(on) The Road (to becoming a) Scholar: One Room SchoolhouseTo Go!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

One Room SchoolhouseTo Go!

+ McGuffey Readers (along with millions of free titles) + iBooks + Kindle Reader for the iPad/iPhone + iTunes U + a digital media library (on a 500Gb portable drive)+ Apps for Education (like Khan Academy, Dragon Box, Math Ninja) + iCloud = One Room Schoolhouse To Go!

This year we are embarking on an experiment. I bought the three older kids Generation 2 iPod Touches for less than $85 each. After futzing with the settings, restrictions, iTunes, loading up the digital medial library and loading apps, I have the 9th, 8th and 4th graders ready to do much of their school on a mobile device. That means we can all be more portable. That makes the kids happy. I will have to "let go" a little, but we will be doing lots and lots of discussions around how it is working . We started with a few things this summer to see how the kids take to it (duh, they love it) and how I feel about them holding a device in front of their face more than I'm accustomed.

Here's a partial list of what they are doing on the iPod Touch:

McGuffey Reader (4th Grader)
McGuffey Speller (for supplements)
Reading the Little House Books on iBooks (4th Grader)
Listening to book club books on the Audible account or reading them on the Kindle Reader or iBooks
Great Books Triple Play - Reading on the Kindle App, Google Play Books or iBooks, listening to the corresponding audio lecture from the Great Course "Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition" (which I picked up for less than $40 at a used book sale), AND watching the Great Course "Life Lessons from the Great Books" (Older kids)
Science via Khan Academy - Biology topics as we cover them from the CK-12 Biology Book (Older kids)
Botany - via various Apps like Botany Encyclopedia (4th Grader)
Religion - older kids reading YOUCAT ebook, daily readings and Saint-of-the-day via a nice Catholic App we found for free, and watching video catechism series
History - We're still working that out...we have several actual supplemental things to do, but this is Dad's subject. However, we might just have the younger ones listen to Story of the World Audio CD's read by Jim Weiss on their iPods.
Math support (not full subject) - Khan Academy, and many other Math apps... UPDATE: I had Dragonbox here originally. I contacted the app writer because it was not working on the iPod Gen 2, but that is because it needs ios 5.x to run. We've moved it to the iPads instead. If you want your kids to love Algebra, consider looking at Dragonbox!

Latin for the older kids will still be old-school, low tech (ha ha) via Skype with support from the interactive CD we use to support or curriculum. The 4th Grader will finish book two of Minimus (with the audio on her iPod).

My older kids are doing Calligraphy this year along with Art History. Yes, there is an app for both. My 4th Grader will be watching the Leonard Bernstein "Young People's Concerts" with others and discussing them via Skype. Her art will be working with different media (chalk, pastels, colored pencils, charcoal, and paint.)

Just an aside: When I configured the iPods, I enable a screen lock to protect the iPods from the 5 and under crowd :-), enable Restrictions. I turn off Safari, YouTube, Ping and Deleting Apps. I also set the age restrictions for Apps, Video and TV. I disable wireless as a battery saving technique.

I'd love to hear of apps you LOVE as well as techie things you are doing in your homeschool this year.

3 comments:

just_hannah_p said...: Ooooooh! I am looking forward to hearing about this as you get it implemented. We've done so much more on the Kindle and with internet resources this spring, and I've loved how cheap and flexible it is. Are you running Dragonbox on your iPad? My son has a gen 2 ipod touch, and it won't run Dragonbox...; July 13, 2012 at 8:50 AM
just_hannah_p said...: Ooooh! I'm looking forward to hearing the details of how you tweak this system. I did so much more with the Kindle and internet resources this spring, and I loved, simply loved, how flexible (and cheap) it was. Are you running Dragonbox on your ipad or the ipod touch? My son has a 2nd gen touch and we can't get it to run our Dragonbox app...; July 13, 2012 at 8:54 AM
The Road Scholar said...: I'm so sorry, I missed commenting back on this!

No, unfortunately Dragonbox is not working on the iPod Gen 2, so I will update that. It's because it cannot run ios 5.x. We have it on the iPads and I have to tell the kids to stop, they've been using it so much.; July 31, 2012 at 8:13 AM

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The Road Scholar

Cathie and her husband are blessed with six children and have home educated them since 2003. Before children, Cathie developed curricula and taught classes for adults around the world on a variety of topics in the computer industry at the corporate and technical school level. She loves to develop curricula, teach homeschool co-op classes and organize book clubs. For five years, she held board positions on a large homeschool support group such as general coordinator, membership coordinator and advisory member.

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Beginning Homeschooling - Beyond the Basics

Are you new to homeschooling? Where do you start? How do you ensure a very good (not just adequate) homeschooling experience, especially in that important first year? This practical how-to session will help you determine the appropriate first steps on your homeschooling adventure. We'll talk about picking a curriculum, scheduling and strategies for developing an independent child as well as strengthening your family and social relationships.

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Using EASY, Almost No-Fuss Games to Help Keep Learning Fun

Kids love games and so much is gained by playing games: learning to taking turns, good sportsmanship, patience and development of relationships. By using games, we can tailor to the needs of the child - not just academically, but socially, too. Come join in the fun yourself and learn how easy it is to put together games for your children—and you don't have to be creative to do it, either! Besides learning how, you will walk away with instructions, tips and resources to make your own games at home.

How to Get Your Kids to See the Light (or Feel it or Hear it)!

Teaching different learning modalities requires different tactics. Learn how to determine which modality your child uses and find ways to present material so that it sticks the first time, especially if it is different than your own learning modality.

This Old Schoolhouse

The school marms and school masters of yesteryear taught several children at different levels and formed many of our favorite American heroes. We will look back at how those school marms ran their one room schools and take some tips on making our school days more successful. We’ll talk about schedules, curriculum, discipline, independence, character development and motivation for the one room school in your home.

Socrates Meets Homeschool Mom

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The Motivation Myth

What do sticker charts, time-outs and spelling bees have in common? They are examples of “Carrots and Sticks.” Over the last 40 years, study after study has shown that "Carrots and Sticks" don't work for long term motivation, especially when thought is required in the process. How are you motivating and inspiring your kids to study, do chores and reach goals? Learn about what truly motivates kids, how to mentor them and help them become successful in their endeavors. I will dispel the myths and reveal truths about human motivation and mindset. And here’s a hint. It’s you, not them. I hope you will join me to find out what that means.