In this season of giving, I would like to share information about a gift that students and parents in Ohio will appreciate. The State Library of Ohio offers a live on-line tutoring service, available seven days a week from 2 P.M. to Midnight. www.homeworknow.org allows you to "chat" with a librarian. There are actually three ways to use the website:
- KnowItNow is available 24 hours a day, everyday, which serves as a reference service for anyone of any age at the website www.knowitnow.org .
- HomeworkNow is designed toward specific homework problems for students where a tutor will help answer in-depth questions at www.homeworknow.org .
- ReadThisNow helps locate books by a specific author or on a specific topic at www.readthisnow.org .
On the homework site, a student can enter a question. A librarian will greet, review the question, and provide a link to a resource to find the answer. Additional links will also be provided . The student will be asked if this was helpful, so the conversation can continue until the student's questions are satisfied. A transcript of the on-line conversation and all information is then e-mailed to the student.
www.homeworknow.org takes "chatting" to a new level by using whiteboard technology online to work a math problem in real time on a student's computer.
Parents and students can direct questions in nine subject areas:
- General Reference
- Business, Economics, and Careers
- Foreign Languages and Literature
- English, Literature and Grammar
- History and Geography
- Math
- Music, Art and Architecture
- Science and Technology
- Social Studies
There is now a Spanish component so families can converse in their native language.
Families who have discovered the service are very pleased. School work cannot be done only at school. Additional time and effort must be spent at home if students are going to progress and achieve all they can. Success in the future comes from extra effort in school and after school. The State Library is there to help.
Libraries in all of our counties are wonderful gifts to us. All of us can take advantage of the free access to the internet at our library, with technical help if we need it. In addition, there are story hours for our children, the latest magazines, and, often, video and audio resources as well as books.
Education is available to all of us at the local library, whether we have questions as adults or our children need extra help after school. Please take advantage of the enriching opportunities at the library, education's best friend in Ohio .
May you all be blessed this season and in 2006.
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