I am a pretty untechnically savvy individual.(I am aware that untechnically is technically not a word. Technically, the correct way to use it would be nontechnical, but that just did not flow. Almost like unsocialized is not a socially acceptable term, so says my spell check. Still unsocialized flows. Sorry to get technical on you. Just thought I'd clarify.) I do not have a smart phone because, well, they are smarter than me! I can navigate the net, my blog, facebook, my kindle, and my email. Google is grand ain't it. I mean, it does all of the work for you doesn't it. I love dictionary dot com. It is pretty grand also. I think technology is amazing. Not only is it amazing, it is necessary these days.
I definitely want my sweetlings to be in the know where technology is concerned.
Now, I will tell you a few things that I think are a definite plus for any homeschool. When we began this journey, Jamie and I both thought it very important to have two laptops in our classroom. We could have gotten by on one or even a desktop but we found a really good deal on the two we bought and I am glad we got them both. The boys use them quite a bit. Dictionary dot com and Thesaurus dot com are on speed dial so to speak. We use them for research and learning games as well. There are lots and lots great learning websites out there. I particularly love http://www.funbrain.com/. There are many, many good ones out there. Just google it and you will see. Our computers are password protected and the kiddos do not know the password. I prefer to keep it that way so I can control what they do on them. We do not have any fancy software on them. Just the basic stuff. It works for us.
We also have two Kindles. I love, love, love the kindle. There are tons of free books for the Kindle. Just about all of the classics are free or 99 cents. I would imagine the Nook is similar since they are free due to the copyright. I am not too familiar with the Nook so I can not give advice there. We just have the basic Kindle and it more than gets the job done. I will add that I am impressed with what I have read on the new Kindle. It is more like a pad.
What I would love more than anything is to have an iPad. Oh the joy all of those cool apps would bring to me! However, living on one income, that is just not in the budget. One day maybe (she said wishfully)!
That is about the extent of technology in our household with the exception of Netfix. Speaking of which, there are lots of good documentaries to be found on Netflix.
So now, it is your turn to advise me. What types of technology do you feel are useful in a classroom? What can't you live without? What do you love? I really am looking forward to some feedback on this. You do not have to homeschool to weigh in on this. If you have some good ideas please share.
Much love,
Hi! I'm now for the 31 day challenge! I'm a homeschooling mom of a Pre-schooler (obviously we're just starting this journey!). My parents gifted my 3 yr old with an iPad. We're spoiled, we know. It's an amazing tool. We have only downloaded games that qualify as educational. My favorites are a game that is a find it on the number-line game, and a finger trace the letters game. It's really neat and I am hopeful that it will really grow with her. For now we have to be careful tho because it works in her brain like any other "screen time". We get some concentration and behavior issues if there is too much time spent on it, even on school related games.
ReplyDeleteI only homeschooled my daughter for one year. (finanicially, I had to go back to work), but, we had a DVD player in the room. Every week we worked on a big book together for reading time. Something like Swiss Family Robinsons or something. We would read it together all week and work on crafts with it and on Friday she got to watch the movie about it. She always looked forward to it and loved it. I admire what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI use www.starfall.com, mathplayground.com, tumblebooks.com, and scholastickids.com quite a bit in my classroom. They are awesome education sites that I use to build and reinforce concepts. Tumblebooks is a great reading site.
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