One-on-one attention in education is crucial. When students do not feel seen or heard, they tune out and are lost in class. When they feel integral in the classroom community and feel included in the material, their engagement is automatic – students want to see themselves as valued in class. Unfortunately, that individual component, the idea of the teacher physically sitting beside students and helping them with their work, cannot happen at home in the homework time. How can we use technology to aid students who need that individual attention at home?
The first and most important thing to remember is the concept of instant gratification that is so important in learning and has become incredibly important in our technological universe. Programs online can give students instant, detailed, personalized feedback in seconds, where it would take hours for a teacher to get through all of their students’ responses. When a student needs some kind of assistance in their homework, chats with experts are available as well as the wealth of information on the internet. For example, if a student needs chemistry homework help he or she can easily get it online. Google has several opportunities for not only direct contact with experts, but also the next important step in learning: contextualization.
When a student does not connect where they will be using this new knowledge in the real world, they tend to give it less time and effort. However, when they are shown how this material can impact them personally, they dedicate more energy toward understanding it. For example, when students research topics for essays or comprehension questions, they discover other details that can broaden their perception of information received in class. Websites and articles always include links to lead students to other sources. Even Wikipedia has become a great starting point for research and discovery.
While lots of parents would love to help their children with their homework, it is not always possible. Whether because of job stress or simply lack of time, parents cannot dedicate themselves to helping with work given by teachers. Sometimes, parents do not understand the material or how to help their student. Unfortunately, in many cases, the parents place less value on education and are not in a state to be able to help their children. Because of the lack of support that can exist in households today, having the technology at homes to support the learning of students is crucial. Without computers, students would be more likely to lose motivation in studies and they would have access to more limited amounts of informati