Sweet 'HomeworkAlabama.org’
State launches a site to help students and parents seven days a week
By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 9/1/2005
Now all of Alabama’s students can find free—and live—homework help with just a click of their mouse.
HomeworkAlabama.org, an online site started for students in Shelby County three years ago, launched statewide earlier this month after its success caught the eye of State Librarian Rebecca Mitchell.
“So many of our children have both parents working or are from single-family homes and don’t have as much help at home,” Mitchell says. “I know I would have liked this to be available when my children were in higher math.”
Live seven days a week, the site prompts students to type in their ZIP codes, and then asks what kind of help they need: English, math, science, or social science. Next, they’re connected to a tutor and, through a chat room-like software program, get help working through their problems. Mitchell stresses the site is safe to use for both students and teachers, as anonymity is key. Neither the student nor the tutor knows more than each other’s first name.
The company Tutor.com runs Home­workAlabama.org and charged the state $300,000 for a one-year contract that began August 1. Tutors are available from 3 p.m. until midnight, hours meant to not interfere with the school day.
Originally called Homework Help, the site attracted just 50 students a month when it went live in Shelby County, says Barbara Roberts, director of the Harrison Regional Library System, who started the site three years ago. “So we went to media specialists in the public schools and they put me in touch with classroom teachers,” she says. “It took off from there, going to 1,000 users a month. The media specialists were essential.”
In addition to assisting public school students, the site also offers help for those in private schools or their first two years of college, as well as homeschoolers and adults, says Mitchell. “This is just one way libraries are disseminating information,” she says. “We’re not just about books—we’re also in the electronic media.”
