Wednesday, August 10, 2016

How Important is Technology for Homeschooling Kids?

Today, there are more parents than ever in the US opting to homeschool their children. The reasons that parents prefer to teach their children themselves rather than send them to school vary. Some parents feel that they can offer their children a more varied or higher level of education. Others homeschool because their child has special learning needs or has been bullied in the past. While families who travel a lot, opt to homeschool to give their children some stability.

My kids and husband plus neighbor Matthew at the Johnson County Library's Makerspace event. They have learned coding but today they were making LEGO movies.

For parents who choose to homeschool, there’s a lot to navigate around. From picking the perfect syllabus to finding a teaching method that works for them. It’s not always easy being a parent who homeschools their children. However, many parents who homeschool say that technology has made it a much easier and less stressful process for them. The question is, why has technology made homeschooling easier, and how important is it?


Allows students to learn more easily


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Technology has meant that homeschooling children has never been easier. There’s a world at your fingertips online, with masses of homeschooling websites, documents, and data to use and rely on. There are websites that offer worksheets, reading suggestions, and tutorials to make homeschooling easier. It used to be a case of relying on books and worksheets, but the internet allows students to learn much more easily. For all parents who homeschool, the internet is a must. If you don’t already have internet access, you can find the current Time Warner Internet prices online. For homeschooling, the internet is a crucial tool because it gives kids access to the wider world.


Virtual learning
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As well as allowing students access to online worksheets, distance learning is another resource that can be used. For parents who can’t do all the teaching themselves, a distance learning package can be a good option. There are various syllabuses to choose from. Many of which, come with specialized tutors to help should you kids have a question or query. This means that when your children get older and into higher grades, they can continue to learn from home. For homeschoolers, virtual learning is a godsend.


Tablets and apps


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Tablets have made a lot of things easier, from entertaining kids to dealing with your accountants - there’s an app for everything. There are even effective apps for educating kids of all ages. From reading and writing to mathematics and science, there are apps for everything. A great way to help kids gain certain skills, such as mathematical skills, is with the use of apps. Even gaming apps can be educational; it’s just a case of choosing apps that help them to learn while having fun. There are also apps for reading, like the Kindle app that allows you to use your tablet like a Kindle. This can be used for fiction reading and for textbook reading. This saves you having to buy lots of textbooks as you can often get them via the Kindle store for free or for a lower price.

Technology has become essential in many parts of family life, including in homeschooling. It helps to make the process of distance learning easier and less stressful for parents, and more effective for students.