Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Homeschooling and the Internet

I'm constantly amazed at how much information is available over the Internet. I almost can't comprehend what it would be like to homeschool without the easy access to information we enjoy.

It is more than just information. The blog world makes it very easy for like minded people in different parts of the world to connect with each other. You can easily meet people with divergent perspectives. It provides a way of learning from the experiences of others.

Every time my children ask me a question I can't answer, I turn to the Internet. Yesterday, while discussion history, my children wanted to know what had happened to a relatively unknown person who played a small part in a larger historical event. I easily found the information, well documented, by doing a simple search on Google.

With the audio-visual capacity of the Internet, you can easily see and hear facts in a dynamic way. For example, my mother-in-law likes to send along interesting links. Here is one she sent me a few days ago.

Amazing Grace - Wintley Phipps


Someone else sent me a link to this website.

Until Then

I think I've watched it 20 times. I did some more research (on the internet of course) and found the company that had produced it and many other tributes.

The internet makes it easier to more than just current events. History comes alive. This is one of my favorite links.

This more artistic rendition is nice as well. This is what I think about to make myself workout at the gym.

The Internet is a bit like the Wild West. You have to be careful. For example, the company the produced the Until Then tribute that I like so much also produced a 9/11 tribute that was just a little too graphic for me or my kids.

Not every thing you read on the internet is truthful. Websites like this are very usefully to check the veracity of questionable stories floating around the web.

We also use the internet to help my children with music. My daughter is preparing for Certificate of Merit on the piano. One of the pieces she is working on is called La Chase from Opus 100 No. 9 by Burgmuller. I downloaded a free midi file from the Internet, so that she could hear how it is supposed to sound. (The sad thing is I can't find the site I got it from to provide the link.)

The internet is a wonderful resource for homeschoolers. It puts information at your fingertips, if you know or can remember where to browse.


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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you, I am not sure that I would feel like I know enough to homeschool, if I didn't have the internet.

Thank goodness!

Janine Cate said...

I remember the old days when you were limited to what you could look up in an encyclopedia. Boy, things have changed.

A Dusty Frame said...

Thanks for the links:)
I really enjoy hearing Wintley Phipps.
His voice is amazing!

I agree with you. I don't know how my Mom homeschooled us in the 80's with out the internet!

I get so much wonderful information and it's so easy to access.

I do think it's sad that my son will probably never read the encylopedia for fun like I used to do:)

Lizzie

Sherry said...

I love to use the internet to find pics of whatever we're reading about in the CLP Nature Reader. Also, we can find multiple works by a particular artist, and easily find poems to memorize. I love my books--can't get enough of them--but it can be hard to beat the internet for quickly finding what we need.

Sherry

Janine Cate said...

Wow, how neat. I second generation homeschooler.

Janine Cate said...

Yes, I use google images frequently.