6There’s no denying that home- schooling is becoming an educational option utilized by more and more parents as an alternative to poor-quality public educa- tion and unaffordable private education.
Others are choosing to homeschool because they have a certain value system
or viewpoint they want to instill. Whatever the reason you and your family have
chosen the option of homeschooling, numerous terrific online resources are out
there.
Whether you are a seasoned homeschooling veteran or considering taking
the leap, you will find these six resources
inspiring. These sites are well designed
and visually appealing (that means that
while you will enjoy utilizing them, they
will also appeal to children and engage
them visually), easy to navigate, and often include lesson plans and additional
resources. They also have a great deal of
information and material available for
free!
WARNING: When reviewing these
sites, set aside plenty of time. They are
wonderfully addictive!
tion, the curriculum is being expanded
to include a variety of humanities-related
topics.
As a registered user on the site, your
child can track his progress, seek assistance, and earn points and badges as he
goes. As the educator, you are able to
observe the quality of your child’s work
in detail and access reports on your student’s progress. If you simply need to
stop by occasionally for a little help with
a homework assignment, that’s fine too,
and you do not need to register.
Khan Academy: A Classroom in Your
Pocket mobile app is available through
i Tunes. Be advised that the Khan Academy site does have some content about
evolution. As with all online resources,
there is information that you may not
want your children exposed to. Your
children’s safety requires your attentiveness to what they access, especially with
online learning tools.
High-Tech Tools
for Homeschools
WARNING: When reviewing
these sites, set aside plenty of time.
They are wonderfully addictive!
By Lauren Cassel
Brownell
3. EDSITEment!
edsitement.neh.gov—This site is so much
fun to visit! A project of the National Endowment for the Humanities and also
funded in part by Verizon’s Thinkfinity,
I recommend this resource for developing a social studies curriculum. The topics
seem virtually limitless, and each lesson
plan includes guiding questions, learning
objectives, instructions for how to prepare
to teach the topic, assessments of student
progress, and even tips on how to expand
the lesson with additional reading or activities. Everything you need is contained in
one clear, concise package of information.
This is a tremendous resource, whether for
school or simply for personal enrichment.
1. Khan Academy
www.khanacademy.org—Consider this
your go-to resource for math and science
lessons. With more than 2,700 videos
and new material being added regularly,
you can study any subject any time. The
site originally focused on the areas of expertise of its founder, Salman Khan, who
received three degrees from MIT and an
MBA from Harvard before founding the
Academy. However, with funding from
the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-
2. ReadWriteThink
www.readwritethink.org—Language
arts, reading, and writing—find it all
here! A partnership between the
International Reading Association and the
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), this site is sponsored by
the Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity
program. With classroom, parent, and
afterschool resources filterable by grade,
theme, or learning objective, you will
have a tough time deciding which activities to use. My favorite? The calendar
activities that provide lessons based on
an interactive calendar of happenings in
literary history, birthdays of famous authors, and holidays.
4. Discovery Education
www.discoveryeducation.com—With
the same quality and commitment to respecting the wonder of nature as other
Discovery mediums, Discovery Education has to be experienced to be believed.
Their website explains their offerings as
“award-winning digital content, interactive lessons, real time assessment, virtual experiences with some of Discovery’s greatest talent, classroom contests &
challenges, professional development and
more.” And indeed it is so much more!
There is an opportunity to subscribe to
unlock additional resources, but with
such an incredible amount of information available for free, I don’t feel like I’ve
missed a thing by not being a subscriber.
Find access on the go to all of Discovery’s fantastic resources at www.discovery
.com/mobile. Apps, games, mobile video,
mobile web, and more can be accessed at
this page.
