-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.iht.com/IHT/TODAY/MON/FPAGE/webschool.2.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.iht.com/IHT/TODAY/MON/FPAGE/webschool.2.html"> Tracking the Progress and Perils of the Digital…</A> ----- Paris, Monday, November 6, 2000 Tracking the Progress and Perils of the Digital Age No Excuses: Parents Check Homework Online ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Nancy Trejos Washington Post Service ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WASHINGTON - Every night, Nancy Barber has the same question for her 13-year- old son: What's your homework? When he told her one evening that he did not have any for his Spanish class, she was more than a little bit skeptical. So she logged on to a Web site called K12nation.net, typed in a password and pulled up a list of assignments his teacher had posted on the site. Sure enough, there was homework. And sure enough, she nudged him to do it. ''It's really kept my child on track because he can't tell me that he doesn't have homework anymore,'' Ms. Barber said. ''He knows he can't get away with it now.'' These days, the Internet is opening a window for parents into their children's classroom as more and more teachers in the United States use Web sites to post homework assignments, exam schedules and, in many cases, grades and attendance records. Despite concerns about cost, security and the lack of computers in some homes, schools are trading in their minimalist Web sites for more interactive ones linking teachers and parents in a private electronic community. The note home to parents has a better chance of making it out of the book bag if it is a virtual one. And parents can respond more easily, using electronic mail instead of waiting for that 15-minute conference at the end of a marking period. ''They're definitely in touch with me all the time,'' said Kara Walsh, a third-grade teacher in Bethesda, Maryland. ''They're not waiting until November to express their concerns.'' In some school systems, technology officials are trying to create a system-wide approach to Internet service. Many schools are piloting programs where, with the click of a mouse, parents can get a daily update on school happenings without going to an outside Web site. Elsewhere, teachers often rely on Internet companies that provide space for educators to set up their own interactive pages. Students have mixed feelings. Some say they like being able to check what homework they missed when absent, or what extra credit they can do to beef up their grades. But Jamie Williams, a high-school senior, said: ''Sometimes it's more a hassle than a solution. If you get a bad grade, parents will come to you and ask what happened. It's that constant nagging that some people have to deal with.'' Indeed, the Internet seems to be taking on a new role - that of the Big Brother, or Big Mother, of report cards. The idea is simple: If parents know exactly what their children are up to, they can put a brake on slipping grades. ''Your child is not going to come up and tell you, 'Oh, I'm failing English,''' said Renee Cohen, whose son is in high school. A Web site, said Deborah Norris, an eighth-grade teacher in the Washington-area school that Ms. Barber's son attends, ''gives parents the tools to ask the right questions.'' And ask they do. The idea has caught on in schools across the United States. One of the most widely used Web sites, Thinkwave.com, reports having 60,000 teachers as clients. K12nation.net has about 3,000 teachers signed up across the country. Some companies offer their services free, making money from advertisements on their sites. But others charge start-up and monthly fees, which have deterred some teachers who cannot afford the extra costs and often cannot persuade their schools to foot the bills. Security is another burden. Though all the companies have password-protected sites, some schools fear that it is possible to infiltrate the systems and gain access to private information. Then there is the question of the teachers' time. Learning the technology requires training, and for some teachers who have gone about their business without computers, that can be too daunting a prospect. Others do not want to put the time into regularly updating the information. Still others do not want to spend their evenings at home writing e-mails. A survey of school Web sites in the Washington area showed that in some cases, only a handful of teachers offer such a service; in others, almost the entire school is linked. The popularity of the Web sites elicits an inevitable question: What happens to those parents and students who do not have computers? At Holmes Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia, the principal, Roberto Pamas, persuaded 80 percent of his teachers to set up their own Web sites. But only about half of the students have computers at home. ''When you have access, you have an advantage,'' said Francisca Jorgensen, a fifth-grade teacher in Arlington, Virginia, who uses the Thinkwave site. ''You have the ability to learn more, to access more resources.'' Ms. Jorgensen said she let students without computers spend time at the school's computer lab. Teachers also encourage parents and students to go to their local public library. ''That doesn't necessarily mean that people who aren't used to them are going to seek them out,'' said Louanne Smith, co-president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at a Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. But to some, the hand-holding has to end at some point. By the end of high school, the teenagers ''have to do it on their own,'' Ms. Barber said. ''They're getting ready to go to college. Obviously, you can't go to college with them.'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
