Online Learning: The Paperless Home School - Why Going Digital Makes Sense
By Mimi Rothschild
There is a small but growing movement among schools to rid students of textbooks. Though at first it may seem yet another funding crisis, in reality educators are going digital: replacing book bags full of books with laptop computers. Home school families are also realizing the benefits of moving toward a paperless environment. Procuring textbooks has historically been a struggle for home school parents. Today there are more resources available, but textbooks and learning material still often come with a heavy price tag. For many parents who home school, the digital shift comes as welcome news both financially and spatially as paper piles and stacks of books gradually disappear.
Going completely paperless often doesn't happen at once for many home school families. Instead, the shift is a gradual process. Parents can replace textbooks with online resources as they discover them, or as the resources become available. It is the perfect complement to the home school environment, where an increasing number of home school students are not only learning more on the computer, but also enrolling in online classes to supplement their home school education. Most home school students already have their own personal computers, which makes the transition to digital study even easier.
When deciding to move into digital territory, it is important for home school families to develop a healthy, working knowledge of the Internet as well as computers in general. Without organization, computer files can become as impossible to navigate as those haphazard piles of paper they were intended to replace. Home school parents should make a concerted effort to not only become more computer literate, but to teach their children the necessary skills as well. Though it may seem as though today's children were born knowing how to navigate the Internet, many don't understand the basics of an operating system. Home school parents and children should learn how to create folders, locate files, upload and download information, and back up their work in the event of a computer crash. Once the basics are established, shifting to a paperless environment becomes a viable option.
There are many benefits to moving toward digital learning. Outside of the space saved by the elimination of paper trails, home school students who make frequent use of computers are better equipped to function in the professional world. These days, computer knowledge is a must for employability. Another benefit for home school families when it comes to online learning is the cost factor. Often a typical online resource is either free, or a fraction of the cost of its paper counterpart. Additionally, entire online classes can be bought for the price of a traditional textbook. Digital home school also encourages students to learn at their own pace and practice self-discipline. With all the benefits home school families can realize by going digital, why not give it a try?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.
Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.
An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.Electronic reproduction of this article is permitted if content is published unchanged, appropriate credit is given, and the article title links to corresponding article webpage.
