An academic study published by the American Education Research Association found a significant improvement in creativity in students learning the Logo computer language.

The study, authored by Douglas H. Clements, tested 73 eight-year-olds before and after “treatment.” The treatment consisted of 25 weeks of 1. Logo computer programming; 2. non-Logo creativity lessons; and 3. no similar lessons, a control.

The results: “After 25 weeks of treatment, the Logo programming group had significantly higher scores than either of the other groups on the total assessment of figural creativity, and both the Logo and comparison group had significantly higher scores than the control group on verbal creativity.”

The Logo computer language was developed at MIT to teach reasoning to kids. It does a great job! Teachers know what a marvelous teaching tool Logo is. And now homeschoolers have the opportunity to use this for their kids! Logo Adventures, a MotherboardBooks.com curriculum, specifically sparks creativity and reasoning in kids aged 8 to 12.

ref: Am Educ Res J March 20, 1991 vol. 28 no. 1 173-187

Mel over at MamaBuzz, a review site, just evaluated a copy of Logo Adventures. She loved it!

“As a homeschooling mom, I search for programs and curriculum that are going to help my child down the road, and this is one program that deals with so many different aspects of education. From geometry to math to logic and reasoning skills, to computer science, this is something that has definitely given Jacob a thirst for more. He’s anxious to do more lessons and learn how to navigate his way around a computer. I also appreciate how the program has given him a chance to be creative.”

Take a look:  http://www.mamabzz.com/2010/07/motherboard-books-logo-adventures-ex.html

Jen, also affiliated with MamaBuzz, found it to be great too:

“My boys loved any excuse to “play” on the computer and they learned plenty.  What I appreciated the most was the way the program challenged them to develop their reasoning skills.”

http://whitetrashmama.blogspot.com/2010/06/geek-heaven.html

By Barbara Frank

One of the best things about summer is that it reminds us that educating our children is not just up to us.

You’ll see this when you watch your children at the beach. I get to do this a lot because we’re blessed to have a beach a few blocks from our house. We can spend a lot of time there during the two warm months that comprise summer in northeast Wisconsin.

At the beach, my son takes his shovel and bucket and creates mountains, castles, roads, levees….he just lets his imagination loose and he has a ball. I don’t have to participate at all. In fact, now that he’s older, he prefers that I butt out! He has his own ideas.

When I watch him problem-solve after the tide takes down part of a wall of his castle, or when stray toddlers march through his masterpiece, leaving destruction in their wake, I’m reminded yet again that he’s capable of learning all on his own. He not only fixes the problem, but makes the project even better in the process.

Now, this particular son is 16 and developmentally delayed, but I saw the same thing in my older children when they were young, and I’m sure you see it in yours. God enables everyone to learn. While we homeschooling parents work hard to make a good learning environment for our children, it’s not up to us to make things happen. God has already taken care of that part.

This knowledge can be very freeing, if you’re a conscientious mom who wants to make sure her children learn what they need to know. This summer, give your children a bucket and a magnifying glass and take them to a pond so they can inspect the pond water for living creatures. Hand them a package of colored chalk and let them loose on the driveway or sidewalk. Don’t get involved in what they’re doing. Just watch, and you’ll see what I mean.

Copyright 2010 Barbara Frank/ Cardamom Publishers

Barbara Frank homeschooled three children to adulthood and continues to homeschool her youngest son. She’s the author of the new book “Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens” as well as “Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers,” “The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling,” and “Homeschooling Your Teenagers.” You’ll find her on the Web at www.cardamompublishers.com and http://barbarafrankonline.com .

Dear folks,
In keeping with my goal of keeping you informed about good deals for homeschoolers, I wanted to tell you about two great tools today.

Terri Johnson is the force behind Knowledge Quest, providing maps for history study and lots of other stuff. Teri’s a great writer and very good at making big subjects easy to understand. She’s also a homeschooling mom with a large family. She has plenty of expertise to pass along, and the ability to do it.

Not too long ago, she created an email course for novice homeschoolers, Homeschooling ABCs. I signed up for this 26-week course to check it out. I found it to be very well done, clearly written, full of essential information for novices. The weekly emails included plenty of freebie links with useful items as well. I highly recommend it!

Find out plenty more at this link:http://www.motherboardbooks.com/tjabc.php

The first course was so well received that she decided to create a course many were asking for: advice on how to homeschool in high school. She’s calling it Upper Level Homeschool. It’s mailed weekly for 13 weeks and covers record keeping, teaching study skills, preparing for college, and a lot more. Plenty of people are finding out what a good deal it is.

Check it out at: http://www.motherboardbooks.com/tjulh.php

I hope this information is a blessing to you.

Phyllis Wheeler
MotherboardBooks.com

The Wall Street Journal raised this question in an article June 5:  Does the Internet make you smarter or dumber?

Arguing smarter was Clay Shirky, who points out that those who think the newest thing will make you stupid have been saying that since Gutenberg’s printing press went to work.  What’s happening now is that some of the time we used to spend watching TV is being spent in more creative ways on the Internet, he suggests.

Arguing dumber was Nicholas Carr. Carr argues that the constant distractions and interruptions are turning us into shallow thinkers.  Research shows that people reading text studded with links comprehend less than those reading traditional text.  People watching multimedia presentations remember less than those taking information in using more focus and time. Those juggling many tasks are less creative and productive than those who do one thing at a time. And so on.

How much can you divide your attention and still get positive results? That’s an interesting question that probably is different for each individual. I can tell you that for me, I need to not divide my attention much at all, or I get nothing done.  Even when I think I am accomplishing something, it’s certainly easy to cruise around the Internet looking up stuff and not remember what I “learned” later.

How can we as homeschooling parents guide and guard our kids on this?  I think it’s pretty clear we need to get them to work on one school project at a time, for starters. We can patrol their work areas to make sure they aren’t wasting time while supposedly doing a research project. We can demand creative output, and we can be wary of letting them goof around.  Good Internet habits will include working on one project at a time!

The Ultimate Homeschool Expo and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Expo are both over now. Whew! I talked to a number of people, and shared my passion for computer literacy in homeschools.

A hot topic: one of the main roadblocks for computer literacy in homeschools is the Internet safety issue, as I am sure you are aware. Families are wary of computers because they know they must protect their kids from the dark side of the Internet. Yet they need to prepare their kids for the workplace. What to do?

I recommend that families get an Internet filter, and also that they not rely on it. Be sure to put the computer where you can watch it. Also be sure you have a login password that only the adults know, and limit time on the computer.

Some people wanted to know what I recommend in the way of Internet filters. I know of at least three decent ones: NetNanny, SafeEyes, and Covenant Eyes. I believe them to be pretty similar. A filter blocks sites that the software finds may contain objectionable material. For sites that are blocked by mistake, a filter guardian (you, the parent) can make an exception. Levels can be set: strict, not-so strict, and so on.

But what about your kids as they grow up? More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month, according to a study. Plenty of women do it too. And of course, it’s addictive.

Covenant Eyes also offers software that allows adults to stay accountable. This lifts Covenant Eyes above the competition in my opinion. As your children grow up, they can transition to the accountability software, keeping the filter if they choose to.

Here’s how the accountability software works: the individual installs it on his computer and chooses an accountability partner, normally a close friend or a mentor. This software keeps track of where the individual went on the Internet and emails a regular report to the accountability partner, with any problem sites flagged.The partner will hold the individual accountable.

This will empower your family member to take charge of the situation. Perhaps you know marriages that have been destroyed by this addiction. I do. The stakes are high.

The Covenant Eyes website has plenty of articles on this subject, which is a subject we all need to look at without fooling ourselves. It’s a scourge for our nation.

I urge you to take action and protect your children, now and in the future. In fact, I’ve asked the Covenant Eyes people for a discount for you, my friends. Here it is: you can get the first month free if you use the discount code “MBB” at checkout. This applies to either the filter or the accountability software, or both. For more information, go to the Covenant Eyes website at http://www.covenanteyes.com/?promocode=MBB

I hope this is a blessing for you.–Phyllis Wheeler

Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24258698@N04/ / CC BY 2.0

Two door prize winners from my talk at TOS’s Online Expo have been selected and received their free copies of Let’s Make a Web Page.  They are M.Z. and T.W.  Congratulations!