The Switch to Online Homework

Matt Martz

College students all know that homework is necessary for rigorous classes in order to master the material. However, the methods of homework seen around the country are all changing rapidly from textbook reading and book studying to online homework problems and e-books. The switch from hard copy to digital is tough for many students but in the long run is supposed to keep heavy and expensive books from holding them down. E-books and online homework assignments are in a new wave of technology that college students have to master after using textbooks through all of high school.


In high school, students are used to carrying around multiple textbooks and using notebooks in almost every class. Classes were much easier than college classes but the strain of multiple books made getting around much harder. Now in college, backpacks typically just need a laptop and a notebook or two. With 15 hours of classes this freshman year, about 75% of my homework is done online and my laptop is the most valuable possession I have here (monetary value that is).

Online homework is great for students since it is all easily accessible with a computer. However, one big problem is the fact that plagiarism and helping other students on online assessments is much easier to hide than on written assignments. Some programs try to track statistics of students in order to see if there are cheating trends in the classes. If online classes can become as reliable as written work then the switch to online homework for all classes is a great idea. Until then classes should only use online material for reading and studying in order to keep students honest in their work.