Help with homework a click away
The public library has always been a quiet place where children went to do their homework and to seek out information for assignments.
But when it came to getting help with how to do a particular educational task, librarians were often at a loss how to help.
"Librarians are trained to get you answers from books," explained Carolynn Muci, marketing and public relations director of the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., Mount Prospect. "They are not trained to teach concepts to others."
But now, at least 19 public libraries in the Northwest and Western suburbs have a resource giving fourth- through 12th-graders instant access to help when they're stumped.
The help comes in the form of one-on-one tutoring through an Internet service called Live Homework Help, powered by Tutor.com.
An interactive program, Live Homework Help connects students to expert tutors in math, science, social studies and English. Spanish-speaking patrons may also get help with math and science in their native language, according to Muci.
Each library is different, but Mount Prospect patrons have free access to the program between 6 and 11 p.m. daily from home at www.mppl.org/tutor.html using their library card number or on the library computers. Spanish-speakers wanting help can get it from 6 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
The whiteboard on the program, which allows the student to write a problem out and the tutor to mark on it as well, gives St. Raymond School sixth-grader Heidi Eurich the help she needs in pre-algebra.
"The tutor makes me work through the problems and corrects me on the computer's white board and explains what I was doing wrong," said Heidi, who uses the program several times a week. "They are really nice and I have seen my grades go up since I started using it."
But when Heidi used the service to ask a question for English, the tutor led her to different Web sites.
"They didn't give me the answer but they showed me how to find it for myself," she said.
Students can upload entire term papers which the tutor will critique and assist with editing.
"We see this new service as an example of libraries changing to meet the evolving information and educational needs of the public," explained Cathy Deane, deputy director for public service at the Mount Prospect Public Library.
"For years kids have been coming in here to use the Internet to find answers to questions in their homework. That is the way of the world now. But it often became a wild goose chase because they couldn't find the correct Web sites with a simple search," Deane said.
"We see this Live Homework Help as a targeted resource for kids that is safe and helps them learn," she added.
Deane says that they first heard about the homework help program from librarians at the Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich which was the first one in the area to sign on.
First introduced to libraries in 2000, Live Homework Help is now offered in 1,600 public libraries across the United States and Canada and employs more than 2,000 tutors, most of whom are certified teachers, graduate students and, in some cases, college students, according to its advertisements. The average session lasts 20 minutes, with only first names and last initial used, according to Tutor.com.
"We have been offering this free service since 2005 and have seen usage steadily increasing as we have been marketing it more," said Ingrid LeBolt, Web services director at Arlington Heights Memorial Library. "In 2007 we had over 1,300 sessions logged."
This has been a particularly good tool for high school students, according to LeBolt, because such subjects as calculus and physics make it harder for parents to offer help.
Area libraries offering Live Homework Help
Addison
Arlington Heights
Barrington
Bartlett
Carol Stream
Ela Area (Lake Zurich)
Elk Grove
Fremont (Mundelein)
Geneva
Indian Trails (Wheeling)
Mount Prospect
Naperville
Roselle
Schaumburg Township District
Saint Charles
Vernon Area
Warren-Newport (Gurnee)
Wauconda
Wood Dale