Free Homeschool Management Software

LearnBoost is offering free management software tailored for homeschoolers. The program  features a fully integrated grade book and software to create and share lesson plans, track student progress, analyze learning trends, add narrative reports, and so much more. It is integrated with Google Apps and is available in 15 languages, soon to be 70.

I’ve looked around the site and it is intriguing. The first thing I did was make sure it is truly free. It appears it really is. They also offer a free demo.

Here is what the site says about the resource being free:

LearnBoost is 100% free. You get all the wonderful features in all of our modules: grade book, attendance, lesson plan, calendar, and more. You have everything to gain by signing up because LearnBoost is free and amazing.

LearnBoost operates on a “freemium” business model. This means that while the majority of our users can access our software for free, future iterations of the product will allow schools to elect for premium administrative features, customization, and services.

We love education and we know school budgets are always tight. In the future, our optional premium services won’t break the bank either!

 

Digital Natives

This is a post I wrote at 3D Learners Blog: Digital Natives & Academics. Check it out; I posed several questions. So, click on over to the blog and take a few minutes to leave a comment letting me know how you feel.

 

QWERTY

I think everyone would agree we live in a fast growing world of technology. When I was a kid, calculators were about as technological as it got. I do remember getting a Commodore 64 computer back in the day, but we didn’t do anything with it–Windows was non-existent. Oh, and for fun, we had Pong!

In high school, I took typing. I think everyone had to take it. I was so excited that I was one of the lucky kids who got to use an electric typewriter. I changed schools at one point in high school and the new school was going to make me use a manual typewriter. I actually couldn’t do it. They finally gave in and let me use the electric. Whew! I am thankful I took typing. I had no clue that it would one day be so very useful.

Kids today learn typing at a very early age–some at the preschool level. Typing programs were among the first educational PC titles developed. Typing is the key to getting a great job in today’s market. I find it hard to think of any job that doesn’t use typing or keyboarding in some aspect, whether it is writing reports, data input, checking out customers at a store, registering patients at a clinic… Most jobs require some degree of computer work, and knowing how to type quickly and efficiently will make you more marketable than someone else who simply “finger types” at the keyboard. I have watched my husband use the hunt-and-peck method for years. You might think that his speed would eventually pick up from constant usage, not so. Well, o.k., maybe it is a few seconds faster than when he started.

Kids really must learn to type properly to prevent developing bad habits (hunt-and-peck or looking at the keyboard as they type). Proper typing skills also  spare the typist from a s-l-o-w typing speed, a repetitive strain injury, or just plain old sloppy typing. Once kids have started typing on their own (no instruction provided), it is very difficult, if not impossible, to correct their “bad habits.” Using a computer keyboard and knowing how to type is essential. Today, there are great typing games for kids to learn to use the keyboard. Oh how I wish there were available when I was learning. I must admit, typing class was rather boring and tedious. Learning games make it fun for students, and when kids are having fun, the best learning seems to take place. So, go ahead and have some fun today.

Note:  Have you ever wondered what QWERTY really means? Find out here.

 

Officially Back to School

The official “back to school” season has begun at our house. We have several weeks under our belt. Boy, it sure feels good to finally get into a solid routine. I don’t know about you, but it is always so hard to just get going each year. Once we do, its smooth sailing!

Hannah has been busy with her online learning and her “offline” learning. We added Teaching Textbooks for math this year. So far, so good! That thrills me. She does the core of her learning online with T4L, and adds TT into the mix. The one awesome blessing for me is that I can get access to online lesson plans with the resource we use for our core studies. That sure gives me a huge break as far as my time is concerned. I skim the online lesson plans so I have a good understanding of what Hannah will focus on for the week. When I check her progress, if there is anything she didn’t understand thoroughly, I can simply add a few resources in and have her review and test the lesson one more time. I’m sure thankful we are able to use the technological time we live in for our homeschooling needs.