To be gobsmacked at this letter from the school?

[sellisx]

My little sister who lives with me, came home yesterday with a note from the school to say, they are now starting to do their homework on emails. So instead of handing in a written homework piece, it'd have to be e-mailed.
That sounds bad enough but then goes on to say that "they should probably use Gmail as it has a spell checker"
:O I just can't fathom this. Surely spell checking isn't cheating?

[PennyHasNoSurname]

Eh?

[Sirzy]

How old is she?

[TheoriginalLEM]

depends on her age.

[ghostyslovesheep]

no idea!

[QuiteLikely5]

Strange. You mean produce in word then save and send via email? Even then gmail wouldn't be scanning the document for spelling errors........

[PaulAnkaTheDog]

Was that a typo and you mean is cheating?

[ghostyslovesheep]

I think you mean 'is' cheating - in which case I'd say not really - it's normal to email homework now and I always spell check things I write - why shouldn't kids?

[MaidOfStars]

I assume the work had to be typed/copied directly into the email program, not sent as an attachment?

Yes. Spellchecker = cheating!

[AyeAmarok]

What age is she?

Do you mean it is cheating?

[sellisx]

Yeah I meant is cheating, if a child cannot spell and then uses a spell checker, the teacher isn't going to notice that the child can't actually spell
She's 8, I don't even know if I want her having an e-mail address at 8yr old

[katmanwho]

Spellchecker = cheating

Or is it an aid to ensure accuracy?

I suspect many adults use spell check at work to help them with spellings they are unsure about - or have got wrong.

So what is the "cheating" going on? I could use a calculator to do a long multiplication - or I could do it by hand.

[Piratespoo]

How does she practise her handwriting then? Sounds ridiculous. Tell them she doesn't have an email address and you will continue with her writing it.

[MaisyMooMoo]

I think that's pretty poor to be honest. I could understand it at 11yrs upwards perhaps, when they go to high school but not before. Plus, not every household has Internet or access to a computer.

[katmanwho]

if a child cannot spell and then uses a spell checker, the teacher isn't going to notice that the child can't actually spell

We use Word / Powerpoint to do homework on occasionally. If the word comes up red, DS won't ignore it.

However - DS's spelling by hand will be picked up in class.

Is the homework objective spelling related or just writing?

[RudeElf]

So all the kids have to either have a computer at home or parents have to take them to a library every evening along with all other DC and thats if parents are even out of work before library closes.

[sellisx]

Just writing in related but future homeworks will have to be sent in over e-mail, so typed on a computer

[WhenTheDragonsCame]

Google won't allow you to open an email address until you are 13 so she would need to use somebody else's.

[ghostyslovesheep]

8 is very young - I thought she'd be secondary

[MrsA2015]

Don't let her have an e-mail address, let her use yours to sent it in. Ridiculous of the school to do this IMO

[Leslieknope45]

I am a teacher and I am really surprised at this and I can't see how it will work. For a start, not everyone has a computer! It is also really important for children to actually hand write work.

[Nanny0gg]

Spellcheck isn't cheating, it's just the same as using a dictionary to check your spellings,

No it isn't. Most 8 year-olds would click on the first word in the list.

Checking in a dictionary takes far more thought (and more than most children can be bothered with unless they have to do it).

[Leslieknope45]

In fact if I were you, I would voice your concerns.

[GruntledOne]

Is it a private school? Certainly so far as I know it is drummed into state school teachers that they mustn't assume that every child has access to a computer.