Homeschool Educational Technology on the Cheap

Guest Post By: Lindsey Wright

Parents who homeschool their children face many unique challenges. They must transform each day from parent into teacher, create a classroom environment within the home, and do their best to  provide their children with multiple learning activities that engage as they educate. As such technology can be a godsend for many parents, since it lets kids learn in news ways while enhancing their abilities as students, learners, and future professionals. However, many others still worry that the technology often used for educational purposes is prohibitively costly. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and there are a variety of programs that are available ─ from  online courses to educational software ─ that will enhance the education opportunities for your students at little or no cost to you. Understanding how technology can benefit your child and learning how to acquire the right technology at the right price is essential knowledge for any parent who homeschool.

Homeschooling and Technology

According to About.com, a recent online survey of homeschoolers found that 64 percent of them used technology everyday in their homes, and the same percentage felt that their knowledge of technology was “intermediate.” Likewise, 87 percent anticipate that technology will be even more important for homeschoolers in the future.

Thus with current research from the U.S. Department of Education showing that students who use technology in the classroom exhibit more self-esteem, increased motivation, ability to accomplish higher-order tasks, as well as improvement in a variety of technical and social skills, it’s no wonder that homeschooling parents are jumping on the technology bandwagon. Thankfully, it’s possible to find plenty of online resources that will help you enhance your child’s learning experience. All you need is a computer.

Software and a Dash of Creativity

Once you have a computer with internet access (broadband connectivity is best for many programs), it’s possible to access a whole world of free or low-cost learning options.

One of the best online programs available for home school students in grades pre-K to eighth is Time4Learning.com. The website includes curricula for science, social studies, language arts, and math classes. All lessons are linked to state standards, and lessons include projects for the student and reports that the parent can access. The program costs $19.95 per month for the first student, and $14.95 per month for each additional student. What’s more, it comes with teaching tools for parents to help you better instruct your child and give you an edge when it comes to using this technology.

The About.com article highlights a number of other ways homeschool students are using technology to learn. Many use their media players (iPods or other MP3 players) to make podcasts as part of presentation projects. This allows students to delve deeply into a subject and use outside research to enhance understanding of the topic. For parents reluctant to assign or encourage podcasts as part of the educational process, it’s possible to learn what a podcast is and how to create one with a brief tutorial.

It’s also possible to enhance your child’s education by allowing them to interact with other students online. This can be as simple as writing a collaborative project via e-mail or as complex as participating in a webcam conference. Most laptops now come with webcams built in, and a service like Skype allows for easy webcam-based calling that is reasonably priced, or even free. Therefore in order to allow homeschooled students to meet other homeschooling families, many states and educational service providers offer homeschool networks (such as California’s Homeschool Network), which connect students from different counties, states, and even countries.

It’s also possible to access new educational content via documentaries posted on such sites as YouTube. For topic-specific, professionally-made documentaries, Netflix offers streaming videos for $7.99 per month. Students can view these documentaries as part of their lessons, and it’s even possible to get them further interacting with technology by having them do research on the Internet and create a web page dedicated to the documentary subject using site-building tools such as Squidoo.

Some students are even taking their technology learning into the realm of foreign language. It’s possible to learn a foreign language online thanks to a plethora of free resources, such as those compiled by the eLanguage School. Additionally, other students are learning computer languages like Javascript to meet foreign language requirements.

Regardless of how much or how little you know about technology, you can use it to enhance your child’s academic growth. As a parent of a homeschooled child, you have a unique opportunity to learn new technology alongside your child, which provides you with the chance to integrate new learning experiences into each minute spent on a computer. With the right tools, it’s possible to create a meaningful learning experience for your child with little out-of-pocket expense to you, and you’ll help prepare your child to enter this technologically-driven world

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