Category: Online Learning

7 Tips for Surviving Digital Math Homework

Posted on by Chris Loper
Reading Time: 6 minutes

a student staring at an online math assignment

At the risk of sounding like an old man, I’d like to note that back in my day, math homework was all on paper: either worksheets or textbook questions. But in recent years, there’s been a major shift toward online math homework, and this shift has not been good for students. Pearson/Savvas, IXL, WebAssign, ALEKS, McGraw Hill – whatever your school uses, you probably hate it.

Programs like these were rare before COVID, and they were understandably made mainstream during remote learning. But as the pandemic ended and we went back to the classroom, these programs stuck around. The reasons for this are also understandable: digital math homework is easy for teachers to track, it saves the teacher from printing hundreds of worksheets each week, and textbooks are going the way of the dodo.

But I’ve yet to meet a student who prefers online math homework to traditional math homework. And if you’ve ever experienced it yourself, you know why. The programs are difficult to use. The visuals of graphs are usually tiny and hard to read. Typing your answer into the box sometimes takes more effort than the problem itself. The instructions change frequently for no good reason. And the programs love to ask what I call “oddball questions” – questions that are far weirder and more abstract than anything you’d see on a test.

Thus, many students are discouraged by their digital math homework. Getting through it is exhausting, so the goal of learning takes a backseat to the goal of just being done (even more so than with traditional homework). For some, online math homework is so difficult and tedious that they avoid it altogether, causing their grades and learning to suffer. So here is my guide to surviving digital math homework. These eight strategies won’t make you love it, but they will make your life easier.

1. Use Paper

Screen-based math subtly discourages students from using the #1 strategy for solving any math problem: work it out on paper. You should always have scratch paper at the ready or, better yet, a dedicated notebook where you do all of your online math homework. Pretend you’re getting points for showing your work.

a student writing on paper while doing online math homework

If you note the problem number next to the work you’re doing, then you’ll have something to refer back to if you get stuck. This makes asking your teacher or tutor for help much easier.

When students do use paper, the most common mistake I see is doing some bit of mental math between the screen and the first thing they write down. They see an algebra equation on the screen, and instead of just writing down the original equation, they take a step in their head and write down the result. Many mistakes are made this way because pulling from screen to paper while simultaneously performing an algebra step can overload working memory.

2. Use Your Resources

If you have notes from class, keep them handy. If you have a textbook, have that open to the relevant section. If all you have is a digital textbook, open that in a new tab. If the school did not provide a textbook, you can still buy a good used one.

a student taking notes from a textbook

Remember that Khan Academy and YouTubers like The Organic Chemistry Tutor are always there to teach you how to do the math with well-made videos. If you’re using these resources to learn, you should be taking notes.

3. Show Me an Example

Most online math homework platforms have a button that says something like “Show Me an Example.” If you’re stuck, click that button. Patiently read through the example and take notes. Then return to the problem and see if you can figure it out. Don’t give up on a question until you have taken this step.

4. Read the Darn Instructions

Sometimes, the student is confident they’re correct, and I’m confident they’re correct, and the program still says they got it wrong. Nine times out of ten, it’s because we didn’t follow the formatting instructions for the answer.

Pearson (one of the most popular online math programs) loves to change the answer-format requirements from question to question. It’ll say “round to the nearest tenth” for several questions, but then it will unexpectedly switch to “round to the nearest hundredth.” Or it’ll insist on simplified fractions for some questions, but then demand decimals for others. It’s one of Pearson’s worst features. So, before you give up in frustration, double-check the instructions.

a confused student at his laptop

5. Feel Free to Skip Oddball Questions

Digital math assignments, far more than textbooks and worksheets, frequently include weird questions. These come in many flavors, such as:

  • Concept explanation questions with very wordy (and poorly phrased) answer choices
  • Questions where you analyze a student’s erroneous work and describe the mistake they made (often forcing you to guess at the way this imaginary student was thinking about the math)
  • Abstract algebra problems that use only letters and no numbers (these are actually good to know how to do, but bad to attempt first)

Oddball questions like these are often the first few problems a student will see in a digital homework assignment, when they should actually be last. Starting the assignment with the weirdest, toughest questions leaves many students discouraged.

a frustrated student doing homework at her laptop

But there’s good news! Most online math programs let you skip questions. You can come back later and try them after you’ve done all of the normal questions. Or you can skip them altogether. Your test probably won’t have questions like that, and skipping the oddballs won’t hurt your homework grade very much.

6. Don’t Skip Any Subtopics

Some teachers will give you full credit for the assignment if you complete 70% of it, and many students happily take them up on that offer. This approach could even make sense if you jumped around, completing 70% of each of the problem types (they typically come in batches), or if you only skipped the aforementioned oddball questions.

Instead, what usually happens is that students will complete the first 70% of the questions, in order, leaving the last 30% incomplete, never even looking at them. In doing so, they typically skip two whole types of questions: subtopics they’re expected to know for their test. If your goal is to learn the material, don’t do that.

7. Supplement as Needed

The assigned homework, whether digital or traditional, is usually not enough to master the content. So it’s always a good idea to supplement the homework with additional practice.

If you want to try a specific problem type again, online math programs usually have a button that says something like, “Practice a Similar Question.” If a problem was particularly vexing but didn’t seem like an oddball question, you should do this immediately, before completing the rest of the assignment. Things that are hard to understand are hard to remember, so you should reinforce them right away.

kuta software's free Algebra 1 worksheets

More likely, you’ll want to do more practice offline, so you’ll seek out practice problems in your textbook or find a worksheet to do. Kuta Software has tons of free worksheets for high school math, or you can always just Google the name of the topic and the word “worksheet.”

Either way, succeeding in math typically requires doing more than they ask you to do.

News Flash! Asynchronous Time is School Time!

Posted on by Chris Loper

In this strange world of remote learning, most schools are doing “synchronous” classes in the mornings and “asynchronous time” in the afternoons (sometimes called “office hours”). This means that classes meet for video lessons in the morning and then students have the option of meeting with their teachers in the afternoon.

And since the afternoon sessions have been framed as optional, most students are not attending. Shocking, I know.

But here’s the thing: Asynchronous time is school time. It’s part of the normal (pre-COVID) school day. So there’s a very real sense in which skipping asynchronous time is like skipping school. And me suggesting that students actually go to asynchronous time is about as radical as suggesting that they go to school!

Now, I realize that not every teacher is running asynchronous time the same way, so I’m just going to address the version that I hear about the most. Odds are, at least some of your classes are doing it this way.

Many teachers are treating asynchronous time as a study hall. Students show up, do their homework, and ask the teacher questions when they get confused. This time is for helping kids who struggle to be productive finish their work. And it’s for helping students who are struggling with the content keep up with the class.

I am astonished by the number of students I’m hearing about who are behind on their work, confused by the content, but not going to asynchronous time! It’s like, if you were drowning, and I threw you a life ring, and you said, “But grabbing onto the life ring is optional.”

But don’t get me wrong – I’m not judging. If remote learning had happened when I was in high school, there’s no way I would have volunteered to attend “optional” school. I would have simply thought to myself, Sweet! More time to play video games!

I’m just trying to make the case that it’s worth attending. Even if you’re all caught up on your homework, and you’re feeling confident about the content, you can still use asynchronous time to study for the next test. And remember, the test is always coming.

Many schools are trying to push through a full year’s worth of curriculum, despite the obstacles of remote learning. Instructional time has been reduced, and despite teachers’ valiant efforts, instructional quality has been reduced as well. So students aren’t getting the repetitions they need to form strong understanding and lasting memories. Asynchronous time is the perfect opportunity to reinforce what you’ve been learning.

Furthermore, asynchronous time often involves students helping one another out. It’s a precious opportunity to form social bonds with your classmates at a time when kids are being starved of social interaction.

So if your children have not been attending asynchronous time, it might be time to sit down as a family and reevaluate how you’re approaching online school. I keep hearing about students who have dance lessons or piano practice during asynchronous time. If education is really a priority for your family, then you should consider not scheduling other things during asynchronous time. It’s the equivalent of taking your kids out of school early.

Asynchronous time is school time, and students will be much better off if they treat it as such.

8 Tips for Using Video to Learn

Posted on by Chris Loper

The past decade has seen an explosion in free, online videos that teach everything from art history to Spanish to calculus. Students today are accustomed to being assigned videos by their teachers. And they consume educational videos on their own to supplement what they’re learning in school. There’s Khan Academy, Crash Course, The Organic Chemistry Tutor, The Amoeba Sisters, Señor Jordan, and many, many more.

Since video learning has become so ubiquitous, it’s high time I covered some best practices for learning via video. So here are eight tips for getting the most out of educational videos:

1. Write stuff down.

The main downside of video is that it’s passive. It’s all-too-easy to just sit there and watch. If you want to actually retain what the video is teaching, you’ll need to be actively engaged.

That means taking notes. Write down the key ideas, the vocabulary, the equations – whatever it is they’re presenting. Sometimes you’ll want to draw pictures, diagrams, maps, or timelines. Keep your pencil busy, and you’ll get way more out of the videos you watch.

2. Work ahead.

For anything that involves solving problems – math, chemistry, physics – your note-taking will involve following along with the example problems the video is presenting. But any time you think you’ve got it figured out, try to work ahead of the video. Pause and see if you can continue the problem on your own. Then let it play and see if you were right.

This kind of academic risk-taking keeps you engaged and helps convince your brain to care about what you’re learning.

3. Pause often.

In order to do the first two things, you’ll most likely need to pause the video frequently. Most YouTube videos go really fast (I’m looking at you Crash Course), so your only hope of keeping up with note-taking is to pause whenever they say something important.

Pro-tip: hitting spacebar pauses and un-pauses YouTube videos.

4. Look things up.

Another thing you can do when the video is paused is look things up.

Did they just use a vocab word you don’t know? Look it up and write down the definition.

Did they just gloss over a major concept as though you’re supposed to already know it? Look it up and take notes.

5. Rewind if you need to.

One of the advantages of video over in-person lectures is that you can rewind. People don’t like repeating themselves, but videos don’t care. Rewind and replay whenever you need to.

Forgot to pause while you were taking notes? Rewind.

Got distracted by something? Rewind.

Spaced out for a minute? Rewind.

6. Adjust the speed.

Another advantage of video is the ability to adjust the playback speed. If they’re talking too quickly, you can slow them down. If the video is moving too slowly, you can speed it up.

I find the latter especially useful for long videos where the thing I’m looking for is somewhere in the middle. I turn the speed up, let it play until they get to the topic I want covered, and then I slow it back down and take notes.

7. Watch multiple videos on the same topic.

Sometimes, the way a video teaches a topic makes perfect sense to me. Most of the time, though, it offers only a partial understanding. But that’s fine because there are always other options.

If the Crash Course Biology video on meiosis felt confusing, I can go watch The Amoeba Sisters video on the same topic.

Seeing the topic repeatedly and from multiple angles deepens your understanding of it. (It also taps into the power of spaced repetition, improving retention.)

8. Write down your questions.

Video is great, but it’s rigid. You can’t ask it questions. Maybe your question will be answered by a Google search or another video, but often it won’t be. So write down your questions to ask a teacher, tutor, or friend later.

Videos may not be your favorite way to learn, but they’re here to stay, and they can be really helpful. With these techniques in your toolkit, you’ll be sure to find learning from videos both easier and more enjoyable.