eLearning Academy

I'm sure you've seen the online videos of random acts of culture, such as a group singing the Hallelujah Chorus in Macy's. Calling it random is a bit of a stretch, as organizing 650 singers in a busy department store is no small feat! Here at eLearning, we created our own random act of culture on a somewhat smaller scale. On December 16, 2011, our students, staff, and parents visited businesses within walking distance of our Thibodaux learning center to sing Christmas carols. It was incredibly enjoyable to walk the neighborhood with the children and sing Christmas carols with them. We [...]

I just read an interesting blog article titled Creating Innovators: Why America's Education System is Obsolete by Erica Swallow. Ms. Swallow quotes Harvard Innovation Education Fellow Tony Wagner: “Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially... Today knowledge is free. It’s like air, it’s like water. It’s become a commodity... There’s no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.” In reading the article, I realized the answer is not turning our homes into schools, but [...]

It seems that our kids today are not enjoying the benefits we had as children, the simple things we took for granted-climbing trees, playing tag, hide-and seek, sandlot baseball,and making clover necklaces. According to research, 70 percent of adults had their biggest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces, compared with only 29 percent of children today. It's called "nature deficit disorder", and millions of kids today are suffering from it. The cure is relatively simple: a daily dose of nature! Research by Andrea Faber Taylor indicates that exposure to nature for even short periods can help children focus, even those with attention [...]

As another school year gets underway, we see more and more the benefits of technology as a tool for our students in the classroom and beyond. Whether it's the creation of our original lessons and videos or our students and teachers collaborating on projects with technology, eLearning understands the importance of technology in education. Technology pervades every facet of our world. By the age of 2, 90% of kids have an online history. By the age of 5, 50% have used a tablet or other internet connected device. But when is it time to disconnect during the day and why? First [...]

I just read a most interesting book titled Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, by Tony Wagner. In reading the book, it confirmed to me that our homes and schools must be places where children have the freedom to explore, to make connections in ways not possible in a system focused on standardized testing, competition, and memorizing content. Easy access to information via the Internet, smartphones, tablets, etc, makes memorizing names of the planets or the elements in the periodic table much less valuable and almost obsolete.While some memorization can be a good exercise for [...]

You're unhappy with the school your child is currently attending, and you are wondering if home schooling is the solution. I've walked in those shoes before, so I understand the anxiety this can produce in a parent. Home schooling can work for many families, but it isn't the solution for everyone. Here are five points to consider when making a decision about home schooling. 1. Time. Can you or another adults pend several hours a day teaching and monitoring the child's work? Remember that the children can help with the day to day chores at home, which is also an important [...]

Summer is approaching fast. Already the weather here is above 80°F and heading higher. Students and teachers in traditional schools are counting the days until summer break. But what about homeschoolers? Are you planning to take the summer off, or continue full speed ahead? Which approach is better for your children? The answer to that question is as varied as are homeschool families. I know a large family who takes an extended spring break to plant and tend a family garden, which provides a large part of their nutritional needs at a very low cost. In the heat of summer, when [...]

As a parent, I'm sure you've experienced frustration and worry over how much time your child spends playing video games. Video games have gotten a bad wrap over the years, as most saw them just as pure entertainment, and lacking much substance. You'll be excited to learn that in moderation, video games actually can help your child in school. Today's gamers will potentially be tomorrow's inventors and engineers. So next time you ask you child to put away the games, think about the ways that gaming positively affects learning: 1. For most gamers, gaming is a highly-social activity. Seventy percent of [...]

The answer, according to my research...... YES! While chess has long been regarded as a beneficial game for learning, studies have shown even more significant benefits, especially for children. World Champion chess player Susan Polgar states,“According to research, test scores improved by 17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only 4.6% for children participating in other forms of enriched activities." In almost 30 nations across the globe, chess is incorporated into the country's required academic curriculum. And it seems that many schools and teachers in our country are getting the message and are bringing chess into the classroom. [...]

In my many experiences working in education, I continually encounter distraught parents who discover that their children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, commonly referred to as a "disorder". After meeting and working with these children, I don't see disorders at all! I see gifts--gifts in creativity, personality, perception, positive energy, art, music,engineering, science, etc. To me, it's a personality type, and I choose to refer to it as the ADD/ADHD personality. As with all personalities, there are strengths and weaknesses, with this personality usually struggling with attention and focus. So as we begin this new year, here are a few tips to [...]