The Wired Homeschool

More children and students are into using their mobiles, that’s why teachers and educators worldwide have adopted this device and started creating their digital lesson plans. In fact, over 52 percent of children under the age of eight have been exposed to mobile devices, where 40 percent are kids 2-4 years old, who are not in kindergarten yet. Some students also said they cannot study without their mobile devices.

Previously, we published an infographic presenting how kids, nowadays, own and use their mobile devices especially their tablets. We were stunned that 7 out of 10 children (12-year old) are exposed to tablets. In this article, we intend to provide you with the reasons as to why getting your kids an iPad, even the iPad mini from Verizon Wireless, is important, especially in creating a great digital learning experience.

Presentation

Let your child view what you see on your device and create a school-like presentation day. Project the screen on your iPad with the help of various wired and wireless tools.

Wired: Purchase the VGA Adapter for $30 to $50. All you need is to connect it to your device. Another wired projector tool is the iTools. This free software is easy to use. Just install the software on the computer connected to the projector and attach your device using a USB cable.

Wireless: These tools require a WiFi connection in able to work and the network must have open ports for Airplay. You can purchase the Apple TV for $99. You need to connect the Apple TV to the projector using an HDMI cable. Other wireless projector tools for iPad are Air Server that costs $14.99 and the Reflector for $12.99. Both are software that needs to be installed on the computer connected to the projector and access all your files using AirPlay.

Management

You can manage your child’s performance and grades easily with the Teacher Kit by ITWorx. Although this application was specially designed for teachers with a number of students, it can be a great tool in creating your grade book easily and count downtime minutes. So the next time you noticed that downtime consumes more time than learning, then you can arrange a new daily lesson plan for your child to follow. This will ensure that every minute of learning is being followed efficiently. If your children are struggling with Math topics, you can also download the apps we have presented on 10 Match Apps for Little Children article.

Engagement

Enrich your knowledge by engaging with other lecturers here and abroad with the help of Edmodo.com app on your device. It allows you to build your engagement with child by building a poll that asks pertinent questions about today’s lessons, measure their learning progress, connect to other teachers worldwide using Edmodo, and make learning fun with easy-to-use educational apps. The interface is also easy to navigate since it has the Facebook-like appearance including the color and icons on the top.

Resource

Learning is a never ending task, especially for parents with homeschooling children. You will be the first point of information by your kid. Having a mobile device on your hand is equal to millions of resources available for you. The iTunes U app allows you to create complete courses of lessons with video, images and audio. You can also share your works with other educators with iTunes U on their device. You can also download iBooks to get mobile copied reading books, Flipboard for all the latest articles and topics related to your passion and Zite for the current news and article.

Although iPad can be a great educational tool for homeschooling kids, technology can be a hindrance too. It takes a right amount of digital exposure and more parental guidance to make sure that your child is maximizing the educational benefits of the iPad. What applications can you recommend parents with home schooling kids? Share your thoughts with us.