TED Community » Ishaan Jalan

Comments

• TEDCred score: +6300.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Debate: Should students rely on technology for their homework?

  Oct 31 2012: As a student myself, I think technology when used with moderation (within the guidelines set forth by a competent teacher) can be tremendously useful in helping students understand their work better. This is certainly the case where professors assign homework that is specific to them i.e. they have created the problems themselves and are confident that answers cannot be simply copied from the internet. Before the advent of technology, the ability for students to collude and complete homework always existed. Technology simply makes it easier. With respect to the part of the question that asks whether such behavior makes sense - of course it does. Modern advancements have increased greatly the comfort and ease with which humans can interact, work, etc. It should come as no surprise that the internet has led to students being able to find information faster and with greater ease. In many cases, students learn better from online resources (i.e. Khan Academy) than from their teachers at school - the case for homework is no different. The internet has simply made it harder for professors to assign homework that they know students can find the answer to online and they need to be more creative with the problems they assign.