Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Shifting to Technology

When I first started homeschooling, the year was 2006, which seems ages ago, but really wasn't.  I was still using dial-up internet and we had only one computer in the house.  I didn't have a cell phone, but my husband had one for work.  We still watched movies on VHS, but we were gradually moving over to DVDs.  My kids were playing video games on a Nintendo 64 handed down from their older sisters when they got a Playstation.  We have always been a bit slow when it comes to accepting new technology.  Don't get me wrong, we love technology.  We just always seemed to have something more important to upgrade than the entertainment systems.

We are now running three computers on a network in our house, including a special hard drive that holds all our movies.  We have a 62 inch sorta flat-screen TV with one of those expensive light bulbs that need to be replaced every few years.  The kids are playing on a WiiU (but the 64 is still hooked up on the "old TV").  We still aren't keeping up with Jonses; we don't have Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime.  We still use the library to get DVDs, which can be a really slow process when I want a documentary to go with a science or history lesson.  I really have to know what subjects are coming up in the next three weeks to stay on top of that kind of a life style!

Just a few months ago, my old cell phone was upgraded to a smart phone when my husband got frustrated with me missing appointments or double scheduling.  Seriously, when one gets to seven kids, the memory starts to slip!  And then, just a few weeks ago...we got WiFi in our house. 

Why?

All because BookShark has electronic instructor's guides!  I can access them with my phone!  I have a huge basket of binders that I have to haul to my different teaching stations, but starting next year, those binders stay on the shelf and all my Sonlight IGs are getting upgraded to BookShark IGs.  I'll be running five language arts levels, three reading/history levels, and three science levels.

I'm pretty excited!

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