Whether you’re teaching the curriculum yourself or your kids are attending school remotely, learning has gone online. Schools are increasingly using online grading and reporting, so you should get the tech to help your kids stay top of the class.
Help them organise their day
When you’re teaching at home, it’s even more important that your little learners stick to a schedule. Get them a smart speaker (think: Google Nest Mini or Amazon Echo) and it’ll give them a rundown of what’s in their calendar for the day. You can also set them reminders, so there’s no excuse for not handing in their homework.
Make writing paperless
Upgrade scrappy old exercise books to tablets and iPads. With a stylus, you can can use big screen tablets for notes or sketching. Plus, there are plenty of apps that take handwritten notes and turn them into typed script. Don’t worry about them getting distracted. Lots of tablets (and most apps) coming with parental controls – so you can stay in control of their tech usage.
We’ve got some great advice on choosing a tablet for schoolwork.
Save and share homework
With the ability to file each lesson or essay away in a folder, there’s no chance of the family dog eating it! And with software like Google Docs, you can easily share and collaborate on the same piece of work. Great for marking. Even better for checking on your child’s progress.
Perfect printers
While it’s great to go paperless, sometimes you just need the printed version. Whether it’s a coursework requirement or you’ve got a budding Picasso who wants to see their latest masterpiece, the latest printers are fast, connect with Bluetooth and easily connect to the Cloud. So they can take pride in their work. Plus, who wants to stick their iPad to the fridge door?
Scan it in
Keeping old homework and essays can be a great way of show how far they’ve come. But rather than taking up loft space, it’s a great idea to scan and digitise old exercise books. It’s also much easy to find a specific piece of work.
For stuff that’s more difficult to fit in a scanner (old artwork for example) why not invest in a digital camera with a high pixel count? That way you can capture every detail and brushstroke.
Always have a backup plan
And for your digital archive, it’s a great idea to have a secure place where you can keep it all. While online storage can work out expensive in the long run, an external hard drive with plenty of space is a great place to have things archived.
Help them see the bigger picture
If you’re taking on lessons, getting everybody to huddle around a laptop screen may not cut it. Fortunately, there are plenty of home projectors that will turn your wall into a virtual whiteboard. They’re also portable so you can move the lesson to anywhere in the house.
Keep them entertained at the end of the day
After a hard day in the home schoolroom, it’s time for them to unwind. Whether you treat them to a handheld console or they’d like a smart speaker for their favourite tunes.
