By Lewis
Ensuring that your children get a quality education while keeping them safe should be one of your top priorities as a parent. This can be difficult to do, however, as we often lead incredibly busy lives that might keep us distracted from giving them the highest quality education possible from home. Homeschooling is an excellent option for parents who want to explore a more nuanced education, but it can also be an option for kids and teens with special needs or specific teaching requirements. Whatever the case, smart home technology can help you be a better homeschooling parent. Here are just a few ways that technology can help you homeschool for a better education for your family.
Increasing Access to Information
Technology increases your access to information and helpful online learning tools, and gives you the ability to communicate with other homeschooling parents to learn what teaching methods work best for their children. Laptops, phones, and computers can all come in handy when teaching at home – although for children with particular learning disorders or for teens that get distracted easily, it can often hurt their ability to learn unless it is on a designated platform that does not let your children roam the internet. But using a home television with access to the internet or video sharing sites is an excellent way for the whole family to learn together while watching videos as you help them integrate that knowledge into their schoolwork.
Keeping Them Safe
The integration of smart home technology in your home can make all the difference for busy parents. When you have a safety system with operating cameras in the home, you’ll be able to check in on your children while you’re busy or away to make sure they are completing homework and studying. You can also help and answer questions with some security systems, which is especially helpful if you have a babysitter or your children need help with specific questions or answers and do not have access to a cell phone. Integrating a complete security system is best so that you’ll have access to specific rooms, but this may require refinancing your home.
Smart Speakers
Now that smart speakers available in most homes at a low cost, this is another excellent option to add to a smart home that will aid you in your homeschooling efforts. Smart speakers have access to a ton of information, and they also have access to helpful teaching tools that can make lessons more exciting. You can use smart speakers to create interactive and fun lessons for children, to improve their ability to learn and fully internalize the lessons they are being taught. Teaching your teen at home can sometimes get boring, but teens love technology, so this can keep your teen more engaged. The smart speakers can be an assistant, with answers to most questions at the drop of a hat. Encouraging them to ask smart speakers questions can also help aid them in critical thinking and the research skills that might be necessary later in life.
Adjustable Lights and Temperature
Let’s face it – discomfort makes it hard to learn. By integrating a smart system in your home that allows you to control the lighting and temperature of any room at any given time, you’ll be able to make the home classroom much more comfortable daily, which can aid in more consistent and effective learning. Some studies have shown that cool light colors, like blues and whites, are the best color LED lights for studying. This is because it more closely replicates daylight, which keeps your brain alert and focused while studying. Cooler temperatures in the warmer months that can be adjusted via a smart home thermostat can also aid in studying by keeping the room cool and comfortable.
Automation Systems
Completely automating homeschooling is a great way to ensure that a routine and schedule are kept, which can be difficult to do in a homeschooling setting, but is crucial to maintaining a consistent learning environment. Smart home technology lets you automate everything from the alarm on your phone, to the lights and shades in the home. By automating these systems, the process of homeschooling will be more regulated and daily home management more efficient. This allows you to better manage your time and can take away some of the stress of teaching your children at home.