273: Engaging online art history resources In today's episode, guest Holly Egan who teaches the Art History class for teens at show sponsor FundaFunda Academy, shares her favorite online art history resources. Main supplemental websites for her art history class: Smart History -Has over 800 contributors from all over the world https://smarthistory.org/ National Geographic – great art history section with engaging articles Art History School –  artist biographies explored by...

  272: Vacation Planning with AI In this episode one Vacation Planning with AI, Meryl discusses using AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and others to plan their upcoming summer road trip out west in their Sprinter van. She shares her experience asking the AI for suggestions on stops, restaurants, activities and more along their route through states like Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and others before arriving at  Capitol Reef National Park. She also covers using AI to plan a...

271: Magic Student AI Tools This episode covers the Magic Student AI tools  from Magic School, following last week's episode ( (Episode 270 - Magic School AI)) on the teacher tools. Magic School Features to Explore New Google Chrome extension to easily access the tools New YouTube channel explaining how the different products work Can  create a classroom to control which tools students have access to Magic Student AI Tools Discussed Chatbot for students called Raina...

270: Magic School AI In  this episode we explore a new resource called Magic School AI, which can be used by homeschoolers to help their children retain and understand concepts, and provide engaging ideas for lessons. In this episode we look at the tools for teachers (ie would be used by the homeschool parent). Next week we will look at the tools for students Here are the Magic School AI tools mentioned Text Rewriter: Rewrites text in different styles (humorous,...

269: Teen Podcasters Share Their Journey   In this episode, host Meryl van der Merwe interviews Laila Alvarez and Damien Segovia, two homeschooled teen podcasters, who share their experience starting and running their own podcast called "IKR?!". Topics Covered: What inspired Laila and Damien to start a podcast The name and focus of their podcast "IKR?!" Number of episodes recorded so far and topics covered Technical aspects - equipment used, editing software,...

268 : Importance of critical thinking skills in navigating social media Guest Stephanie Simoes  from Critikid.com talks about the Importance of Critical Thinking Skills in Navigating Social Media and how to teach our children these skills. Key Points: Critical thinking involves the ability to distinguish between logical and flawed reasoning, understanding logical fallacies, cognitive biases, symbolic logic, science literacy, and the limits of intuition. Kids need these skills to...

267:  Comparing AI Assistants In this episode you will find me comparing AI Assistants - depending on your needs your favorites may be different to mine, so I suggest you try them all out too!. Just as you probably have a favorite supermarket, you will likely have a favorite AI assistant after you try some of the popular ones out. I am using the free version of the 5 I compare ChatGPT This is the "original" one that introduced the world to AI Assistants. It is still my go-to but does...

266:Teaching students to use Tinkercad     Robert Walsh from Excalibur Solutions Stem Academy explains the why and the how behind teaching students to use Tinkercad. What is STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Why does my child need STEM education even if they aren't interested in a STEM career? * Children do not know what they will want to do after high school, so prepare them in case they do want to pursue a STEM career * There are so many benefits...

265: 10 Ways I am using AI in 2024   I use AI like I would a personal assistant. I give clear instructions and check the results. I use it for tasks that free me up to be creative in other areas, or to help me get started on a task. Here are 10 ways I am using AI this year so far. * Podcast show notes  - I use Descript to create a transcript from the audio and then ask Claude to turn it into show notes. You could do the same with any audio you want to turn into notes * Gift ideas -...

264: The Anton App: Interactive Lessons for Kids The Anton App offers bite-sized interactive learning opportunities for K - 8th grade. It is free and some of its features include: * Works on all devices * No ads * Earn coins for games * Covers a wide range of subjects * Can customize avatars to look like oneself * Games are offered as a reward for learning * Groups allow you to add students,  assign specific lessons to the group, see how students are doing by...

263: Gamified Science Apps for Neurodiverse Brains In today's episode, host Meryl Van Der Merwe interviews homeschooling mom And Clark about two gamified science apps she uses with her neurodiverse kids -- Brilliant  and TytoOnline. These gamified science apps make science interactive and engaging for both neurodiverse and neurotypical students. Brilliant offers supplemental math and science courses while Tyto is a 3D video game focused on middle and high school...

  262: Equipping your children for careers in an AI world   With the AI revolution upon us and facing a future we can only guess at, how do we  homeschoolers equip our children for careers in an AI world? Key Topics Covered: How rapidly AI is changing and transforming the job landscape 3 scenarios for how AI could impact jobs and careers Importance of discussing AI and its impact with kids Teaching kids to be computer & tech literate to keep skills up-to-date ...

 261: Benefits of video projects   There are many benefits of  video projects for homeschool students - and this episode unpacks some of those benefits Main Points: Kids and teens enjoy the video medium and will likely enjoy creating videos Video creation is a useful skill for college and jobs * There are many scholarships that require videos Making videos teaches various skills like planning, tech skills, editing, etc. Videos are easy to share with others like family,...

260: Unlocking the Power of Padlet In this episode I explain some of the power of Padlet, a free tool you can use in many ways in your homeschool. Topics covered in this episode: * What is Padlet * How does it work * Pricing * Accessibility * Expanding features eg export as pdf or a slideshow * Templates - eg the Book Review one. And here is an example Book Review board * AI "I can't draw" feature * How to use it in your homeschool In order for you to try it...

259: Duolingo Math DuoLingo has added Math to its popular language-learning app. In this episode, learn what this app has to offer for your children - and you! Currently only available on iPhone app (coming soon to Android & browsers) Two levels so far: Beginner and Intermediate Can skip Beginner and go straight to Intermediate Covers topics like estimating, rounding, basic geometry, telling time, order of operations Includes multiple choice and fill-in problems ...

258: From Tech Consumer to Creator Ava Jekel, our teen guest, loved watching Youtube videos and became interested with how they were made. So she started learning how to make her own and transitioned from tech consumer to tech creator. These are the tools she mentions in the episode that she uses regularly: * Pexels - for video clips * iMovie - for editing * Chosic - for music And here are examples of videos she has created For FundaFunda's US History Class ...

257: 12 Tech Tools to try in your homeschool this year Start the year by planning to try these 12 Tech Tools - either for the first time, or learn their latest features. Decide to try one each month so that it is not overwhelming. Here are the 12 Tech Tools mentioned * Canva * ChatGPT or Claude * iCivics * Phet * Flippity * Scratch * Quizizz * Powtoon * Duolingo * Trello * Pixlr * Seek by Naturalist ...

256: Teaching Economics Through Online Games Economics is useful in everyday life and teaching economics through online games can help students get a better understanding of the concepts they are learning about. Games mentioned in this episode * SimCity * Rollercoaster Tycoon * Stock Market Game / How the Market Works * Lemonade Stand * Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve Digital Breakout * Fiscal Ship * People's Pie * Prisoner's Dilemma ...

255: Kitchen Science with Randi Smith Randi Smith from Peanut Butter Fish Lessons is my guest and in this episode she shares how she has been using Kitchen Science as a homeschool elective class Books mentioned in the episode * Kitchen Science Lab * Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking Randi's blog post with all the details of what they did and the Youtube videos they watched to compliment the cooking: Homeschool Cooking Science You can...

This is a replay of episode 178 – you can find the original show notes here.

254: Tech the Halls: STEM Christmas gifts STEM Christmas Gifts not only bring hours of fun to children of all ages, but also prepare children for the future. In this episode, I talk about gifts in these 4 categories 1. Hardware 2. Video Games 3. STEM Board Games 4. Engineering Toys * Mentioned: 30 Days Lost in Space kit Two blog posts with lots of specific ideas * Science Gifts for Everyone on your List * Stem Gifts Under...

253: Hour of Code 2023 The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week in the week of the birthday of Admiral Grace Hopper. If you don't know about her contribution to the field of computer science, here is a short video to watch with your children Each year you can find many free coding activities that will take students about one hour to complete on the Hour of Code website This year they have included a number that are related to AI and those...

252: Ideas for Using New AI Tools in Canva Rebecca Brinkman from Rose and Bird unpacks some of the new AI tools in Canva. Rebecca was the guest on episode 210 - Taking Holiday Photos with Storytelling in Mind and 227 - Why all teens should learn Canva All the tools available in Magic Studio and what they do ● Magic Edit (free) - Use the brush to select part of a photo and then use text to describe what you want to regenerate to take that objects place ● Magic Design (free) -...

This is a replay of episode 159 - you can find the original show notes here.