Oct 18, 2007 5:03 pm US/Eastern
File Sharing Helps Families At Home, In Classroom
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Running a family is a lot like running a small business, especially when both parents work and the children have an abundance of activities to schedule. So it's no wonder parents are beginning to use small business tech tools to help their families run more smoothly. And homework is certainly no exception!
Kate Hargadon, a 9th grader, was thrilled when the history website she had worked on for months made it to regionals in a National competition. But when she advanced to the states stage of competition, she knew she was in trouble.
"I'd been planning a trip to go visit my aunt and uncle. And, they said for state competition you have to send in all your information over spring break," Kate told CBS 2.
She needed her father's help on the project, but she'd be miles away from him. Luckily, Steve, who's an educational consultant, knew all about file sharing.
Steve Hargadon uses file sharing on kids' homework. "To have two people being able to edit the same document at the same time is a pretty spectacular thing. And it's not just helpful in homework," he said.
Kate, at first, was skeptical that they'd be able to get it done: "I thought we were going to have to like, do it over the phone or in an email."
File sharing gives users the ability to invite one or more people to look at a document online at the same exact time. There are lots of companies who offer the same service, many for free. It's nothing new to business, but now families are finding it useful as a homework tool.
Don Knezek, CEO of International Society for Technology in Education: They can do collaborative work on everything from papers and projects and math homework to whatever the task is that the student's doing.
But experts say while file sharing can be helpful, parents need to be careful not to use it as a way to redo a child's work.
"You might see some parents doing too much of the work for the student. But I think there's more potential for good and for benefit than there is for abuse and danger," Knezek said.
A growing number of schools and teachers are also finding it a good way to keep informed and connected.
Steve Hargadon and his wife have established a useful and productive system. "One of the things my wife has done is she's kept a homework log for my son so that he has access to it and his teachers have access to it. And they can look and see and make sure that he knows exactly what he's supposed to do for his classes," Hargadon said.
At the Hargadon household file sharing has taken the stress of schoolwork away.
Kate could not agree more, "It's mostly just making life easier on parents and kids."
Knezek says that the one other online trend that is really hot right now is homework help, from offshore tutoring companies. So, junior may actually be getting calculus help from someone overseas!
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