The Wired Homeschool

CES 2018 has passed but coverage still continues. There’s no doubt you’re seeing many articles about the gadgets and gizmos from CES 2018 that will make your life easier or more connected.

Matt Kamla (a listener of the podcast) and Michael Prince from Family Tech Blog both attended CES this year and shared some of the things they were excited to see. In addition, I shared three things from CES that caught my eye.

From VR to conductive ink, here are the things we’re excited about from CES 2018.

Matt’s CES 2018 Picks

HoloKit is a low-cost open-source mixed reality experience, which includes the HeadKit cardboard headset and TrackKit software. With your smartphone and Mixed Reality apps, HoloKit provides you access to the world of Mixed Reality right in your hands, affordably.

Oculus Rift is the 400-lb gorilla when it comes to virtual reality. Kits can be quite expensive but the experience is some of the best you’ll find on the market that consumers can get their hands on. Kits start at $399 on Amazon.

HaptX, Sense Glove, and BeBop Sensors all introduced VR gloves that provide excellent haptic feedback for virtual environments. Prices for devices like these are quite expensive and many are not available for purchase yet. Look for tech like this to miniaturize and make its way into more affordable, user-friendly accessories.

Michael’s CES 2018 Picks

Botley lets children as young as 5 can learn to code with Botley, and with his advanced features, he’ll grow with them for many play-filled years to come. Botley is ready to use right out of the box – he’ll have kids coding in minutes. And that’s not all that makes Botley unique; he’s 100% screen-free, and the only coding robot that includes a 45-piece set! Prices for Botley start at $59.

Beyond Tablet is a smart tablet without a screen. It provides a tangible games experience as well as multi-player capabilities for children and their parents. Game maps and pieces are placed on the tablet to provide an interactive experience without the distractions of a fully functional tablet. The basic package includes 5 games and costs $199. Additional games are about $40.

Ziro enables building robots using non-plastic and eco-friendly materials such as cardboard boxes. Put your Amazon boxes to good use! Attach your motors to any material and see your creations come to life. Design and construct your robots out of any material you have available including pre-made starter kits. Kit are available for pre-order starting at $150.

Monkey Wearable uses beacon technology to create a wireless bond to your child. So, you can let them wander but ensure they don’t stray too far. This $39 wearable device allows parents to keep tabs on any wandering kids. It’s a lot more affordable than some of the smart watches for kids and doesn’t appear to have any of the tracking concerns associated with an always-connected devices. Of course, you need to make sure your kids keep their shoes on in order for it to work!

TimeBox Mini is a programmable pixel LED Bluetooth speaker. Besides being a great-sounding speaker, you can program pixel art,

Throughout the year it’s interesting to see which posts and podcasts are the most popular with my readers and listeners. I’m not counting only those posts published this year. I’m counting the ones that got the most reads or listens.

I never really know how people hear about my posts. Every year I’m amazed that people even come by to read the articles I write.

With podcasts, usually the ones published earlier in the year fare the best unless one goes viral. This year the top three were released in the first three months of the year.

So, without further ado, here are the top posts and podcasts for 2017.

Top 5 Posts of 2017

* 6 Online Writing Classes for Homeschoolers

* How to Make a Pringles Can Solar Viewer

* 10 Educational Shows for Homeschooling Tweens and Teens on Netflix

* 13 YouTube Channels Every Homeschooler Should Watch

* A Lesson for Homeschooling Parents: These are the 10 Apps to Use!

Top 5 Podcasts of 2017

* CES 2017 Wins and Fails with K. Michael Prince

* Nintendo Switch Initial Reaction and Other News

* X-STEM Symposium Free for Homeschoolers and Other Tech News

* How to View the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

* Osmo Coding Jam Teaches Kids to Code and Rock Out

If you enjoyed this episode of The Wired Homeschool, consider supporting the podcast by buying me a coffee.

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Music for the podcast is “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. In some cases, I may have been given a free sample of a product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement.

As our kids grow up, we begin to give them a little bit more freedom. Maybe they get a smartphone or a laptop for themselves. This can be a scary time for parents who are concerned about the safety of their children.

If your teen has a device and you’re concerned about their online activity, here are 10 Internet Safety Tips for Homeschoolers that will keep teens safer online.

I covered this topic previously and a lot has changed since then. This list has a little bit of overlap with the previous one but it’s also more technical. Parents of teens will want to share both lists and consider whether or not there are some things they could do to model better Internet behavior.

Don’t visit questionable websites

File-sharing, “free” movie sites, questionable forums should all be avoided.

Set social media accounts to private

Keeps away the creepers because you have to approve them before they can follow you.

Don’t post personal information online

Don’t share that you’ll be at Starbucks getting a Zesty Orange Mocha Frappucino. Nobody needs to know that except the people you’ll be with.

Protect your email account

Email is the master-key to nearly all of your online accounts. It should be protected so that someone can’t use email to takeover your online accounts.

Use two-factor authentication

Passwords aren’t enough these days. Have a second way to verify your identity.

Use a password manager

If you’re going to have hard-to-guess passwords it’s a good idea to have a way to manage them. I recommend LastPass. They now have a family plan so that families can share passwords to common accounts like streaming services

Don’t send sensitive information via text or email

Use a private, encrypted free service like DropBox or Google Drive to send scans of documents like birth certificates or a driver’s license.

Don’t open email attachments

Unless someone specifically told you they’d be emailing you an attachment, don’t open it. In fact, if someone you know does send you one, ask them to send it through a service like Google Drive.

Backup your data

Many devices have built-in backup these days. Use it.

Don’t click or tap on links from untrusted sources

If you get a link in an email, text, or other message from an unknown or untrusted source don’t open it. Even if you know the person, if it looks fishy, it probably is.

If you found value in this episode of The Wired Homeschool, consider a donation that reflects the value you received by buying me a coffee.

Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Music for the podcast is “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. In some cases, I may have been given a free sample of a product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement.

Managing your kids’ screen time when you homeschool can sometimes feel like a daunting task. How much is too much?

How do you get your kids to step away from the computer?

Kirk Martin is the founder of Celebrate Calm and has given over 600,000 parents and teachers in 19 countries very specific, practical strategies to stop the yelling, defiance, and power struggles. He has been featured in USA Today, Parade Magazine, Parenting Magazine, and appeared on many TV and radio shows giving his timeless, practical advice for calm parenting.

Kirk, with his son Casey, speak to teachers and parents in schools and at conferences throughout the world. Today on The Wired Homeschool Kirk Martin will share some advice and techniques for managing how much time your kids spend in front of the computer and other screens.

Email Kirk and let him know you heard him on The Wired Homeschool.

Want to hear more from Kirk? Check out his podcast.

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The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I’ve been given a free sample of the product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement

Looking for a fun game to play with the whole family? I’ll review a new game from Osmo and briefly cover some tech news in this week’s episode of The Wired Homeschool.

News

Google Home Mini Always Listening to YouSee What’s Saved in Your Voice & Audio ActivityYou May Have an FM Radio Built Into Your SmartphoneDevices Supported by NextRadioFacebook and Instagram Outage

Osmo Hot Wheels™ MindRacers Review

Although Osmo makes a number of fun, creative, & educational games your kids will love to play sometimes they just want to have fun. Osmo Hot Wheels™ MindRacers is great for a game night with their siblings and you!

If you grew up playing with Hot Wheels™, you imagined racing them through fantastic worlds. Now, you and your kids can race through amazing worlds while interacting your cars on-screen.

In some stages, in the game, you try to be the first to the finish line and in others, you have to team-up to complete the level.

Something your kids will learn:

* Real-world dexterity

* Quick decision-making

* Sportsmanship

Things that we’d like to see:

* The target area for tokens could be better defined.

* Add a connector to the base so that Hot Wheels™ track pieces could be attached.

Some tips:

* Our iPad Mini had a little trouble playing the game. We found it worked best after restarting it.

* Make sure you have plenty of light so your iPad can identify the cars when launched.

Osmo Hot Wheels™ MindRacers is great for game nights and provides interactive fun for everyone! If you already have an Osmo base the game is $59 and includes MindRacers LaunchPad, 6 Hot Wheels™ cars, 32 game tokens, and Stackable storage.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Wired Homeschool, consider supporting the podcast by buying me a coffee.

Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Music for the podcast is “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. In some cases, I may have been given a free sample of a product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement.

Google’s recent Pixel 2 event revealed some exciting technology that homeschoolers will be able to take advantage of in their homes.

Not everything announced looks to be immediately useful in the homeschooler’s toolbox but there are a few interesting things that parents may want to keep their eyes on.

In this mini-episode of The Wired Homeschool I give you my quick takes on most of the products that were announced.

Check out the Google Store to get details on all the new products.

Here’s a 19-minute version of the Google event:

If you enjoyed this episode of The Wired Homeschool, consider supporting the podcast by buying me a coffee.

Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Music for the podcast is “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. In some cases, I may have been given a free sample of a product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement.

The Osmo Genius Kit includes 5 hands-on games that foster creativity & problem solving skills: Masterpiece, Newton, Tangram, Numbers, and Words.

In this episode of The Wired Homeschool I’ll share my thoughts on the Osmo Genius Kit and preview some upcoming episodes.

Thanks to my Patrons for supporting this episode: Aaron, Lori, Matt, & Winston. Your continued support on Patreon helps make this podcast possible.

What Comes in the Box

Included in the kit is the Osmo base (stand & reflector), and three boxes of game pieces for Tangram, Numbers, and Words. Masterpiece and Newton can be played with a piece of paper.

Tangram

Arrange tangible puzzle pieces into matching on-screen shapes. Play with a friend or challenge yourself to more advanced levels as your handy-work lights up with each victory. For iPad and iPhone (iPhone base sold separately). Suggested ages: 6-12.

Even adults can have fun with this game. Tangram helps kids with spatial thinking and it’s fun to play.

Numbers

Kids arrange physical tiles, including dots and digits, to make numbers and complete levels. Add by putting more tiles, subtract by removing tiles and multiply by connecting tiles together. Experimenting becomes fast and intuitive. For iPad and iPhone (iPhone base sold separately). Suggested ages: 6-12.

With Numbers kids can learn how to add, subtract, and multiply without the pressure of timers. Kids discover there are multiple ways to solve problems.

Words

Look at the on-screen clue to guess the secret word, and zoom letter tiles into the play space to spell your answer. Each letter you get right appears on screen, until eventually the entire word is revealed. Altogether, Words is fast-paced, challenging, and F-U-N. For iPad and iPhone (iPhone base sold separately). Suggested ages: 6-12.

Osmo recently added an adventure mode to Words. It adds a gaming element that will have kids wanting to play more.

Masterpiece

Pick something to draw: a picture of a friend, a favorite cartoon, or even a photo you snap yourself. Or browse through our collection of ready-to-draw options. The possibilities are infinite. For iPad and iPhone (iPhone base sold separately). Suggested ages: 6-12.

This “game” is magic. Osmo managed to find a way to make drawing fun for people who think they can’t draw. The provided drawings are great but you can have the game create a drawing for you from a picture or object. I suggest using a small white board with erasable markers for this game.

Newton

Use your creative noggin and inventive objects like a hand-drawn basket, grandma’s glasses, dad’s keys, or anything around you to guide falling on-screen balls into targeted zones. For iPad and iPhone (iPhone base sold separately). Suggested ages: 6-12.

Parents will have fun with this one too. Again, a white board is suggested for this game. You could also get the Osmo Creative Set which compliments Newton and Masterpiece nicely.

Final Thoughts

All of the games included in the Osmo Genius Kit are engaging, fun, and will provide plenty of interactive play. The games are intuitive and give kids space for creative thinking. All the components are well-made and designed to hold up to use from kids.

The educational applications of the games will vary from child-to-child. What’s nice is that Osmo provides additional lesson plans on their website that can be used with the games. This adds even more value for the $99 price for the Osmo Genius Kit. Keep in mind that you’ll need an iPad to play all of these games as they’re only available on iOS.

Connect Socially!

Apple’s announcement of the iPhone X was a bit underwhelming but Cassini’s “grand finale” left me grinning from ear-to-ear.

In this episode of The Wired Homeschool I’ll share my initial reaction to the iPhone X, go over Cassini’s grand finale, and talk about how the two are closely related.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

Through the Eyes of Cassini – Free NASA ebook about the Cassini mission to Saturn.

iPhone X vs. iPhone 8 Plus and 8 vs. iPhone 7 Plus and 7: What’s the difference? – CNet article with specs and additional commentary.

➡️ Support this podcast on Patreon. $1 per episode helps me create more podcasts. ⬅️

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* Join the Facebook page

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* Circle on Google Plus

* Follow John Wilkerson

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I’ve been given a free sample of the product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement

On Prime Day, I purchased 3 Amazon Fire 7 Tablets for our family. We’ve been Fire users since the first generation and now that the 7th generation is out I thought it was time to review their newest model.

For this review I used the criteria from an archived episode of The Wired Homeschool. I’ve found that the Amazon Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa still fulfills my prerequisites when buying a tablet.

Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts. Listen to the entire episode for full details.

1. Purpose

We primarily use these tablets for entertainment. The kids play games, make videos, and watch Netflix with them. We also include some educational games on the devices.

2. Storage

Although the baseline Fire 7 only comes with 8GB of RAM, it’s expandable to 256GB by adding an SD card. This is plenty of storage for music, pictures, and videos.

3. Usage

The Fire 7 allows parents to setup multiple profiles on the device. This is very helpful when it comes to setting parental controls.

4. Size

The 7-inch format fits comfortably in my hand and the kids don’t have any trouble managing the device either.

5. Battery Life

This is where the Fire 7 falls a little short. In use, the device will last most of the day. However, I’ve found that you can’t leave it sitting overnight without charging it.

6. Wi-fi and/or Cellular Data

This is a criterion I’m thinking about removing due to the ubiquity of wi-fi, however, there are some cases where people may need a tablet capable of accessing cellular data. That’s not the case for us.

7. Price

You really can’t beat the Fire 7 Tablet on price. $50 with “special offers” (ads) or $65 without is a huge bargain. We got them on Prime Day so we paid even less.

There are a few things besides battery life I’d like to see improved:

* Some of the more popular educational apps on iPad aren’t available in the Amazon App Store. This isn’t really Amazon’s fault but they could do more to convince developers to target their platform.

 

*

The Back of the tablet is a bit slippery. I find myself gripping the tablet a little tighter than usual. A case or skin would probably alleviate that.

Overall, the Amazon Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa is a great device. I’d give it an A-. These meet the needs of our family and we’ll continue to purchase them as long as Amazon keeps making them.

Thanks to Aaron, Lori, Matt, & Winston for their continued support on Patreon. Patrons help make this podcast possible.

How to Setup Amazon Fire 7 Tablet

Alexa Sings to Me

If you enjoyed this episode of The Wired Homeschool, consider supporting the podcast by buying me a coffee.

Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Music for the podcast is “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. In some cases, I may have been given a free sample of a product to review.

My trip to see the 2017 eclipse was a great success. Here are my thoughts on the trip, the event, and planning for the next one in 2024.

No show notes for this episode because I was speaking with little preparation.

Thanks to Aaron, Lori, Matt, & Winston. Their continue support on Patreon helped make this trip possible.

➡️ Support this podcast on Patreon. $1 per episode helps me create more podcasts. ⬅️

Connect Socially!

* Join the Facebook page

* Follow @wiredhs

//

* Circle on Google Plus

* Follow John Wilkerson

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I’ve been given a free sample of the product to review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement