Technology

Technology is no stranger in our home. Out of the 6 kids, 5 have iPods. Scarlett has a 2nd generation iPod (we're not totally crazy).  The 4 older kids have 4th generations, and Ron & I have Iphone 5S.  I also have a mac book pro and an apple tv. The kids have a paperwhite kindle and a fire to use for school purposes as well as 3 desktops and 2 laptops. No that you have a synopsis of our technical means, let me tell you why I'm proud to own each device.

With STEM, the kids use the Ipad at school on a daily basis. So the iPods allow the kids to do homework, finish assignments, do extra reading and work anywhere. The apple TV is a great teaching tool, to show the kids something on my laptop, without having Scarlett bending my screen backwards. It's also ideal for showing youtube videos and more. We're currently watching The Magic School bus on Netflix, I picked episodes that pertain to the upcoming lessons. I use my standard calendar on my Iphone to plan out my lessons for the week, I find 3-5 short youtube videos to go along with it and copy the links. That way every morning while the big kids are getting ready for school I can click a link, airplay it to the apple TV for the girls and they have already started their learning for the day, without teacher mommy.

When used properly, technology is a vital element of education these days. My hope is that by summer, I have an Ipad to use in the home brain center... mainly because I can get a tough case... and my laptop is done with toddler hands!

Technology is all around us in not so apparent ways. For instance solar panels, used to power lego vehicles the 2nd graders built for their PBL. We use technology in all his forms, and embrace it's usefulness. We are very careful not to let the kids become consumed with it however. I'm waiting on a copy of the Digital Invasion, a book a family member told me about and I'm dying to read.