Google Blog: Practice sets: a more personal path to learning. “With practice sets, educators can easily transform their own teaching content into interactive assignments and use the autograding tool to cut down on manual grading time. Practice sets also help teachers figure out which concepts need more instruction time and who could use extra support, giving them quick performance insights to shape future lesson plans.”
People: Over Two-Thirds of Parents Have to Use Google to Help Kids with Schoolwork, Study Finds. “A survey of 2,000 American parents with school-aged children asked how sharp their math skills were and how they approach their kid’s assignments. Results found that although 79 percent of parents surveyed can recall the things they learned in school, nearly as many (70 percent) parents said it’s harder for them to solve their kid’s math homework today.”
Phys .org: Smartphones are lowering student’s grades, study finds. “The ease of finding information on the internet is hurting students’ long-term retention and resulting in lower grades on exams, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study. The study, published in the journal Educational Psychology, found that smartphones seem to be the culprit. Students who received higher homework but lower exam scores—a half to a full letter grade lower on exams—were more likely to get their homework answers from the internet or another source rather than coming up with the answer themselves.”
NPR: Alexa Can Help Kids With Homework, But Don’t Forget Problem-Solving Skills. “How do virtual assistants like Alexa, which are increasingly common in households, affect children’s learning experiences?”
Pew (PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!): Nearly one-in-five teens can’t always finish their homework because of the digital divide. “Some 15% of U.S. households with school-age children do not have a high-speed internet connection at home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data. New survey findings from the Center also show that some teens are more likely to face digital hurdles when trying to complete their homework.”
USA Today: Homework help: Skip the in-person tutor with online courses, which we rate . “All jokes about ‘new math’ aside — have you tried to help your kids with their homework lately? A growing number of online, on-demand tutoring services might just be your saving grace. The K–12 online tutoring market will grow to nearly $121 billion by 2021 from around $64 billion in 2016, according to market researcher Technavio. One of the biggest reasons? The on-demand aspect tackles an immediate need, in a way that resonates with today’s tech-savvy students.”
I’ve read plenty of stories about chatbots on Facebook, but this is the first one that made me mutter to myself, “Man, I could have used that in school…” From CTV News: Facebook tool created by B.C. teen to plan homework gains overseas popularity. “A Facebook tool that helps students be more productive and keep track of assignments developed by a Victoria teen has gone viral in an unexpected place. Alec Jones, 14, says his chatbot, Christopher Bot, that helps students stay on top of their homework has garnered more than 3,000 subscribers, with many of them based in Thailand.”
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