No iPad needed to use the Providence eLearning Books!!!!

Providence eLearning has several of the books you normally can get for the iPad on iBooks available through udemy.com.  For $10 you can access the videos as well as the audio narration and footnotes, if they were available in the book, (iBook cost is $9.99) as often as you like with lifetime access.  So, if you don't want to make the hardware investment, you can enjoy the video lectures on your PC or laptop.

Enjoy!!!

Double Review - Providence eLearning Digital Publications: Pride and Prejudice & Frankenstein

I'm behind in posting, but more importantly I am behind in my reviews. 

For the record, I am paid to review books from Providence eLearning.  However, I am under no obligation to review them here.  I do that for your benefit.  And, I think they are a valuable asset to the homeschool, high school teen. 

Being well-read means, to me, that you have read the Classics.  You know, those books that have been read over and over again, year in and year out - that's a classic. And, it you can tie technology into it, well then, I'm all in!

Last September, I had the privilege of reviewing Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  I think this story has a bad rap, thanks to the movie industry. The only movie close to the story is from 1931.  And it missed the mark.  Frankenstein is a monster (in size) book and it took a while to review.  While I was not thrilled with their choice of having a woman narrate (in the audio narration) this amazing story of a man, writing about a man found, in search of a man made, running from humanity.  This is a masculine story, and I will be honest, this was my ONLY disappointment about this book.  I learned so much, from a literary perspective - about the author, the time period in which this classic was written and literature itself.  Professor Lasseter has a great way of tying old literature in with the modern world.  The video production work was very well done, too.  I highly recommend that all BOYS read this.  Girls could learn a thing or two, too, like this girl did.

Next, in March, I had the glorious pleasure of rereading and reviewing one of my very favorite books, Pride and Prejudice.  The audio narration was SPLENDID!!!  The narrator dramatized the reading, changing voices for the various characters and had an English accent, just as I would have expected.  It felt like Jane Austen was reading the book to me as she would have read it.  Again, Professor Lasseter did a most excellent job of bringing to the surface much of what is not spoken in the book.  Really, after reading this book as many times as I had in the past, you would think I had it all figured out.  He brought several things to bear I had missed in the past.  All I can say is Bravo!

I really wish there was more material available of this caliber.  I just finished reviewing Le Morte d'Arthur, my husband's very favorite book.  It was spectacular.  They abridged the book, in way very pleasing to this homeschool mom.  I will follow up later with a review of that...stay tuned.

In Praise of the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.x

I wanted to take just a few minutes to tell you how impressed I am with the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.X using my iPhone.  I created the last blog post in about two minutes using the camera on my iPhone, Siri and the Blogger Mobile App.  This is a great opportunity for people that have special needs to use technology to be able to communicate to the rest of the world.  So easy, so powerful!
And I dictated both blog posts, then edited with the keyboard.

Too Good to Pass Up! Special on Providence eLearning's Macbeth iBook

If you have an iPad and a high schooler who has to read Macbeth, I highly recommend using this iBook.  Several other iBooks have also been created by Providence eLearning, a subsidiary of Primera Technologies.  
The books are enhanced with audio AND video.  In the case of Macbeth, the text is read by William Lasseter, one of the English Lit professors at Providence Academy, who is also a Shakespearean actor.   Each act is followed by a lecture by Mr. Lasseter.  
Right now, Macbeth is available in the iTunes Store for $0.99.  The book is normally $9.99.  This is a great way for kids to access Macbeth with a professor right in the book.  It also makes Macbeth accessible in that the audio of the book is included, so the students may hear all the words pronounced correctly and read as if the reader were actually listening to a play.  There is also an actively linked glossary which explains characters and settings.  This format is particularly useful if you have a child with dyslexia or attention issues.
The folks at Providence mentioned to me that they may make a new book available at a lower cost each month. 
Check out this book on the iBookstore:

Macbeth William Shakespeare & William Lasseter Category: Literary Criticism

DISCLAIMER:  While I was compensated to review Macbeth last year, I get no kick-backs for any sales, whatsoever.  I just love the product and want others to know about it.

Video Case Study

If you would like to see a video case study my family did for Providence eLearning, here you go!



We had a really good time working with Providence eLearning.  My kids are really enjoying the materials.

Dysgraphia and Creative Writing

Dysgraphia is a learning disability in which writing is difficult.  This is more than just the inability too legibly create letters and words.  It extends to the inability to spell and properly organize thoughts on paper. A child that is dysgraphic gets hung up so much on how to form the letters, that their brain often loses track of what they were trying to spell or write. 

Here's a picture of the process for the visual learners...

When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in December, it came as no surprise to me.   I have spent much more time on handwriting, spelling and sentence building with him than with any of my other children.  When he practices a lot, his cursive is nice and legible, but it requires so much work and effort on his part, he is unable to write spontaneously.  He can do copy work very well.  He can't easily write what he thinks. 

I have always encouraged my son to type assignments.  He has had his own laptop since he was 10 because of the difficulties he has always had with writing.  He is not a proficient writer, but he types faster than he writes.  He has also learned to rely on the spelling and grammar checking, and I am okay with that.

Obviously because of his difficulties, I will not give up on teaching him the elements of writing (five paragraph essays, in particular), formatting (MLA mostly), and grammar (via intense Latin study and an extremely rigorous grammar program).  We've also come up with an editing process that I found out is used often...just didn't know it already existed.  It's called the power method and it uses an acronym which makes the process easy to remember:

P-lan
O-utline
W-rite
E-dit
R-evise

Now, that may seem obvious, but it is not to an ADHD kid, especially one who hates the writing process.  I have always tried to get my kids to plan out what they are doing BEFORE they write.  They have begrudgingly done it, sort of...however, it wasn't until we were working through Essay Voyages by Michael Clay Thompson last year that they saw the power of the outline.  I gave the four kids I was working with an assignment.  Within the book, there was an outline of an essay.  Their job was to write their own essay, using all the things they had learned thus far from that outline.  They were all astounded at how easy it was when they had a good outline!  From there, the editing and revising was actually easy.  Handwriting aside, the process seemed easier.

However, I had never spent much time on story writing.  I didn't feel I needed to because my kids have always been good, not only at narration, but at making up their own imaginative stories.
One babysitter told us, after watching my children play, that my eldest son would make a good scriptwriter and director.  He would orchestrate elaborate stories into their play sessions.  Not only would he tell everyone what to do, but also what to say.  All the kids would follow his instructions because his stories, created on the fly, were fantastic.  Somehow, it occurred to me last year that my son needed to work and further develop that skill. 

One thing I have learned (listen up curriculum developers) is that the assignments need to be engaging  The premise behind TJeD is to let kids follow their interests and they will learn what they need to learn.  Inside my kid is a story teller without a way to get it out.  I decided that I needed to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to get him writing creatively.  So, given his interests - Star Wars, weapons, adventure stories, games and role playing (although he'd never played an official RPG), I took a lesson from Joseph Campbell and great ideas from George Lucas, a student of Campbell, and put them all together.

Last year, the idea started niggling and I bought some Star Wars books to thumb through.  Of course, my son thought that was divine.   Then, I had to take some time and learn what RPG was all about.  I guess I hadn't realized that Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a role playing game.  I never played it, but my friends in high school (yes, almost 30 years ago) did play it.  So I did have exposure, just not experience.

What I ended up with was a writing class for reluctant writers based on the Star Wars universe using role playing games as a way to a create the story.  While I wrote the class for my son, I knew he would not be interested in doing it by himself.  That is where the RPG comes into play.  I knew that if he had to share the story with others and that others would be involved in the story with him, he would work hard.  What an incentive!  So, we invited 11 of his friends to join us.  I used Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces to teach the boys what makes a good myth.   One young man dropped out, but the older brother of another participant requested to join when he saw how much fun it could be.  These young men, aged 11-14 voluntarily joined us six weeks over the summer to write five 8-10 page stories.  And yes, my son came up with five 10 page stories.  I typed much of it for him because his ideas came so fast, he couldn't capture them all.  We're now working on using Dragon Dictation so he can hand it by himself.

Here is what I found.  The boys loved the themes, character development and structure.  But I think I was the big winners because I learned so much in those six weeks about boys, the writing process, RPG, Star Wars (did I really need to know more???) but most importantly  I also got to know these 11 young men much better.  It was especially funny to see how they would include each other or me in their stories, either by killing them off (not me) or buttering them up (most often me) so that others would include them in their stories.

My daughters, age 9 and 12 at the time, sat in hiding close to our school room enraptured as they listened in as the boys told their stories.  I am now working on the same process for girls, but the story lines will be much different.  In fact, we're toying with either a time travel element or putting the entire story in a particular period of time...not sure yet about that one.  Perhaps...



So, I'm curious.  Would it make sense to run the Star Wars class again?  Would there be interest?  I know the boys that took it enjoyed it, but I don't know if they will join us again.  By the way, I only charge for the cost of materials for these classes.  I am not interested in making money on it.  Last year, the boys paid $30, which covered all the class costs as well as snacks, materials, books, etc.  Let me know if you have someone interested.  My son would be...

Review of Macbeth - A Video Enhanced iBook from Providence eLearning

This was the fourth book I reviewed for Providence eLearning as a consulting project, and the fourth I will review here.

My daughter just finished a student review of this book for Providence eLearning.  I didn't want to review it before she finished because I didn't want my review to influence her opinion of the book.

I love Shakespeare.  However, I've read Shakespeare for pleasure and not because I was required read it in school.  One disappointing aspect of my education was that I really read very little GOOD classical literature in high school.  I had more good literature in Catholic middle school I attended (thank you, Mrs. Schlub!)  I grew up in the age of Judy Bloom.  Instead of reading Shakespeare, we read Rumblefish.  I don't despise Youth Literature.  However, I think it should be pleasure reading, not required reading.  Shakespeare should be required reading.  The reason Shakespeare isn't required is because people fear it and because there are not many good literature teachers out there that can bring Macbeth to kids in the way Mr. William Lasseter does in the iBooks available from Providence eLearning. 

Providence eLearning's Macbeth utilizes many of the great features of iBooks.  All iBooks have auto define, highlighting, note taking, etc.  However, added features of Providence's iBooks include narration by Mr. Lasseter as well as video interpretation of the text. His voice and teaching skills are truly showcased by this book. There is also a hypertext glossary of many of the more difficult or archaic terminology as well as character descriptions and relationships.  Also, the video production values are great. There are also questions to "Check Your Understanding" after each video interpretation.

And, don't think that technology spoils the beauty of a Shakespeare tale.  Besides being able to listen to Macbeth as if it were a play (because Mr. Lasseter changes his voice for different characters), it features some old illustrations that I really enjoyed. 

This month, I was struck by how much my kids really need iBooks like this.  I am a big fan of Socratic discussions.  However, I can't always get other homeschooling kids the same as my kids on board to read the same books we are reading at the same time.  And running four different book clubs while leading a group of high school students through the Iliad and the Odyssey, I just didn't have the bandwidth to cover these titles with my kids.   So we don't have discussion groups for the extra books.  The kids appreciate Mr. Lasseter's reflections and interpretations of the text.

I highly recommend this iBook for high school students because of the level of vocabulary and dark themes.   

Review of The Poetry of William Blake: An iBook from Providence eLearning

 

This was the second book I reviewed for Providence eLearning as a consulting project, but the first I will review here.

I had no idea what to expect in reviewing this book as I didn't know much about William Blake other than one poem, The Tyger.  That was quickly remedied as the instructor spent time in the Preface giving information on him (Authorship and Context) that was extremely helpful in understanding how to approach his poetry and art.  Blake was not just a poet.  Blake was a particularly precocious child who was educated at home by his loving mother.  His artistic temperaments and interested were fostered by his parents.  He actually was trained in a trade as an engraver at a young age, which paid off in his later work when he would not only write poetry but illustrate it as well.  He would create prints, writing the poetry backward on the plate.  Then he and his wife would come back after printing with the engravings and hand paint each page with water colors.

Blake's poetry is beautiful and many poems touched me deeply, especially after the instructor's skillful interpretation.  This book also included other artwork by Blake.  The book is a beautiful balance of poetry, interpretation and appreciation of Blake's work.  I highly recommend this iBook.  Currently, it is on sale on iTunes for $6.99!

The Next Generation in Digital Learning...iBooks From Providence eLearning

First of all, I apologize for my absence.  I've been busy with health things, family activities and a short-term job!

I feel blessed to have fallen into a consulting gig that seems too good to be true.  This consulting gig involves critiquing several great works of literature via an iBook format.  It's no secret I love using the iPad and iPod in our classroom, so this was a great opportunity for me. 

DISCLAMIER:  My employment with Providence eLearning was not contingent on marketing their books here on my blog.  I did ask permission to talk about their products after I review them and was given their go-ahead. My compensation is not dependent on a favorable review.

As you all know I love literature and base much of my homeschooling curriculum on Great Books and Good Books as well as Classics.  I run book clubs because I feel that children get the most out of reading great literature from discussing it and as a result learn more.  Socratic circles allow children an opportunity to not just discuss the book, but to explore other people's opinions and develop critical thinking skills.

Here are the titles I've reviewed so far and here is a link to what is available:

The company producing the iBooks is Providence eLearning.  This group is taking classical literature and enhancing it; making it accessible to all learners, regardless of whether they are in a classroom or not.  They will be tackling other subjects in the future.  So far, I am extremely impressed.  This is a boon for home educators as this makes difficult literature approachable to all and at a really, really reasonable price.  What is that price?  Only $9.99.  Amazing low price and there is so much content!

First, let me tell you about the advantages of using an iBook format.  The iBook format allows the publisher to include audio narration, audio foot notes, video, photo galleries, hyperlinks, the ability to take notes and mark up the book with highlighting.  So what happens when technology meets Classical Lit?  Amazing things!

The books offer features that our homeschooled kids might miss not going to a traditional school, to whom lecture and discussion are not readily available. Providence eLearning has done a great job providing a self-led approach for great literature.

• They get a video lecture from a professor of Literature, specifically, William Lasseter, the English Chair at Providence Academy, a Roman Catholic K-12 College Prep school here in the Twin Cities.  He's not just a Lit Prof.  He also has experience as a Shakespearean actor, which means he's a dream to hear.  
• There are many questions to "Check Your Understanding" along the way.  
• They get audio narrations.  Can I just say hurray?  I have a kid with some visual difficulties.  One of the reason he loves the Kindle is that he can resize the text and/or turn on the Text-to-speech function.  However the nasty computer voice drives me up a tree, so he uses ear buds.  Now, the iBooks do not allow for easy text resizing.  That is an issue with the iBook format, not the Providence materials.  However, I would trade that for being able to listen to a Shakespearean actor read classical literature any time.
• They have the ability to look words up on the fly by touching the word.  A definition pops up automatically, allowing the student to not lose their train of thought while in the text.  This is one of my favorite parts of all e-reading devices.
• They get a hyperlinked table of contents that allows them to easily go to any section.
• They get a glossary that is not only text based definition, but often a "Wikipedia-like" entry for each term.
• They get photo galleries.  Providence eLearning does a nice job of using the photo galleries to show pictures of the authors, and classic works of art pertaining to the material.
• They get introductory material that prepares the students for what they will learn before the learn it.
• They can highlight text in a variety colors and make notes that can be translated to flash cards.  That's a feature available through iBooks.

I heartily recommend these for advanced middle school, high school, college and adult learners.  I picked up many things and was reminded that "Great Books" and great literature are timeless.  I hope they continue on this project.  The books are a wonderful value.

Being a picky homeschool mom, the only thing I wished they had was more questions.  Providence eLearning has informed me they have a Moodle site they are considering making available to iBook users for a fee.  Considering the cost of the iBooks from Providence, I have no beef with the smaller volume of questions than I would like.  There are questions often throughout the text.  I would just like to see more end-of-section questions.  However, to get those things, I would pay more.  The amount is more than adequate for the price.

On a personal  note,  when I had a free moment here or there, I was drawn back to working on my reviews of these books, not because of a time constraint, but rather because I enjoyed it so much.

Check back soon as I will give a review of each of the four books I've read so far.  My current read is Macbeth.  I will do that review last.  But in the mean time, check out Providence eLearning's web page for the books I'm reviewing and if you have an iPad, go download a sample of the iBooks.  They are available for free.  Just put Providence eLearning into the search tool in iBooks.

iPad vs. Kindle Fire

This post is for Sherrylynne and Margaret.

UPDATE:  I've been told that this is too long to read by members of my family.  They're beautifully honest and I'm not bothered by the feedback.  Here's a tip.  If you don't want to slog through my narrative, scroll down to the bottom for a handy little table where I scored the iPad and the Kindle Fire on features I felt were important.

I have a problem with technology.  The problem is that I love it and so does my husband, which tends to make us fairly "early adopters."  That means we tend to be ahead of the curve when new technology comes out to the public.

I have had several people ask me to explain the differences between an iPad and a Kindle Fire with respect to homeschool use.  So here goes.

Oh, and for the record, before children, I was, ahem, a UNIX snob.  I disdained PC's and Macs even more!  For a long time, I had a New Hampshire state automobile license plate.  The state motto "Live Free or Die" was on the top and the license plate said "UNIX."  That was how seriously I loved UNIX.  All other operating systems were chopped liver to me.  I loved it so much, I created a Post Secondary Degree program around a version of UNIX I loved.  A Technical School actually paid me to develop the curriculum and teach that Degree Program for three years.  Then I quit because I was pregnant with my third child.  I taught up until two days before she was born.  But I digress...

So, we had a Kindle here fairly early on mainly because my husband got his hands on an ebook back in 2004, before they actually were available on the market when he managed a product testing lab for a major consumer electronics retailer.  We all fell in love with it, but there were so few books available at that time, it was not viable as a product when there was no materials to read on the device.  So we loved the Kindle.  My three eldest children have used the Kindle before we purchased the iPad.  I have reservations about even the regular Kindle.  Here are the reservations:  There are no parental controls.  None.  They have a "experimental browser" that is horrible to navigate, but there are no controls to prevent accessing unsavory web sites.  Also, many "free books" at Amazon available are not suitable for children.

When the first iPad came out, we were not quick to jump.  It was, after all, an Apple product (horror of horrors!)  All it took was a visit to the Apple store at the Mall of America to quickly change my mind.  While Angry Birds did have appeal (I swear that must be how they get most people hooked), what really did it for me was the number of free and low cost apps available.  Apple totally understands how to make a product appealing, doesn't it?  We didn't have the funds to get one as soon as we would like as our technology budget has dwindled to practically nothing since braces hit our house.  Three kids have some type of orthodontia!

It wasn't until about six months after their release that I got a refurbished first generation iPad.  Being that I needed to do "research" I got to use it the most the first week we had it.  I learned how to use iTunes and played with setting up parental controls.  Then, I went in search of apps.  Did you know there are over 500,000 apps in the Apple Apps Store?  So, cheapo that I am, I downloaded free apps first, just to see what was out there.  Even the free apps are great.   Many free apps are there to tease you, get you excited so you'll purchase their full version.  The iPad because so useful in our homeschool, that seven months later, we invested in another refurbished first generation iPad.  A month later, I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas.   When I did some work this Spring, I opted to use the money I made to purchase an iPad 2 with 3G.  So, I set out to try to use the Kindle Fire the same way we had been using the iPad, which I will outline next. 

Each day, my kids are required to do some school activities on their own, even my younger kids.  It's not like I'm some great mom. In fact it is the opposite.  There often isn't enough of me to go around quizzing flashcards and the like, so we've used the iPad for much of that type of activity.  We started out using the iPad just for educational games. Then we branched out to using it for actual school.  Here are some of the things we did with the iPad:

• Used the free Kindle App to read CK-12 textbooks
• Practiced Math Facts via many different apps
• Learned States and Capitols
• Learned Countries and History
• Followed the Church Calendar, read Saint-of-the-day biographies and daily readings
• Practiced cursive
• Praciced Phonics
• Did Spelling tests and played apps that improved vocabulary
• Listened to Audio books
• Watched some Khan Academy content
• Used apps that help with memory, concentration and attention
• Read Google books and iBooks

I knew I was not using it to its full potential, but even at that level, it was helping my kids enjoy drills.  I'm now totally fascinated with the concept of Game Theory.  I loved doing games in my homeschool, but this took me out of the picture. 

So, element by element, I will take you through the features that are important for me as a Catholic homeschool mom of six.

First and foremost is parental controls.  I love Apple's approach to restrictions.  It's actually pretty granular.  I can first put on a screen lock to prevent access to the device.  Period.  Next, I can set up restrictions by app type.  For example, I can turn off the web browser Safari, which I do, and then decided to allow access to Youtube, Camera and Facetime for second generation and newer, iTunes, Ping, Installing and Deleting Apps.  Further, I disable location services, change the level of allowed content for Music and Podcasts, Movies, TV Shows, and Apps.  I can also disable In-App Purchases, which I recommend, disable Multiplayer Games and Adding Friends.  My older children have iPod touches because we've now exceeded the demand for the iPads.  Their age restrictions are different on their iPod touches than on the iPads.  The Kindle Fire handles parental controls differently.  First of all, they didn't add them until people screamed to them about it.  They were finally added in May.  Like Apple, there is a screen lock to prevent access to the device.  However, their interface is not as seamless as Apples.  Like Apple, the Settings feature has many choices.  All apps, books, video, etc, is accessible from the "Carousel" on the home page.  When you go into the Parental Controls, you may disable web access, therefore turning off browsing, apps and book purchases and downloads.  However, there is no way to limit access to certain apps.  Now, here's a disclaimer.  I have a personal bias against how Amazon decided to do their interface.  I have an extreme dislike for the Carousel.  Everything is accessed from the Carousel.  Above the Carousel is a selection of functions like:  Newstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps, Web.  If parental controls are set, the user will get a pop-up saying the feature is disabled.  I find the Settings Interface more cludge-y than the iPad, so I don't care to mess around much with the Apps.  One thing I will point out.  I will allow use of Safari for a school project if my kids ask, but I won't for the Kindle Fire because I have figured out how to set up OpenDNS on the iPad, but not on the Kindle Fire.  I also find the pinch and squeeze is less receptive on the Kindle than the iPad, so inputting data is not nearly as easy.  One last thing, I promise.  There is a Kindle Fire app called Kid's Place that allows me to set a timer and select which apps are used.

I've already mentioned cost.  On the whole, I'm not afraid to purchase refurbished items.  It's like buying a used car versus a new one.  I compared the costs below, but used only new prices because refurbished prices vary wildly.

I've already mentioned Apps.  There are many Android apps, but there are not many great Education Apps.  The Android platform is really intended for smartphones.  Tablets started using the Android platform as an afterthought.  I have not found much I would use for my older kids other than things like SAT prep apps.

Both devices have the Kindle Reader, which is my favorite interface for books.

The Kindle Reader, however, does not readily support ePub.  That is an issue for me with because I often check out books from the public library.  Their supported format is ePub via the OverDrive application.  Apparently it can be done, but I just haven't gone there yet.

Both devices are great for video and audio playback.  However, the Kindle Fire lost a point because it doesn't have a physical volume button like the iPad.

I love having a camera on the iPad 2.  Married with the 3G capability, I can go places like Oliver Kelly Farm, a historic farm and take pictures or video and mail it right away or Skype with someone to show them something cool. I can also do online classes.  I teach several classes to kids other than my own and we use Skype.  I can do it from anywhere now.

I love the Kindle Fire's form factor.  The iPad is roughly the size of a sheet of paper.  The Kindle Fire is roughly that of a large greeting card (or about a half a sheet of paper.)  However, the Kindle is thicker than the iPad.  The Kindle Fire weighs  almost 15 ounces and the iPad weighs in at about 21 ounces.

From a stability perspective, the iPad has never crashed and it's used often.  The Kindle Fire, on the other hand, has had several occasions where it has frozen up so badly I've had to contact customer service.

My iPads have held their battery charge through about 8 hours of use.  We do a lot to try and conserve that battery life like turning off Wi-Fi by putting it in Airplane Mode, dimming the screen and disabling  a lot of the sounds/alerts.  The Kindle Fire, on the other hand, has an advertised battery life of 8 hours, but we are lucky to get six.  We disable the Wi-Fi there as well, but that hasn't bought us much for battery life.

The iPad storage capacity starts at 16GB and goes up to 64GB.  The Kindle Fire only has 8GB.  Now, that being said, you won't use that space up until you have had lots and lots of books and memory stored on it.  It can go quickly on the iPad if the iPad has a camera.

Here's a little table I put together scoring the features.  I multiplied each * by the weight.  So, if the weight is 10, three stars means the device scored 30 points.  I added them up for you at the bottom.

Please feel free to comment and give my your experiences because I am basing mine totally on the use in our homeschool.

Feature (weight)	iPad	Kindle Fire
Built-in Parental Controls (10 x *)	***	**
Cost NEW (10) (Remember I buy refurbished!)	* ($499-849)	*** ($199)
Educational Apps (10)	***	*
Kindle Reader (10)	***	***
ePub Reader (8)	***	*
Video and audio playback (8)	***	**
Camera (for things like Skype) (5)	*** (2nd Generation)
Form factor (5)	*	***
Stability – crashes, locks, updates, etc.  (5)	***	*
Battery Life (5)	***	**
Storage (5)	*** (16GB-64GB)	* (8 GB)
Cumulative Score (243 possible points)	213	149

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.

A pretty good reason to not let your kid have a Facebook account...

Just found this...

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter make people feel inadequate and increase their anxiety, according to a study of about 300 people by the University of Salford in England. More than half the people surveyed said the sites changed their behavior for the worse. Many said their confidence fell when comparing their achievement to others... 

I think that is a good enough reason. 

Recipe for an on-line co-schooling experience

Have you ever dreamed of doing a class with another family, but are intimidated at the idea of trying to get together on a regular basis?  How about doing an on-line class with another family or two?  It's easy and if you are using the same curriculum, no extra books are needed!

For each family you will need:

• 1 computer with Skype* installed and an Internet connection
• 1 web cam
• 1 or more willing students (and one teacher)

 *If more than two families are participating, ONE family will need Skype Premium.

Once both parties have installed Skype and created Skype accounts, they need to invite each other to Skype.  After that is completed, you can connect to one another and start!  You can lecture, discuss, have a Socratic seminar or share screens.
Did you know that if it is just a two-way conversation, you can share screens (meaning you can):

• Show a presentation (done with PowerPoint or some other presentation package)
• Watch a DVD together (the person with the DVD must share screens)
• Watch YouTube videos or listen to audio together
• Use educational games or software together

Group Screen Sharing (more than two people talking) is not available on Skype Premium for Windows unless you install Yugma or some other web conferencing tool.  Group Screen Sharing IS available for MAC with Skype Premium.

If you want to check out a free on-line test service, visit examgeneral.com and sign up for a free account.  Your students will need accounts, too.

I run several classes on-line (in a co-schooling manner) with three other families right now.  We meet one time or more a week.  Then I will assign, for certain classes, on-line quizzes.
Here's what we do every week:
3X a week - Lingua Latina
1X a week - Latina Christiana
1X a week - Earth Science for grades 5-8
1X a week - Earth Science for grades 1-3
1X a week - Catechism class
1X a week - Bible Study
1X a week - Composition class

This has been a grand experiment for me.  My older kids, at 12 and 13 are interested in more social schooling, but have no desire to go to a brick and mortar school.  This has given them the opportunity to study with other kids their age on topics we would cover anyway!  I have the Science class for the younger kids because they think it's really cool.  And, no, I am not taking any more students ;-).  I have seven other students between three other families so I'm sufficiently obligated.  However, if you have questions about doing this, please let me know.