We live in a technology-driven society where accessing and sharing information is more efficient than before. Talk of businesses and customer satisfaction, to romance, health, transportation, and communication sectors all dramatically depend on technology. Also, we cannot deny the impact technology has had on the education system and how it has made everyday homeschooling easier.

With constant advancements in technology, many would agree that it affects every aspect of our lives. All the same, most learning institutions have put in place some technological tools to facilitate distance learning like homeschooling. Some of the advancements have made the traditional education of homeschooling to become more reliable, viable, and sometimes more affordable.

Here are some of the technological advancements that make homeschooling easier:

Introduction of Learning Management Systems (LMS)

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application that helps deliver course materials, documentation, and tracking student progress.

This application is of relevance in assigning questions, providing feedback, and enables instructors in posting grades. However, the system only allows those with logins to access its contents.

With this in mind, here is how LMS facilitates homeschooling:

The Learning Management System allows instructors to gather and centrally place all the required learning materials on the web. Then those students with the logins can immediately access the content once they log in irrespective of their locations. That means, the system can be accessed from anywhere, making it easier and quicker for any homeschooler.

What else would be satisfying than being able to interact freely? This software operates by providing a space where the instructors and students store and organize materials, meaning the learners at home with logins can use their tablets, computers, or smartphones to access and interact with their instructors.

In other words, LMS allows instructors to streamline their workflow while providing structure to their students.

Availability of collaborative tools

There are many collaborative tools like copper projects, which entail virtualising content and incorporation of videos as the most common virtual collaborative tool.

Through the collaborative tools, instructors can share the course contents with their students at home via video, whiteboarding, messaging, audios, and images. All these provide alternative means of communication and reinforcements.

Also, the instructors can schedule classes and encourage their students to join and participate in interactive pooling. Most importantly, this virtual collaboration provides face-to-face communication experienced in the traditional classroom or schooling. This implies that instructors have the chance to explain ideas to the learners in real-time.

Digital simulations

Simulations are the dynamic representations that allow learners to form, create or form mental images via experimentations.

In other words, it’s experiential learning where instructors form an online scenario-based surrounding for learners to help them apply their practical skills. Simulations include interactive models that allow learners to explore information from images or videos despite their locations.

Maybe you’re asking how it makes homeschooling easier. Here is how:

Through videos and images, instructors can assign various work to learners by providing digital simulations in which they interact and respond to the simulation as if it were in real life. The students get to watch and write what they see or think.

These simulations help the student to develop mastery of the materials assigned. Also, they offer a safe place to tinker or experiment with different systems. Of course, the student may fail on the assignment, but the aim is to learn.

Apart from helping in transferring knowledge from the course materials to practical, simulations ensure learners develop critical thinking and provide virtual assistance on learning. Therefore, homeschooling students have the opportunity to do experiments like in real classrooms.

The emergence of assistive technology (AT)

Are you aware that there are specific devices that can help you think or learn differently? These devices are known as assistive technology.

By definition, assistive technology is any equipment, software, or device that increases improve, or maintains the functional capabilities of learners with physical or learning disabilities. They help students work through their problems and help them communicate and learn better irrespective of the situations and location. Some examples may include word prediction, low-tech tools, and text to speech, among others.

How does assistive technology facilitate learning?

There are two significant ways in which AT would benefit a homeschooling learner.

One, various AT would help students learn how to finalise their task bypassing their multiple difficulties. How? Any disabled student at home who cannot write their assignment can enjoy the AT’s ability to improve their writing skills by providing grammar and spell-check features.

The features ensure the student can confidently communicate their ideas with the knowledge that the software will automatically change their views.

Secondly, the provision of text to speech would benefit any homeschooling student without the opportunity to attend the traditional classroom setting. But how?

Text to speech software can read any digital and printed text and decode it into words. This would ensure students understand any words, especially when there are unfamiliar words read to them.

Presence of online productivity tools

Online productivity tools refer to the resources that make learning more efficient and help instructors and learners to increase their productivity. Such resources may include the availability of internet lesson plans and subject area sites for teachers—also, the presence of study guides and learning communities, and multimedia resources for students.

These productivity tools facilitate homeschooling in the following ways:

First, the chances are that students may not know everything they’re tasked to do, right? So, one of the options they have to help answer the questions is to Google for information. Therefore, the internet, in this case, would have provided the online reference point, thus avail the student to achieve the desired goals.

This implies that even homeschooling can be made more accessible as long as there is the internet. A student can access dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, and other learning materials.

Secondly, there is a learning community website for teachers on the internet. This means teachers can gather or share ideas and content concerning various topics or subjects. With diverse experts, teachers would acquire the right content for their students, thus improving personal and student productivity.

Conclusion

Technological changes are inevitable, and sometimes implementing them can be a big task. However, most fields, education included, have greatly dependent on technology and its advancements. A good example is homeschooling, where instructors and students are immensely enjoying the benefits of technological advances.

Technology has ensured homeschooling is made more accessible by including assistive technology, digital simulations, collaborative tools, and the introduction of learning management systems. All of which facilitates teacher-student participation irrespective of their locations.

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