HappyGrace Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 For the newbies coming up to this board now (like me, after my 11 yrs on K-8), would the veteran high schoolers be willing to set up a list here of favorite things/tools that help them with the day to day of homeschooling high school? For instance, until I read a recent thread about MLA, I had NO idea there was something like Noodle Tools or Easybib online to help with MLA documentation! Wow, that will be a HUGE help for us. Any other must-have tools or tricks or helps, etc., that you like? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Microsoft Word will also format your bibliography and footnotes in about 10 different styles :) My favorite things so far (I am NOT a veteran, my home-schooled son is only in 9th): big white boards Khan Academy Georgia Public Broadcasting physics and chemistry videos Livescribe Pen and paper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 We've been using anki (a smart flash card system) for learning Latin vocabulary for years. It uses artificial intelligence to put the cards in line for review at the appropriate intervals so you aren't wasting time reviewing words that you already know well. Using anki well does require a bit of self discipline, so I don't think it would work well for most kids under high school age. We've also used it for Biology vocabulary. You can enter just text on the cards (which is quick), or you can also load pictures and sounds. For Bio, we used the picture feature a lot. For Latin, we're mostly using just the text, however, there is some geography associated with Latin study, and it has been helpful to upload maps we find on-line to some cards. After you've entered your cards into the system, it presents the front to you with 4 choices. One is "I don't know it", then there are the choices of "hard", "easy", or "very easy". Depending upon your answer, it will determine when you need to do review. After using this for several years, we've got a couple of decks with about 1000 cards each. If we're not adding any new cards, it usually takes less than 10 minutes/day to do the necessary reviews. They also have apps that allow you to use it on mobile devices, but we haven't tried those. The program is free, but the writer asks for donations. Here's the website: http://ankisrs.net/ HTH, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Purdue OWL. :) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Here are a few of my favorites to get you started: Writing - Online Learning Math Lab: past SAT essay prompts -- used weekly for practicing writing timed essays - OWL at Purdue (Online Writing Lab) -- free writing and grammar info and "how to" - Writer's Inc -- book: how to write, types of writing, grammar guide, and MLA resource Literature - Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes, Glencoe Literature Library -- free summaries/analysis of classic works of literature - Wikipedia: list of literary movements - chronological List of classic authors/works: History World -- and -- Great Books and Classics - All American: glossary of literary terms Art Movements (go-along with History) - For Dummies: Art History Timeline -- key movements, with brief summary and main artists listed Math - Khan Academy -- free video tutorials Bible Studies - Cyber Hymnal -- repeating loop of digital music of hymns; words on the screen; and a brief bio of the author(s); we used this daily as part of our worship/Bible study time SAT/ACT Test Prep - College Board: SAT Question of the Day -- daily free practice question; free sign up to have it delivered to your email High School Record Keeping, Tips, Etc. - Donna Young website -- free downloadable/printable organizers; high school info and tips - Lee Binz The Home Scholar -- free articles, newsletter, tutorials on homeschooling high school, esp. record keeping and transcripts Career Exploration - California Career Zone - New York Career Zone - US Bureau of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook - Glencoe: Career Clusters General - lapboard-sized whiteboards and markers -- continued to be the daily use tool for brainstorming writing, working out troublesome math problems, and going over grammar points/practice - page marker post-its - Google -- instant answers, dictionary & thesaurus, images, videos, maps, articles... absolutely invaluable for quick "look-up" or pursuing a bunny trail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 These websites have been a great help with Apologia Biology, and some would help any Biology course. Applie's Place Mindful Ramblings Sahm I Am Virtual Homeschool Group has several self-paced courses (especially Apologia) Quiz Maker (matching and great for practicing vocabulary of any kind) Math is Power 4 U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Lori, :001_wub: . That Great Books and Classics link was just what I needed since I prefer to do World Lit, not just Western Lit. and have had some trouble placing works in chronological order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Khan Academy White boards Lap whiteboards Wikipaedia Shelf of reference books (atlas, nature guides, etc. Internet is good but sometimes book is faster) French dictionary Calculator Hole punch Flashcards and rubber bands Various technical forums Headphones Laptop Globe (we have a tiny one that is quick to grab, quicker than doing some sort of search or getting out the atlas) Coloured pencils (for marking up books) Stickies Mechanical pencil Owl Writer's Inc Folders for various projects Binders for the end results Printer Camera Various lab things like microscope Quad-ruled notebooks Trays for laying out projects or working on a bed or eating where you are working Lots of food containers because you probably will be eating in the car a lot Kitchen timer Big calender for academic stuff Pocket calender Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 http://quizlet.com/ You can make your own flashcards or use cards made by others, and also the info can be practiced with games and a test/quiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Some of this has already been said, but here are my must-have supplies and resources: a printer a scanner Quizlet - to create & study flash cards; create on desktop, study on smart phone app NoodleTools - create works cited information Smithsonian websites (each museum has one) - very cool plagarisma.com - plagiarism checker - enter text & it will find word for word & close matches on the internet NASA Educator site - marvelous, especially in elementary years Science Buddies - helps you find science projects based on student interests; for science fair or otherwise. Perdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) TED Talks - awesome for supplements UNC Writing Center - writing handouts on a variety of topics CA Career Zone - great career exploration tool, interest tools, career info., etc. Occupational Outlook Handbook, US Dept. of Labor - extensive information on just about every job out there Zotero - just learning about this one, it's an extensive tool for research papers: create notecards; works cited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Openculture.com list of free books, classes, and educational websites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Wow-these are GREAT! Thanks, everyone! I'm taking notes :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Open courseware (MIT, etc.) This list of spelling rules: http://www.dyslexia.org/spelling_rules.shtml I am liking the duolingo free language learning program but I've only just started it. Something I've found useful is searching the internet for teachers' websites. You can take a subject like French 4 and search. Up will pop syllabi with assignments, book lists, schedules, objectives, and other useful things. It can give you an idea of what sort of material is being covered. You can do this with AP classes, too. And high schools. The high school websites can give you course descriptions, the number of credits needed to graduate, prerequisites to AP classes, tracks, etc. The internet is a good place to find information on study skills, too. I happened to use this one but there may be better ones out there: http://faculty.bucks.edu/specpop/studyskills.htm and http://faculty.bucks.edu/specpop/concepts.htm (two parts of the same site). Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.