# Classroom e-books report usage, rat out students who skip homework



## TechSocial (Dec 20, 2011)

Everyone has had that class where you dont have to actually open the book in order to do the homework. If you are clever enough, you can get the basic idea from the discussion in class and maybe catch up later if you arent busy. While its certainly not the best of study habits, it happens. Imagine if your teacher were able to look up and see whether or not you read that chapter last night, or exactly how long you spent with the book open before trying your hand at the homework without finishing the section. A lot of us would have been found guilty. Unfortunately for the students of this generation, that is exactly what is about to happen with some new classroom e-books.

CourseSmart is an e-book retailer that focuses on added services for students and teachers. The software delivers the books suited for the classroom setting, and allows for both group activities and one-on-one help. A new feature being added to the service is an opt-in for tracking how students use the books. Specifically, the software tracks how long the student is reading a specific section. This way, if a student is struggling with a specific concept or if the he/she is just plain not doing the work, the teacher has the tools needed to better address the situation and help them.

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## sportzriter13 (Aug 23, 2010)

This could help catch learning disabilities among students sooner, rather than later. A teacher could see old fashioned homework not turned in (ADHD student who has trouble keeping track of it) or half done, and may assume said student is lazy and possibly a liar. With this technology, they may see homework half done but that the student spent hours working on it. If this becomes a pattern, the teacher might have a stronger case for testing and special ed referral. The sooner an LD is diagnosed, the better. The student doesn't fall as far behind, doesn't get the false assumption of laziness/just being difficult/bad student stuck in their head, and they are better able to work on strategies to address the challenges.
Hopefully this will take out the issue of misplaced homework, and should help students who struggle with organization. 

A pattern of homework not done, or partially done in a short amount of time, may also point to issues at home. 

I agree with the thought that this is a tool to help teachers address different situations, and provide the help the student needs.


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