades.

The following studies reveal a trend toward a positive relationship between homework and student performance.

Rutter, Mortimer, Ouston, and Maughan (1979). Schools that assigned homework frequently showed higher student achievement levels than did schools that made little use of homework.

Knorr (1981). Rather than relying on conflicting research findings, school districts might more profitably determine whether homework, as they define and construct it, meets school and district educational objectives.

Keith (1982). Increased homework time resulted in higher grades for high school seniors of all ability levels. Moreover, through increased study, lower-ability students achieved grades commensurate with those of brighter peers.

Ward et al. (1983). One to two hours of homework per day were associated with the highest levels of reading performance for 13-year-olds. For 17-year-olds, reading performance increased as the amount of time spent on homework increased. Students who spent more than two hours per night on homework showed the highest performance levels.

Paulu (1995). Homework is an activity that brings parents and teachers togeth-er, and parents who help children with it are more cognizant of their children’s education and school. Research shows homework to be most helpful if it is planned carefully by teachers and if the actual assignment has direct meaning to students.

Copyright © 2002, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.