By: Mark
I need to interrupt this blog for an important announcement. We would like to put out the call to all homeschoolers, no…to anyone of school age actually, to connect with us on Flipboard so that Peyton can collaborate with you on Flipboard magazines. If you are unaware of Flipboard, don’t feel bad. We’ve talked to people in many different areas (including education) who don’t know or aren’t sure what it is. If you have an iPad or other tablet device, I highly recommend you download it now. You will need to create an account with a valid email address, tell it at least 7 subjects of interest, and presto you have a beautiful, portable magazine reader at your fingertips. You will probably want to go beyond just using it as a magazine reader. Which is what I used it as for about the first 4 years I was aware of it. It’s a beautiful way to view others’ content, be it a magazine, the news, or just photographs. It was not until I found a group on twitter called #FlipboardChat, that I realized the real power of Flipboard.
Click here to open Flipboard Magazine
Turns out that you can make your own magazines on Flipboard. Other people can subscribe or follow your magazines, and you can follow theirs. And you can collaborate with others to make a really cool magazine together. This is being utilized in the traditional classroom setting and is a big part of the “flipped” (no relation to Flipboard) classroom. Teachers are putting all kinds of content on Flipboard for their classes, including syllabuses, up the minute digital textbooks, history (or any subject) mags, or…well you get the point. Students can work together on all these projects. They can comment, along with the teacher, on each post or article. Look at my Flipboard magazine “Flipboard for Homeschoolers” to see what others, like Coach William Jeffrey in Fort Bend, TX are doing and have to say about Flipboard.
“He used the magazine feature for many aspects of his curriculum, like sending out assignments, group projects and more—but his students got even more creative. One made a Flipboard Magazine to compile his football highlights; others used the tool to make collaborative essays and photo stories; another student recorded commentary on SoundCloud and flipped that audio into his magazine, along with relevant articles.”*
Yes, students actually had a tool that allowed them to show their individuality, creativity and yet also work with one another to put a beautiful assignment together. They were excited to learn. Now, I know that there are many reasons people homeschool. In our case, Lynne has homeschooled her 4 kids for the last 25 years. With Peyton, we didn’t want him getting lost in the public school special needs system. We felt we could tailor a curriculum that more comfortably fits his learning style. We use online course sites such as Khan Academy, iTunesU or Coursera to name a few. He has taken some introductory college courses with varying success. We supplement these courses with workbook or printable online material from sources like Multiplication.com.
There’s lots of sites available for the homeschooler (or anyone who wants to continue their education), but what is lacking is the ability for kids from all over to socialize.
You might also enjoy…..Our RoadTrip to South Texas
Why Homeschooling Gets an A from Us
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