The EdTech Trend In Homeschooling
For over a year, different trends in education through technology have been growing. Trends such as adaptive learning and eLearning contribute to a student's academic progress. They are unique, quick, and efficient to use. Besides these, another trend on the rise is homeschooling.
One family who benefits from homeschooling is the Grape family from upstate New York. Kailey Grape, who switched to homeschooling her children in the summer of 2020, finds it enjoyable. She loves the comfort of being at home spending time with her family and the flexibility homeschooling gives her. Her children feel comfortable learning at home, she says. The Grapes and many others feel homeschooling is a great choice. Let’s look at why this is true.
Advantages Of Homeschooling
1. Parents Have Greater Input In Their Child’s Education
The parent chooses and teaches the curriculum. They pick subjects they feel are best for their child to learn.
2. Family Togetherness
The family spends quality time together throughout the day, besides evenings and weekends. Kailey sees growth in her little son based on interactions with her two school-aged children.
3. Flexibility
A child completes schoolwork when a parent chooses. The parent can plan activities around their child’s learning. For the Grape family, Kailey has a schedule set for homeschool learning, and the children also have time for sports a couple of times a week.
4. Personalized Learning
A child receives the attention they may not get in a large classroom. The parent teaches based on the specific needs of their child.
5. The Focus Is Learning
A parent avoids classroom issues such as bullying and other social issues with peers.
But homeschooling comes with the disadvantage of relying on pen and paper. This is a disadvantage educational technology (EdTech) companies are aware of and are working to find innovative solutions for, in order to support learning at home. Here are a couple of these companies:
- Outschool
Outschool offers live online classes. The classes are easy to do from the comfort of your home. The thousands of classes available meet the different interests of the learner and are suitable for children as young as the age of three. - Primer
Primer uses live chat rooms. Children can have a classroom-like experience in their own homes. They interact with other children the same age as they are. Like a classroom, they can learn together, make friends, and work in teams. - Age of Learning
Age of Learning has a variety of learning programs with EdTech that have won awards and are great for early childhood learners. Some examples of the programs that have helped many early learners succeed are ABCmouse, My Math Academy, and My Reading Academy. - Homer
Homer provides a way for early childhood learners to gain skills while learning different subjects. Students learn social and emotional skills and creativity through different reading and math activities.
Companies like these help solve the disadvantages of homeschooling children. With homeschooling, a disadvantage is the lack of socialization a child has with classmates. The startup Primer offers a specific learning experience called Pursuit, which gets children engaged in social interaction. Each "Pursuit" lasts for six weeks. While taking part in Pursuit, children work through different types of challenges together. Outschool’s setup for live instruction is in small groups and allows for customized learning and for students to make new friends while learning.
Another disadvantage to homeschooling is the stress for the parent if a child struggles with learning. The company Age of Learning helps relieve stress through its ABCmouse program. Based on research, this program speeds up the learning process for young children and helps them gain skills in math and early literacy. ABCmouse has an assessment center for parents, which is a great resource for them to assess exactly what their child knows and which areas they need to make progress in. Homer provides an easy-to-use app that parents love. Parents enjoy the fact that it is engaging to their child, and the activities meet the learning needs of their child.
Conclusion
As we see, parents who choose to homeschool their children have plenty of choices on how to do so through technology. The apps some of these companies offer create a fresh and engaging homeschooling experience. Technology solutions in education are great to enhance homeschooling for children. They help lead to academic success in learners, which is the main goal of the homeschooling parent.
