Homeschooling with Technology Meryl van der Merwe

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 Paul Priestly



Artthropology.com– a collection of art history videos an art history teacher has put up on her site from various sources



Khan Academy – their art history videos



 



Art Museum Websites 



MoMA  



The Met 



The Whitney  



 



YouTube Channels for Videos:



National Galleries Scotland & Royal Academy of Arts – videos on movements, artists, exhibitions



The Magnificent Paintbrush – excellent, short artist bios from an elementary art teacher



Tate YouTube Channel: 



The National Gallery YouTube Channel 



Favorite art channel on this list is The Art Assignment. It's a PBS Digital Studios channel uploads videos focus on contemporary art. Host Sarah Urist Green interviews the artists from around the world and the artists give an assignment to the audience.



Holly's Art History Class



https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/art-history/



Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.



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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 hypothetical trip to Boston with kids aged 6, 9 and 14, asking for child-friendly museum recommendations under $40 total, outdoor activities, novels/websites to prepare them for the trip, and more.

Key Topics:





Using different AI tools like Claude, Anthropic, ChatGPT, Copilot to plan a road trip

Asking for stop suggestions with specific interests like hiking, cycling, kayaking, historic sites

Getting restaurant recommendations for certain cuisines and price ranges near highways

Planning a family trip to Boston with age-appropriate activities under a budget

Requesting book/website recommendations to prepare kids for the Boston trip

Tips for crafting effective prompts when using AI for planning



In Summary: Meryl summarizes the pros and cons of using AI for vacation planning based on her experience:

Pros:





* Using it as a family activity to introduce kids to AI

Finds unique suggestions you may not have considered

Provides a lot of relevant information in one place (activities, restaurants, books, websites)

Allows for very specific queries (price ranges, cuisine types, interest filters)

Good for getting a jumpstart on planning



Cons:





Some responses were completely off-base or useless

Incorrect information given at times (e.g. non-existent books)

Still has limitations, paid versions likely much better

Requires learning how to craft effective prompts



If you want to follow along on Meryl's real trip out west, you can do that by following show sponsor FundaFunda Academy's Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/fundafundaeducation/



All online tools mentioned in this episode



Destinations.AI- Did  not find it useful



Gemini 



CoPilot



ChatGPT



Claude



Perplexity



 



Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.



Join our Facebook Group, especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology into your homeschool.



If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode

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 (not found very helpful)

Writing feedback tool (fantastic for getting feedback on student writing at different grade levels)

Research assistant (disappointing results)

Create a skit tool (fun for generating skits based on provided characters/scenarios)

Step-by-step tool (provides step-by-step instructions for any topic/task)

Literary devices tool (gives examples of literary devices based on a provided scenario)

Joke creator (jokes not very good)

Study bot (helps guide students in what to study for a test)

Study habits tips

YouTube video summarizer

SAT reading practice test

Chatbot builder (create a custom chatbot on a specific topic)

Character chatbot (roleplay as a literary character)

College/career counselor

Rap battle (super fun to have historical figures rap battle each other)

Book suggestions tool

Coding assistant

Debate partner (odd/not very useful)

Email writer (generated overly long emails)

Make Relevant (explains why a topic is relevant to real life)

Real World Connections (connects topics to the real world)



Here are the lyrics for the Rap Battle I generated



Round 1: Jimmy Carter



Jimmy Carter, here, dropping beats, not bombs,

From the peanut farm to the White House with calm.

Habitat for Humanity, building homes for the poor,

Eradicating diseases, who could ask for more?



Negotiating peace, like it's my prime mission,

Camp David Accords, now that's a vision.

Energy crisis and inflation, I faced it head-on,

A Nobel Peace Prize, yeah, I won one.



Round 2: Muhammad Ali



Muhammad Ali, the greatest, no dispute in the ring,

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, I bring.

Champion of the world, not just once, but thrice,

Against injustice and war, I didn’t think twice.



Rumble in the Jungle, Thrilla in Manila,

My fists do the talk, couldn’t be any realer.

Fighting for Civil Rights, stood against the norm,

Converting to Islam, sparking a reform.



Round 3: Jimmy Carter



Building hope and fighting disease, that's my creed,

With diplomacy and compassion, I lead.

Solar panels on the White House, I was the first,

For renewable energy, I have an unquenchable thirst.



From Iran hostages to energy laws,

I dealt with it all, never paused.

A farmer, a governor, then a prez,

Always serving the people, yes, that's my jazz.



Round 4: Muhammad Ali



I dodged the draft, said no to the war,

My fight was here, with poverty and more.

An Olympic gold medal, I threw it in the river,

For a country that practiced racial sliver.



I talked the talk and walked the walk,

For civil rights, I was the rock.

Philanthropic efforts, long after the ring,

Ali, the People’s Champ, forever the king.

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, matter-of-fact, ironic, etc.)

Question Generators: Creates questions based on YouTube videos or text input

Rubric Generator: Generates rubrics for writing assessments

Student Work Feedback: Provides feedback on student work based on grade level

Text Summarizer and Text Leveler: Summarizes and adapts text to different grade levels

Song Generator: Creates songs on any topic and tune

Text Proofreader: Checks grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity

Unit Plan Generator: Generates unit plans

Math Story Word Problems: Creates word problems on specific topics

Jeopardy Review Game: Generates Jeopardy-style review games with answer keys

Vocabulary List Generator: Generates vocabulary lists for specific topics

YouTube Video Summarizer: Summarizes YouTube videos

Real-World Connections: Suggests project ideas for real-world applications

Science Lab: Provides experiments and instructions using readily available materials

Data Table Analysis: Generates data tables and analysis questions

SAT Reading Questions and Practice Tests

AI-resistant Assignments: Creates assignments that are more resistant to AI-assisted cheating

Choice Boards: Generates lists of project ideas for students to choose fro







Here is the song about Simple Machines that Magic School AI generated



Simple Machines Wonderland

(Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" by Julie Andrews)



Pulleys and levers and inclined planes too,

Wedges and screws and wheels turning through,

Gears that are meshing and helping things lift,

These are the simple machines - what a gift!



Like a seesaw that goes up and down,

Or a wheelbarrow moving dirt through the town,

A flag pole so tall with a pulley on top,

Simple machines make our work never stop.



From a doorknob turning, to a key in a lock,

All these examples are part of our stock,

Ramps for the wheelchair or for loading a truck,

Simple machines are amazing, oh what luck!



So remember these tools that make work a breeze,

In our simple machines wonderland, if you please,

They help us each day to make tasks less tough,

Simple machines - we can't thank them enough!

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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, posting to platforms

Skills they've learned from podcasting

Advice for parents/teens interested in starting a podcast

How they are marketing their podcast



Key Points:





Leila and Damien use clip-on mics and just record on a phone, showing podcasting can be done inexpensively

They edit using Spotify's podcasting platform and are looking to expand to Apple Podcasts

Podcasting has improved their conversation skills and discipline

Having a podcast can be a valuable experience for college application



Where to find Laila and Damien



Check out Leila and Damien's podcast "IKR?!" currently on Spotify, give it a rating/review

You can follow them on Instagram @ikrpod









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Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.



Join our Facebook Group, especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology into your homeschool.



If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode

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 have productive conversations on social media, identify pseudoscience and misinformation, and interpret the overwhelming amount of information online.

Stephanie offers courses like "Fallacy Detectors" for ages 8-12 and "Symbolic Logic for Teens" on her website critickid.com. She plans to release courses for younger kids (2-3 years) and up to 18 years old.

Parents can learn alongside their kids by following CriticKid's resources or using websites like "Thinking is Power" and Julie Bogart's Raising Critical Thinkers books. (Julie was the guest  on episode 155 of this podcast)

Practical tips include: saving real-life examples from social media to discuss with kids, scrolling through social media together and identifying fallacies, and thinking out loud about verifying information before sharing.



Resources Mentioned:





Cranky Uncle app/website for identifying logical fallacies

Building Critical Thinkers worksheets on Teachers Pay Teachers (coming soon on Critikid.com)

Free resources: CriticKid's Fallacy Detectors Part 1 (first video free), Symbolic logic worksheets



Where to find Stephanie  (@critikid)



Instagram



Facebook



Youtube



TikTok



 



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Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.



Join our Facebook Group, especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology into your homeschool.



If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode