Homework Apps - transforming my life :-)

[LunasSpectreSpecs]

I have two children at secondary school. First (a boy) is bright but chronically disorganised. Picking up demerits left, right and centre for forgetting homework - he's not actively avoiding doing it, but he forgets to write it in his diary, forgets to do it, ends up rushing it in the library at lunchtime - total nightmare.

Anyway, the school has just started using the Show My Homework app and it's changed my life. Kids each have the app on their phones and can access the website. App/Website shows what homework they have, links to resources they may need and shows when it's due. On my phone, I can log in and see what they both have for homework. No more forgetting. No more telling me they have nothing to do. No more shouting matches because DS has yet again got into trouble for not handing in homework I knew nothing about.

Isn't technology MARVELLOUS.

And of course none of this helps when you get 2 y8 homeworks as ds had this week - both given on friday, due in on wednesday - make a working model volcano and to finish off his concrete light for dt - his first set of lights were blown up by the dt teacher trying them without checking there was a resistor in them or something so they had to be redone - and although he brought home some wires and bulbs and bits to do them, we have thise at home - what we don't have is the concrete. Couldn't go out to get it due to the snow, school is closed today and if it opens tomorrow and he can get it, it's not going to be set in time... And I am not going out today as the roads are so bad... Bless him he has tried realky hard with this project and has tried staying after school or in break times but sometimes things seem cursed not to pan out easily!

There may be a minority like the OP's child who is now managing with it due to parents taking at least partial responsibility for the organisation of it. And I'm not convinced how much that helps long term. It simply takes more of the responsibility for a child's learning away from the child him/herself.
This.

It doesn't make a massive difference other than increased workload.

However, it's good for the following things:

• setting multiple choice quizzes which self mark and can be used with later years (if designed well. If they are poirly designed they are a waste of time)
• being able to set an extended task and attach links to help ig students get stuck
• being able to upload loads of revision material for ks4/5 that thry can use independently rather than photocopying loads when only 50% used it

For my ds its a brilliant app. He has an ASC and severe problems with executive functioning as well as illegible writing.

He no longer has the anxiety of trying to get someone to write HW in for him whilst worrying that’ll make him late for next lesson.

Being a one step action to check and do homework (click on app!) I’ve been able to teach him independence and organisation and he is really good now.

He even had the for-thought to message a teacher at the weekend who set HW the day he was off to find out what the Poster (had abbreviated title) was.

Ok it’s was the weekend and he had no reply! But he’s doing things for himself and forward panning - and I never thought I’d see the day

youarenotkiddingme
It's brilliant for some students. I teach a few like your DC. Ony boy's mum loves that she cam manage from a distance.

I like certain features of it.

There are benefits of the systems, on balance i don't think they outweigh some of thr negatives.
Like for me students worked out fairly quickly that I'm fair but don't take any crap
e.g. i couldn't do my homework because YOU didn't upload a spare etc doesn't wash with me. If i have an electronic copy then i'll stick it on but if it's a print resource i don't
Or i'll message mrs pops at 8pm thr day before thr deadline saying i can't do it/don't understand. Hmm no. You've had almost a week.
But when there's real tech issues or I've forgotten to upload (rare but happens) then I always alter the deadline for them.

What annoys me is it takes longer to get homeworl routines settled with a system vs without as there's more start of year piss taking from students and parents

yournotkiddingme, do you think your child would cope as well with the ability to record his homework on his own electronic device?

Personally, I think if you've missed the lesson and can still do the homework (without catching up missed work) the homework wasn't really extending the learning done in class. If you can catch up the missed work (usually by catching up with a classmate in school) you can see the teacher to see what the homework was too.

Issabella - he may be able to but would need explicit teaching on how to record it himself in detail enough to know what he had to do! Also be given time to do it rather than the usual end of lesson “bye homework is .... and due ....”.

I'm a teacher at my own kids' school. I absolutely love SMHW. DS (Year 7) is dyspraxic, and highly anxious. The fact that his homework is put there by his teacher takes the stress away for him at the end of the lesson. As a parent, I can see exactly what he has to do.

As a teacher, I only set reading or revision homework. I love that you can link to revision materials without printing tons of sheets for them to lose.

Big thumbs up from me. Big thumbs down to teachers who don't use it, I hate that. I tell the kids I teach if it's not on SMHW, it doesn't officially exist, whatever I might have said in lesson.

Show My Homework works really well for DS1. He has dyspraxia and struggles to remember things. So it's a lifesaver for him.

It's only great when it works though - it was down nationally (I was told by school so assume true?) for a couple of weeks in September. And a couple of DS's teachers have repeatedly failed to put the homework on there until the day or evening before it was due in, causing a mad panic when DS has checked and spotted it last minute! Yes, it was mentioned in class beforehand probably, but he relies on it appearing on the app asap afterwards so doesn't write it down (he also can't write very fast at all).