Getting Homework Help … Online at the Library

By Gail Zachariah

    The lazy days of summer are just about over and families are getting ready for a new school year. This might mean new clothes, new school supplies, and new habits. Children have a lot to look forward with the start of a new year, unfortunately few children look forward to homework.

    One of the most difficult aspects of school for students and parents alike is homework. Some people think that technology has made homework easier. The answer to everything is on the Internet and it is accessible 24/7. What could be easier than that?

    Sadly, it isn’t that simple. The Internet is a like a giant shoe store filled with millions of shoes: but the shoes are thrown about the room in no particular order and you and your children are on your own to find what you want and need. Once you find a shoe, you “try it on” to see if it “fits.”

    The Internet works the same way: you can search for and find web sites with a lot of information, but you have to read the information to see if it fits your assignment. Even if you use a great search engine like Google, you still have to evaluate the web sites you are given. Here are some questions you can ask, as you and your child evaluate the web sites you find:

Who made it?
    Sites that are more likely to be truthful offer some way to contact the people responsible for the site. This can be an e-mail address, a phone number, or a street address.

When was it last updated?
    If a web site has been updated recently, it means someone is paying attention to the site. However, it is not always necessary for a web site to have been updated recently for it to be valuable.

Are there many ads?
    Unfortunately, it is not always easy to recognize all the ads on a page. Teach your kids how to spot ads, and be aware that if a web site has many ads, you may want to think twice about whether the information on it is unbiased.

Remember, sometimes, there is no good Web site.
    If you are having a hard time finding anything for the topic you are interested in, you may want to look elsewhere: in books, magazines, or newspapers. Also, remember that you can always ask a librarian for help.

    The search for the right web site may seem overwhelming to students and parents alike. For this reason, the best place to start might be your local or school library web site. Most libraries and many schools have automation systems that offer a Web-based version of their Online Public Access Catalog. Students and parents can search for library materials from any computer with an Internet connection. Libraries and schools often will have links on their web sites to recommended homework sites that they have already evaluated for quality and accuracy.

    At the Brooks Memorial Public Library, the Keene Public Library, and many other libraries, you can ask reference questions using an “Ask a Librarian” service. Libraries in New Hampshire and Vermont provide free patron access to subscription web sites that can help with homework.

    These services include databases where you can find full-text magazine articles. The Keene Public Library subscribes to EbscoHost, an online collection of general magazines, scholarly journals, business publications, consumer health information, educational journals, and other resources for students. To use a library subscription service such as EbscoHost from your home, you will usually need a valid library card.

    The Keene Public Library also offers Learning Express where you can practice taking tests such as the SAT or GED. You can also find Math Diagnostic and Practice tests for 4th and 5th grade children. Another useful online source at the Keene Public Library is Britannica Online Public Library Edition. This is a good place for you and your child to go to get a quick overview of a subject before your child begins a research paper. Although other encyclopedias are available online, the Britannica Online Public Library Edition is particularly good because it offers information at three different academic levels.

    Keene Public Library’s Live Homework Help is a unique online service designed to assist those from grades 4 to 12. This free service allows students to connect to an expert tutor either from the Keene Public Library (www.keenepubliclibrary.org) or from their home computer (PC or Mac) with a library card, from 4-10pm everyday and receive one-to-one homework help from a live tutor via the Internet. Live Homework Help is easy to use. Children and teens simply go to the library’s Web site, click on the Live Homework Help link, and then enter their grade level and the subject in which they need help. Services are not available on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day.

Other Library Homework Sites

Awesome Library
www.awesomelibrary.org
    Over 35,000 on-line resources organized by topic. Offers levels for children and teens and available in five different languages. Sites included in the Awesome Library are among the top 5% of sites in the field of K-12 Education. Approximately 2% of the Awesome Library sites are given a gold star. Gold Star sites contain essential information, are unusually well organized, and comprehensive.

Dewey Browse
www.deweybrowse.org
    This web site developed by the librarian at Chesterfield School classifies homework help web sites by the Dewey Decimal System.

Great Web Sites for Kids
www.ala.org/greatsites
    The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association recommends these 700 web sites.

Internet Public Library’s KidSpace
www.ipl.org/youth/
    This site offers special resources such as Stately Knowledge, Orca, Author Page, and Culture Quest.

Multnomah County Library Homework Center
www.multcolib.org/homework/
    This Oregon library consistently offers a great and detailed list of homework web sites.