Online homework help
By Special to the Globe, 9/19/2002
Want to learn more about homework help sites for students? Here are online resources selected for the Boston Globe by professionals from the Tufts University Child & Family WebGuide http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/category.asp?categoryid=3
Multnomah County Library Homework Center
Very clearly organized site with extensive resources reviewed by library reference staff. The links are summarized and the ones we sampled contained references. Although the site is intended for students K-12, many links are a little complex for elementary school children.
Kidsclick!
Extremely thorough and well organized list of categories and topics. Not all links have references or substantial information, but they are appropriate for the young audience served (grades K-7). Effort to screen out sites focused on products or with unsafe privacy features.
King County Library System Homework Help
http://www.kcls.org/hh/homework.cfm
Has the best developed selection criteria (http://www.kcls.org/about/weblink.cfm). Links selected by librarians with an emphasis on quality rather than quantity. For students in grades 4-12. This is a starting place for information; it is not intended to be comprehensive. Some resources are only available to children in the Seattle WA area.
Bigchalk
http://www.bigchalk.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/db/hwchelp/whatis.html
Perhaps the most extensive list of resources. This is a long-standing, extremely well organized (by major categories and specific topics) site, but it has a substantial amount of advertising, including pop-up ads. Allows students to choose a grade level -- K-5, 6-8, or 9-12 -and then to search for information for that level. Includes "150,000 links in over 10,000 subjects." Extensive resources for parents. The site provides information about the company; it appears to have a qualified Board of Advisors.
BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper
http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/
Was created by a child for a child. The homework questions are sent to the boy's email. A large advertisement is displayed on linking to the site. Discovery Communications, the site sponsor, claims that "The site is constantly reviewed for educational relevance by practicing classroom teachers in elementary school, middle school, and high school. Contact them at feedback@discoveryschool.com"
Visit the Tufts University Child & Family WebGuide ( http://www.cfw.tufts.edu/ )for additional Web sites on topics of interest to parents. The Webguide, funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, evaluates Web sites on the basis of authority of the authors and sponsoring organizations and reliance on research.
This story ran on page H3 of the Boston Globe on 9/19/2002.
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