High school and college students know the Internet very well. They probably know more than we do. And as natural human behavior, they use it to ultimately satisfy their needs, whatever they may be. This could be dangerous, since the Internet does not have a filter and anyone could have access to anything, which certainly carries risks.
But the Internet is not just about risks and dangers. There are a myriad of opportunities to learn and advance in any field of knowledge. All that knowledge is there, most of the time free, for whoever wants it. The problem is that most of the time the information is scattered and difficult to find, and sometimes it takes a lot of perseverance to get what you need.
Students online homework help seek help with homework online all the time. But they generally don’t do their own research. They prefer to go to forums or specialized homework help websites to ask their questions. This habit replaces the traditional formula of getting a tutor and asking him to solve homework problems. This has been done forever. But now the debate centers on the legitimacy of getting help online, especially if the help is obtained from a paid service.
From my perspective, this concern is very shortsighted for several reasons. First, students have been receiving homework help since time immemorial, and the current format is a simple consequence of the current technological turn. Nothing has really changed in substance; it is simply that the platform is different. Second, I think what is really important is that students understand their tasks and the concepts related to them. If you got a full understanding by working with a tutor, or by using a paid homework help service, that’s not really relevant. The important thing is that they achieved the ultimate goal of understanding. I agree that it’s not legitimate when students pay for homework solutions and use them as their own work, and they don’t really mind learning, because they just want to get rid of their homework.