Homeschooling, Computers, Education Go Together

There seems to be some sort of misinformation out there about homeschooling, education, and available computer technology. While educators in the public and private school systems are touting their schools as having the latest and greatest computer technology available to their students, this is hardly reality. Most computers are some of the most under-utilized pieces of high-tech equipment in schools today, according to USAToday.

So the public school system made a game plan to put computers in schools and teachers will use them, and therefore teach students to use them. But teachers have not been trained to use the new technology, so in most schools, it just sits there idle. In his book, Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom, Stanford professor Larry Cuban found that more than nine out of 10 public school classrooms in Silicon Valley are connected to the Internet. But even so, other than some school computer labs, these computers are not being used by public school students for education.

Computer Technology for Home-school Curriculum

Everyone knows that technology advances so quickly these days that what was purchased just a few months ago has suddenly become obsolete due to some new upgrade or new and better technology. Because homeschooling only requires one computer, it's a fairly simple matter to have the latest and greatest computer to be used for a child's education. A single computer with the latest technology can connect any child to the Internet and open a whole new world of available homeschool curriculum and education.

Homeschool students with a computer can actually connect with and participate in college courses offered online, right along with all the other students at a university. Many of the education curriculum providers that initially only catered to public or private schools are now making the same curriculum available to homeschool students.

Public schools are so laden with document-jamming administration and jungles of red tape that by the time a computer purchase is made, it's already one or two years behind the latest technology. Public schools also use expensive networked computers that are not easily replaced every time there's a significant advance in computer technology. It's just too costly to replace equipment and software for thousands of units every year.

Computers for Home-school Distance Learning is Nothing New

The number of students using distance learning with a computer or online connection to take courses from an institution of higher learning in another location, is increasing very quickly these days. It seems that people who cannot move away and attend a major university or college can now simply take classes online with a simple computer and get an education.

To those parents who homeschool, the ability to use a computer to further a child's education is not a new concept. Homeschool curriculum has been available for years now to those who want it. Homeschool students using a computer can either be self-actualized learners through educational computer software programs, or through a computer online connection to any number of tutors, instructors, professors, colleges, and universities.

Computers Changing Education Purpose

There are no limits on what can be learned by any student wishing to further their education, especially in this day and age. Computers have leveled the playing field in education and have allowed just about anyone the opportunity to pursue any level or type of education desired.

It's time for the public school system in this country to stop ignoring computers and technology as an additional source for education. In Florida, students can actually attend online high school, study and qualify for graduation without ever setting foot in a traditional public school. Some high schools now issue a laptop computer for every student. Colleges and universities are now offering high school students the opportunity to take online courses for credit.

The changes in the way education is done is already changing and computers have made this possible. Homeschool has taken the lead and shown that this type of education can be an effective way to help students learn more and at a rate that is comfortable for them, something that cannot be accomplished in a public school where teacher/student ratios are one teacher for several dozen students.

The U.S. Department of Education reports that there were just over 1 million homeschool students in 2003. That number had risen 36% to around 1.5 million homeschool students in 2007. The number of homeschool students today is probably around 2 million. There must be a reason the number of homeschool students has increased every year. That reason may be the available computer technology and all the new education opportunities open to anyone now.