Shmoop ‘A’ids students with coursework
by WILLIAM WONG
One of many educational sites available through the internet, Shmoop provides a collection of resources easily accessible to students.
First introduced in 2007, Shmoop is an online resource website that focuses on supplementing what high school students learn in class. According to the website, its team of writers from around the world is composed mostly of Ph.D holders and graduate students with teaching experience.
Shmoop has been provided to all Schurr students since the Montebello Unified School District paid for the service in late 2012.
“Shmoop is great because it provides free AP test prep, it’s interactive and provides immediate feedback to students, and it allows me to monitor students’ progress,” said Carlos Avila, AP teacher.
Currently, Shmoop includes ACT, S.A.T., PSAT and AP review study guides, where users can take timed or untimed practice tests. Shmoop also provides study guides for non-AP classes, with courses ranging from calculus to economics and even foreign languages such as Korean. In its literature section, Shmoop provides guides to classic and new books alike, with summaries and analyses of chapters, characters and themes. The website also offers videos for most core subjects.
“I think Shmoop is really convenient, because I can get free information quickly for almost all my classes,” said Jade McIntyre, sophomore.
Registration for Shmoop requires only basic information, such as the user’s email, zip code and school name. From there, new members can join teachers’ online classes, where teachers from their school can observe their learning activities and utilize Shmoop’s variety of guides.
By using Shmoop, students can continue to further their education outside of the classroom, while taking advantage of free resources available with only a click of the mouse.