May 26th, 2010 by Robin Green

Is homeschooling right for you and your child? There are many benefits to homeschooling, which I’ve previously written about (most recently in my May 7 post). However, it’s nothing to rush into. Here are three important considerations, three critical thoughts, before you take the homeschooling route–which can prove an exciting journey.

First, are you willing to make the personal sacrifice you’ll be accepting? In general, homeschool parents have very little personal time. Each day, you’ll need to make an effort create even a small amount of alone time. While your child is working on learning management system work, for example, you might find a moment for yourself. Or perhaps a tutor comes a couple of hours a week to teach math or aide with an online courseware subject. Just remember that your personal time–however miniscule–is important for your mental health, so be sure to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself.

Second, is everyone in the family on board with the decision to homeschool? This is an essential precondition of homeschooling: that both parents (if applicable) are in agreement about the decision. It will prove very difficult for everyone involved if one parent is against it. If this is the case for you, try talking to more people and doing more research on homeschooling. Read up on learning management systems and other learning materials before bringing up the topic with your spouse again.

Third, are you a generally organized person? (And if not, are you ready to change your ways?) Organization is essential in a homeschool environment, not only to combat the clutter that naturally accumulates with experiments and projects, but also to track your child’s progress. If your child is homeschooled, you may want to consider using a learning management system to meet both your child’s and your needs. A learning management system is a great way to both integrate technology into your lesson plans as well as organize and keep on top of your child’s educational journey.

Coggno is now offering a free trial for home educators on its learning management system. Create online courses for home use, or for syndication.

May 7th, 2010 by Robin Green

Deciding whether or not to homeschool your child isn’t easy. But once you’ve made the decision to take the plunge, there are numerous benefits you can expect to see. Five reasons to homeschool your child are quality, creativity, support, flexibility, and technological advantages.

First, you have quality. Home education is much more than sitting down with some books for a few hours each day, or simply aiding your child in the completion of his or her learning management system or other online coursework.  The quality is in your own ability, as a parent, to rise to the challenge of homeschooling and develop a strong system that works for you and your child that expands beyond the regular 8-3 school day. Learning can happen anytime, anywhere.

Second, homeschooling allows for creativity. You’ll be developing school projects and designing experiments, preparing and dictating lessons, grading papers, going on field trips and park days, giving art and music lessons, and much more. Online courses or learning management systems can enrich your child’s learning experience. Coggno is now offering a free trial for home educators on its learning management system. Create online courses for home use, or for syndication.

Third, as a home educator, you’ll find great flexibility in your daytime activities. You’ll have control over your day and your child’s social activities, arranging get-togethers, taking educational day trips, and engaging in other fun activities.

Fourth, home educators have available to them a great support system, both at home and outside the home. If you are stuck on a subject you’re not sure how to teach, finding online tutors tutors for these subjects. Additionally, with the wealth of curriculum and  learning materials, learning management system courses and other internet resources, you’ll find plenty of support.

Which leads to our fifth benefit: home educators have access to and control over the best educational web 2.0 tools for crafting a robust learning experience. Homeschoolers understand that one critical part of a child’s education is ICT skill development. Online work serves to complement lessons, activities and assignments. Learning management systems are a convenient and easy way to improve students’ ICT skills and familiarize them with new technology.

November 19th, 2008 by Robin Green

Organization is essential in a homeschool environment, not only to combat the clutter that naturally accumulates with experiments and projects, but also to track your child’s progress. If your child is homeschooled, you may want to consider using a learning management system to meet both your child’s and your needs.

Home educators have a great deal of work to do, and a learning management system can help with things like grading, record-keeping, and lesson planning. With a learning management system like Coggno, you can also create quizzes, tests and videos.

A world of tools is available to homeschool students, including LMSs offered by Christian academies and other institutions to suit the religious beliefs of the families who use them. Homeschooling should never be a solitary enterprise. Take advantage of the support and educational tools available online and in your community.

November 18th, 2008 by Robin Green

Are you collecting ideas and information to create your own online courseware system? One exciting group to consider is the expanding homeschooler demographic. Home educators often use courseware systems to complement lessons, activities and assignments. Home educators understand that one important part of a child’s education is the development of ICT skills. Online courseware systems are a convenient and easy way to improve students’ ICT skills and familiarize them with different technology.

Coggno’s free courseware system syndicator allows you to upload your course content and publicize it on Coggno’s marketplace. Coggno equips you with all the tools–including easy-to-use text editor, assessment , quiz and video tools–to create a unique and completely customized courseware design. You have total control over both the creation and the maintenance of your courseware system. 

November 18th, 2008 by Robin Green

Homeschooling and online courseware shouldn’t put your child at a social disadvantage. Remember that when you homeschool your child, you have almost complete control over the social contacts he or she makes. For this reason it’s important to make greater efforts to arrange get-togethers for your child. 

Another factor to consider when debating whether or not to homeschool your child is household organization. Though online courseware and other learning materials are relatively mess-free, you’ll be doing all kinds of projects (including art and science) that will inevitably cause clutter. And that’s on top of the regular house chores. 

If you’re a real neat-freak, you’ll want to think long and hard about homeschooling. But just like finding alone time, time management is key. Take advantage of online courseware time or other low maintenance activities to throw the whites in the wash or iron shirts. 

November 18th, 2008 by Robin Green

Whether or not to homeschool your child, using courseware systems or otherwise, is an enormous decision. Beverly Hernandez, a veteran homeschool parent who has taught her children from preschool to high school, offers some points to chew over.

Homeschooling is a very time-consuming enterprise. It’s much more, Hernandez points out, than just sitting down with books for a couple of hours a day, or helping your child with his or her courseware system learning material. You’ll be designing projects and performing experiments, preparing lessons, grading papers, taking field trips and park days, teaching music lessons, and more. A courseware system can certainly enhance your child’s learning experience, but ultimately it will be a relatively small part of his or her day.

November 17th, 2008 by Robin Green

A wealth of resources are available for homeschoolers and home educators, including accreditation programs, which vary from state to state. Courseware systems and collaborative software allow students to get involved in online group activities, while sites like Homeschool.com offer courseware systems for children grades K-8. 

Many states offer accrediting systems such as the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency, which provides legitimate diplomas to homeschoolers. It also encourages homeschoolers to continue through high school, and helps them get scholarships to college. It’s one of several Pennsylvania organizations recognized by the PA Department of Education that provides diplomas and offers a recognized alternative to the GED and the correspondence school diploma. The agency also provides Advanced Placement (AP) courseware systems to prepare students to take AP tests.  

November 17th, 2008 by Robin Green

One of my earliest childhood playmates was homeschooled by his mother. I always wondered exactly how she did it, and I still do. Where do home educators find learning material? Do they depend on online courseware and other web-based learning systems?

With the increasing homeschooled population, online courseware designed specifically for homeschoolers is ubiquitous. Homeschool.com, for instance, provides a list of online courseware for students of all ages. Shaping your own child’s education and choosing their material, it seems, has never been easier.

But how do homeschoolers do academically? According to a study by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, homeschoolers perform an average of one grade level above their counterparts in public and private schools in the elementary grades. Lawrence Rudner, the national testing expert who conducted the study, says that “it shows that homeschooling works for those who make the commitment. It is not proof that homeschooling is superior to traditional education.”