Homeschooling with Technology

379: Summer Tech Challenge 6: Create a Custom Map Did you know you can create your own interactive Google map? In this episode, you will learn about Google My Maps, a free Google tool that allows you to create personalized maps with locations, notes, photos, videos, colors, layers, and routes. Whether you’re planning a family […] The post Summer Tech Challenge 6: Create a Custom Map ap...

378: Summer Tech Challenge #5 – Design Your Summer with Padlet Summer is the perfect time to experiment with new technology without the pressure of a full school schedule. In this fifth installment of the Summer Tech Challenge, Meryl introduces one of her favorite educational tools: Padlet. Whether you want to plan summer adventures, organize […] The post Summer Tech Challenge # 5: Design Yo...

377:  Summer Tech Challenge 4: Create a Summer Tracker with Google Sheets In the fourth installment of the Summer Tech Challenge, Meryl encourages homeschool parents and teens to explore one of the most useful productivity tools available: Google Sheets. Many students today have limited experience with spreadsheets, yet they are an invaluable tool for organizing […] The post Summer Tech Chal...

376: Summer Tech Challenge 3: Explore Google Arts and Culture This week’s challenge is simple: explore Google Arts & Culture and discover something new. Whether you enjoy art, history, geography, museums, or interactive games, Google Arts & Culture offers countless opportunities for learning and exploration. From virtual museum tours to historical exhibits, famous artworks, cultural...

375: Summer Tech Challenge  #2 – Create a Trivia Game This week’s summer challenge is to create a trivia game. Students can choose any topic, educational or just for fun, and create a quiz with 10–20 questions. The quiz should use multiple choice, matching, or another format where players select answers on-screen. Episode 83 covers […] The post Summer Tech Challenge #2 : Create a Trivi...

374: Summer Tech Challenge #1: AI Trip Planning This summer, Homeschooling with Technology is launching a fun nine-week Summer Tech Challenge designed to help homeschool families explore technology together. Each Wednesday in June and July, you’ll receive a short challenge focused on building practical tech skills through hands-on activities. The first challenge explores AI-powered trip [&#8...

373: Game-based Learning with Boddle In this episode, Meryl interviews sixth-grader Penny Laine Buschle about her experience using Boddle Learning, a free game-based learning platform for students in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Rather than reviewing the platform only from an adult perspective, Meryl invited Penny Laine to spend time actually playing and learning inside Boddle so listeners co...

372: 4 Digital Tasks Before Summer Break: Homeschool Digital Organization Tips Before summer break begins, take time to organize the digital side of your homeschool life. In this episode, Meryl shares four important homeschool digital organization tasks that can save time, reduce stress, and help you keep better records for high school, college applications, and […] The post 4 Digital Tasks...

371: Turning Summer Walks Into Learning Experiences In this episode, Meryl shares how educational summer walks can become meaningful learning experiences for homeschoolers using simple apps and technology tools. 1. Identify Birds with Merlin Bird ID Meryl discusses using Merlin Bird ID from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to identify birds while walking. The app […] The post Turning Summer Wa...

370: Teaching Tech Skills Through Family Travel Have you ever thought about turning family travel into a tech skills classroom? In this episode, Meryl shares practical ways to assign your teens real planning tasks before and during a trip — tasks that build digital literacy alongside life skills. Ideas covered in this episode: 1. Pitch […] The post Teaching Tech Skills Through Family Travel...

This is a rerun of episode 277 – you can find the original show notes here.   The post Replay: Finding and Using Online Classes for Homeschooling Effectively appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network .

369: Ways Grandparents and Kids Can Connect Online Staying connected across the miles doesn’t have to mean just phone calls. In this episode, Meryl shares five practical ways grandchildren and grandparents can build real relationships digitally — with the bonus that several of these also sneak in genuine learning. 1. Reading together over video Alternate […] The post Ways Grandparents...

368: AI Tips You Can Use This Week In this episode, Meryl shares a practical mix of AI tips you can implement right away. What’s covered: 1. Ask Maps (Google Maps) Google Maps has a new AI feature called Ask Maps, currently rolling out. Instead of browsing categories, you can ask specific questions — gluten-free […] The post AI Tips You Can Use This Week appeared first on Ultimate Home...

367: Exploring Space: Interactive Tools for Your Homeschool The Artemis 2 mission has four astronauts circling the moon right now, and it’s a perfect time to bring space exploration into your homeschool. In this episode, learn about free (and nearly free) tools organized into four categories: learn and explore, games and interactives, simulations, and citizen […] The post Exploring Spa...

366:  Teaching Geopolitics and World Affairs to Teens Teaching teens about geopolitics and world affairs can feel intimidating—but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of Homeschooling with Technology, Meryl van der Merwe shares practical tools and creative ideas for helping homeschool students understand current events, global conflict, geography, and media literacy in ways […] The post T...

365: Padlet Arcade for Learning Fun New Here? If you love practical homeschool tech ideas, start here: More Homeschooling with Technology episodes Project-based learning ideas for homeschool Creative online tools for students Browse all homeschool tech resources  In this episode, Meryl explores Padlet Arcade — a game-based learning branch of the popular Padlet platform. She […] The post Padl...

364: What’s New in NotebookLM NotebookLM has graduated from Google Labs beta into a fully featured, standalone tool — and it has grown dramatically. In this episode, Meryl walks through all nine features currently available in the Studio panel, explaining how homeschool parents can use them to save time and how students can use them […] The post What’s New in NotebookLM appeared first...

363: Gems – Your Custom Homeschool Co-Teacher   Google’s Gemini platform now includes a powerful feature called Gems. In this episode, we explore how Gems allow you to create customized AI assistants that can help with homeschooling tasks again and again without rewriting prompts each time. Meryl explains what Gems are, how they compare to […] The post Gems: Your Custom Homeschool...

362: Avoiding tech burnout  with Melissa Muir In this episode, Meryl is joined by Melissa Muir from Think Curio to discuss an important topic for homeschool families: avoiding tech burnout. While both Meryl and Melissa love educational technology and use it extensively in their teaching, they recognize the need for balance. With recent studies showing […] The post Avoiding tech burnout appea...

361: Homeschooling with Gemini In this episode, we look at how homeschoolers can use Gemini and why it’s worth adding to your tech toolkit — even if you already use ChatGPT. Organization & Workflow “My Stuff” dashboard to quickly access everything you’ve created Model options (Fast, Thinking, Pro) depending on the depth of response you […] The post Homeschooling with Gemini appeared firs...

360: Free Tech Tools Through Your Library In this episode of Homeschooling with Technology, Meryl interviews Melissa Brander from Pocket Homeschool about the many free technology resources available through your local library. Most homeschool families think of the library as a place for books. But today’s libraries offer far more — including digital tools, streaming […] The post Free Tech To...

359:  How to Make Beautiful Presentations Presentations are a skill students will use again and again—in middle school, high school, college, and eventually the workplace. In this episode, learn about tech tools that can help homeschoolers (and parents!) create attractive, effective presentations without needing advanced design skills. Tools Covered in This Episode 1. Google SlidesA […] The...

358: 5 Free Homeschool Resources That Still Hold Up in 2026 with Melissa Muir Melissa is a longtime homeschool mom of four, a licensed teacher, and the founder of Curio. She shares five free homeschool resources her family still uses regularly today—resources that have stood the test of time and continue to work well for […] The post 5 Free Homeschool Resources That Still Hold Up in 2026 app...

357: Winter Olympics Resources for Your Homeschool The Winter Olympics are almost here, and if your family will be watching, why not turn that excitement into meaningful learning? In this episode, I share a collection of fun, engaging, and mostly free Winter Olympics resources you can use with elementary through high school students—before and during […] The post Winter Olympics Resources fo...

356: Pixar in a box   In this episode, we explore Pixar in a Box, a free, self-paced course created by Pixar in partnership with Khan Academy. Pixar in a Box gives students a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar films are made. Lessons are taught by Pixar professionals and connect animation to math, science, art, and […] The post Pixar in a box appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podca...