Math Help Apps:
14 | SLAS TIMES
The Thin Line Between Cheating
by Carl Erick Wasing and Albert Peng
Most students questioned for this article report using homework help apps such as Mathway, Photomath, and Slader to help them with homework and classwork. Many adults find themselves asking if these apps considered cheating and are they beneficial for students to use?
Mathway and Photomath are math-based programs that give you step-by-step solutions for math problems, and Slader is a textbook homework solution app. Slader offers answers to the questions inside of most school textbooks for multiple subjects.
An overwhelming amount of work can lead to stress and not wanting to complete assignments, and this is where these homework help apps come in.
Mr. Brandon Schievenin, the calculus teacher, expressed that, if students used the apps as a supplementary resource then it would be beneficial.
using them appropriately. In his final verdict, he stated that he would consider apps cheating if they are using them without learning anything.
Mr. Rick Silva, the chemistry teacher, had a similar opinion.“ There’ s a difference between using and misusing …” He added that if the student does not have a good understanding, then they are misusing it.
Wills Liu, a 9th grader in SLAS, said,“ It’ s beneficial... You can check your work.” When asked if he considered it to be cheating, he answered,“ No, because I don’ t copy answers. I learn from there.”
Both teachers and students agree that these apps can be cheats if misused. Otherwise, they are useful learning tools.
He mentioned that his students use these apps to prepare for upcoming tests, and they seem to be Step Two
Watch the app solve the problem for you, then see a step-by-step solution.
Step One
Take a picture of the problem on your phone using the app.
Step Three
Copy the solution and the process onto your worksheet.