Homeschooling with Technology

In this episode, Meryl talks with high school senior Ada Anderson about the technology skills she has found most useful throughout her high school years.Ada shares the tools she uses regularly for school, scholarships, personal projects, and staying organized. She also talks about some of the tech skills students are often expected to know even though no one has actually taught them how to use them well.

One important takeaway from Ada’s experience is that students benefit from learning technology skills before they urgently need them. By the time they reach high school, they may be expected to collaborate in Google Docs, analyze information in spreadsheets, make presentations, create videos, and learn unfamiliar digital tools independently.

FundaFunda Academy Computer Applications – This full-year course introduces students to a wide range of practical technology skills. Students can choose the instructor-graded asynchronous version with weekly deadlines and opportunities for online collaboration, or a self-paced, parent-graded version that families can reuse with multiple children.The course is available for students from 7th grade up and is designed to help students become comfortable learning and using new technology independently.

Free High School Tracker –  This Google Sheet helps families keep track of information students may need later for college and scholarship applications, including courses, GPA, activities, and volunteer hours.

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 in 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

The post A Student’s Perspective on Essential Tech Skills for High School appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

In this episode, Meryl talks with Sophia Alvarez de la Hoz, a former student in Meryl’s AI for Teens class. Sophia shares what she knew about AI before taking the course, what surprised her, and how her understanding changed as she learned about topics such as large language models, AI ethics, red teaming, and responsible use.

Sophia also explains how she currently uses AI tools for schoolwork and personal projects. She discusses using NotebookLM to study and an AI image generator to develop the design for her eighth-grade graduation cap.

The conversation addresses an important question for homeschool families: How can students use AI for support without allowing it to do the thinking for them? Sophia shares practical strategies, including asking AI to explain a concept without revealing the answer and recognizing when the tool is completing too much of the learning process.

Other topics discussed include:

Sophia’s central message is that AI is a tool whose value depends greatly on how it is used. Students need opportunities to understand its capabilities, limitations, risks, and ethical implications so they can make informed decisions.

AI for Teens class from FundaFunda Academy:

NotebookLM:

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 in 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

The post AI Through a Teen’s Eyes with Sofia Alvarez appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Creating a website may sound intimidating, but today’s free tools make it surprisingly simple. This challenge gives you and your children a low-pressure opportunity to experiment with website design and discover how useful this skill can be.

A simple website can be useful for:

The goal of this challenge is not to produce a professional website. It is to become comfortable enough with the process that you and your children will be willing to create one when a real need arises.

Canva is my first recommendation for this challenge because it is easy to use and will host your website for free. You can design the pages visually and publish the finished website with a Canva link.

Strikingly is another free option that makes it easy to create modern-looking websites.

Google Sites takes slightly more time to learn, but it is free and works well for simple websites, portfolios, and collaborative projects.

When you get stuck, begin with the tool’s help section. You can also ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, or another AI assistant to walk you through the specific problem.

Work alone or with your children to create a simple website about something you enjoy. Possible topics include:

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

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 in 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

The post Summer Tech Challenge # 9 – Build a Website appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Video creation is becoming an essential skill for today’s students. In this episode, homeschool families are challenged to create a short recommendation video using Canva. Whether you’ve never edited a video before or you’re ready to build your skills, this challenge provides a simple way to get started while creating something useful to share with others.

Students / parents can recommend anything they enjoyed this summer—from books and games to museums, podcasts, travel destinations, or homeschool resources.

Create a 30–60 second recommendation video about something you enjoyed this summer.

Ideas include:

Use Canva to combine images, video clips, text, and/or a voiceover into a short video.

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

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 in 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

The post Summer Tech Challenge 8: Create a Video Recommendation appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

In this week’s Summer Tech Challenge, learn how to turn Google Slides into an interactive choose-your-own-adventure story. This activity combines creativity, planning, writing, and technology while giving students a fun way to present what they’ve learned.

Create a summer-themed choose-your-own-adventure story using Google Slides.

Your story could include:

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge 7: Create a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Did you know you can create your own interactive Google map?

In this episode, you will learn about Google My Maps, a free Google tool that allows you to create personalized maps with locations, notes, photos, videos, colors, layers, and routes. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, documenting your travels, or creating a homeschool project, custom maps are a fun and practical way to organize information visually.

As part of the Summer Tech Challenge series, this week’s challenge is to create a Google My Map on any topic that interests you.

Create a custom Google My Map on any topic that interests you.

Ideas include:

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge 6: Create a Custom Map appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Summer is the perfect time to experiment with new technology without the pressure of a full school schedule. In this fifth installment of the Summer Tech Challenge, Meryl introduces one of her favorite educational tools: Padlet.

Whether you want to plan summer adventures, organize projects, create a travel journal, or build a digital portfolio, Padlet offers an easy and flexible way to collect ideas, photos, videos, documents, and more in one place.

This week’s challenge is simple: create a Padlet and discover how it could become one of your favorite tools for homeschooling.

Create a free Padlet and use it to document or plan part of your summer. Some ideas include:

Then share a screenshot or describe what you created on one of FundaFunda Academy’s social media posts about this episode for a chance to win.

Each week, one participant will be randomly selected to win a FundaFunda Academy Unit Study of their choice.

At the end of the Summer Tech Challenge, one grand prize winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected] and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge # 5: Design Your Summer appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

In the fourth installment of the Summer Tech Challenge, Meryl encourages homeschool parents and teens to explore one of the most useful productivity tools available: Google Sheets.

Many students today have limited experience with spreadsheets, yet they are an invaluable tool for organizing information, tracking data, budgeting, planning projects, and creating charts. In this episode, Meryl challenges listeners to learn the basics of Google Sheets and then use it to track something meaningful during the summer.

Whether you’re completely new to spreadsheets or already have some experience, this challenge can be adapted to your skill level.

Create a Google Sheet to track:

=> The high school activity tracker mentioned in this episode – it will force you to make a copy you can then edit and fill out.

Complete the challenge and share your project for a chance to win prizes. You can:

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected] and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge # 4: Create a Summer Tracker appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week’s challenge is simple: explore Google Arts & Culture and discover something new.

Whether you enjoy art, history, geography, museums, or interactive games, Google Arts & Culture offers countless opportunities for learning and exploration. From virtual museum tours to historical exhibits, famous artworks, cultural landmarks, and educational games, there is something for every age and interest.

Share your favorite Google Arts and Culture Activity on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts

or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your quiz link to [email protected] and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge #3: Explore Google Arts and Culture appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week’s summer challenge is to create a trivia game. Students can choose any topic, educational or just for fun, and create a quiz with 10–20 questions. The quiz should use multiple choice, matching, or another format where players select answers on-screen. Episode 83 covers some tools not mentioned in this episode.

Creating quizzes helps students review material in an active way while also building tech skills. Students can make quizzes for friends, siblings, or family members, or families can create one together.

Students may use AI to help generate questions, but they should carefully check all answers for accuracy and test the game before sharing it.

Students in grades 6–12 can also enter the Canva Game Creator Contest:

https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/game-creation-contest/

Once your quiz is complete, share the link on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts

or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your quiz link to [email protected] and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

The post Summer Tech Challenge #2 : Create a Trivia Game appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.