How the Digital Revolution Makes 'The Dog Ate My Homework' an Extinct Excuse

With the digital revolution and all things offered online – even college and graduate school courses – the proverbial “the dog ate my homework” excuse is now considered an adage from yesteryear.

The enrollment of online courses has grown with the number of students taking at least one online course up 9.3 percent from the fall of 2010 to the fall of 2011, according to the Babson Survey Research Group’s latest survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities. The proportion of students taking at least one course online also reached an all-time high of 32 percent, according to the survey. From public schools to private schools and universities, classrooms today have evolved from use of chalkboards and paper handouts to SmartBoards and even personal iPads for each student at some schools.

In 2001, Marc Prensky predicted that the new wave of learners and how these "digital natives" are being exposed to more gadgets and technology than was ever thought possible. “This is having a profound effect on the ways in which children learn. They are more engaged in learning when using the latest technological gadgets, because it is what they are most used to interacting with. Our students don't just want mobile learning, they need it.”

Undoubtedly, education will continue to change as the landscape of technology continues to make leaps and bounds and becomes more affordable and accessible. While teaching and academia changes, policymic.com looked at time-honored educational colloquialisms that seem less and less applicable, and believable, including the following:

• “The dog ate my homework.” The ubiquitous term seems to have been part of the lexicon of educators and students for decades. With the advent of students utilizing computers for homework, i.e., Blackboard, more and more students are using online homework management tools to perform school work, interactive assignments and homework hand-in.
• “I didn’t get the assignment.” Few people can use that excuse anymore as many professors and teachers provide online syllabus and course outlines. Sloan Consortium for example is a leading online learning society devoted to advancing e-Education learning into the mainstream of education through its community. Sloan offers an open source tool for online instructors, course developers and instructional designers.
• “Of course I did all the reading!” During our academic careers, most of us have embellished when we’ve been asked how much of the assigned reading we actually did, or used help like Cliff Notes that provided accurate summaries of classic books that seemed to daunting to read. The digital textbooks of CourseSmart track students who skim or fail to lift the covers of their virtual books at all. Still in its infancy, the technology has its glitches – students have figured out ways to game the system.
• “I practiced at home for a whole hour!” Algebraic equations, the dread of most middle schools and to top that, the world of physics and formulas can be equally painful and teachers artfully encourage students to practice at home ‘to make perfect.’ Usher in Khan Academy, a website developed by Salman Khan after he began tutoring his cousin in math. In a short two years, it evolved into a major online database of 4,000 micro lectures on varying disciplines for students in elementary, middle and high schools.

In addition to changing the way students learn in the classroom, technology is also making an impact on the excuses they can and can’t use. Sure, iPads instead of textbooks may be mainstream in a few years, but students are less likely to get away with missed assignments! Time to hit the eBooks.