Homeschooling with Technology

Homeschooling with Technology

The Homeschooling with Technology Podcast is a weekly show, hosted by Meryl van der Merwe, where she shares ideas on how to use technology to be more productive as a homeschool parent and on how to use technology to make lessons more engaging. In addition, she covers techie skills your children need to learn and how to easily incorporate them into your homeschooling. Meryl homeschooled her 4 children after working as a computer programmer for many years. She uses technology whenever she can when teaching both live co-op classes and online classes for homeschoolers. In this podcast, she shares all the best tech resources she finds with you.

Episodes

December 3, 2025 9 mins

352: The Hour of AI Code.org has transformed its annual Hour of Code into the Hour of AI, offering a wide variety of free, interactive activities that help students understand artificial intelligence—not just coding. Some of the resources we tried out are: 1. AI Quests An interactive, story-driven adventure that teaches real-world Artificial Intelligence applications. […]

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351: STEM Gifts That Build Skills Meryl discusses why STEM gifts matter for kids and teens—and how choosing the right ones can build creativity, problem-solving, and curiosity. Whether you’re catching Black Friday sales or shopping any time of year, today’s episode is packed with practical ideas for skill-building gifts. Why Choose STEM Gifts? Early exposure: […]

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350: Learning Real-World Skills Through Game Creation with Matt Dalio of Endless Studios In this episode, Meryl van der Merwe talks with Matt Dalio, founder of Endless Studios, about why game creation—not just game playing—can equip teens with powerful, real-world skills for future careers. Matt shares: His Backstory and Mission How early experiences living in […]

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November 12, 2025 30 mins

349: AI Companions: The Hidden Danger for Teens We explore the alarming rise of AI companion usage among teenagers and the serious risks these tools pose. While AI can be incredibly useful for education and productivity, AI companions designed to fulfill emotional and social roles present unique dangers that most parents are unaware of. What […]

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348: How a Teen Uses Tech to Master Time Management Host Meryl van der Merwe chats with teen guest, Mishe Breetzke, about how she learned to manage her time more effectively using technology. Mishe, a homeschooled student from South Africa, who is in Meryl’s online Computer Applications class, shares how she realized that feeling “too […]

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347:  BaseCampEd: Building Community and Connection for Homeschoolers Host Meryl van der Merwe talks with Morgan Bergstrom, creator of the BaseCampEd app, a new tool designed to help homeschool families build community and connection. Morgan shares how her own homeschooling journey and frequent military moves inspired her to create a platform that makes it easier […]

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October 22, 2025 24 mins

346: AI and Critical Thinking In this episode, Meryl is joined once again by Critical Thinking in the Digital Age instructor Stephanie Simoes to explore how AI is impacting students’ ability to think deeply and critically. The two discuss an MIT study that sparked widespread concern, the concept of cognitive offloading, and how parents can […]

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345: Listener Favorites: Our Top 5 Most-Downloaded Episodes Revisited In this special birthday edition of Homeschooling with Technology, Meryl Van der Merwe looks back at the five most downloaded episodes of all time! This episode is part of the 12 Days of Homeschool Gold celebration for the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network’s birthday — complete with […]

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October 8, 2025 15 mins

344: 12 Homeschool Tech Hacks In this special birthday episode, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network, here are 12 homeschool tech hacks that will make your homeschool more efficient, engaging, and fun! Bonus: Celebrate the 12th Birthday of the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network with giveaways, bonus mini-episodes, a treasure hunt, […]

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October 1, 2025 25 mins

343: New Ways to Use Canva for Homeschooling Canva continues to be one of the most versatile and homeschool-friendly tools available. In this episode, I’m joined again by Rebecca Brinkman, teacher of the Graphic Design with Canva class at show sponsor FundaFunda Academy. We explore the latest Canva updates for 2025 and how you can […]

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September 24, 2025 15 mins

342: Building Worlds in Unreal Engine   In this episode of we welcome back repeat guest, Matthew Jurison, a high schooler, teaching assistant at FundaFunda Academy, and tech enthusiast.  Matthew shares how he first discovered Unreal Engine, why he chose it over other platforms like Unity and Roblox Studio, and why it’s a powerful, free […]

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September 17, 2025 13 mins

341:  Using Google Translate in Your Homeschool Google Translate isn’t just for travelers trying to decipher a menu abroad—it can also be an incredibly useful tool in your homeschool. In this episode, you will learn creative ways to integrate both the browser version and the mobile app of Google Translate into everyday learning. What you’ll […]

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September 10, 2025 20 mins

Episode 340 — Video Scholarship Tips (with Monica Matthews) Looking for video scholarship tips that actually work? In this episode of Homeschooling with Technology, scholarship expert Monica Matthews shares practical video scholarship tips for high school (and younger) students—how to hook judges fast, align your story with a sponsor’s mission, film with simple lighting and clear […]

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September 3, 2025 11 mins

339: Online Hide and Seek Game   In this episode, we learn about a unique geography game that blends fun with learning: Hide and Seek and its companion app World Streaks Geography. Whether you’re looking for a quick game to play in the car, a way to make geography more interactive, or a multiplayer activity for […]

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August 27, 2025 16 mins

338: Supporting Your Teen in Online Classes   Online classes can be a fantastic way for teens to learn — but only if parents know how to support them well. Every year, many parents are surprised mid-semester when they discover their teen is failing an online class. The truth is: this can be avoided with […]

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337: Homeschool AI Hacks: How to Write Prompts That Work In today’s episode, learn how to write better AI prompts for homeschooling—tips, examples, and hacks to save you time and spark creativity in your lessons. Core Elements of a Strong Prompt Role – “Act like a veteran homeschool mom with 10 years of experience.” Grade […]

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August 13, 2025 15 mins

336: 10 Tech Tools to Make Writing Fun Are your children complaining that writing isn’t fun? Transform writing time into creative fun with these 10 tech tools—each designed to spark imagination and ease the writing struggle. 1. Story Dice Tool: Story Dice Description: Roll virtual icons and weave them into a story—great for melting the […]

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August 6, 2025 15 mins

335: How Homeschoolers Can Use Brisk AI In this episode, we look at  Brisk Teaching, a powerful ( free for most things) AI Chrome extension designed for educators — and incredibly helpful for homeschoolers. You’ll discover how to: Use Brisk’s “Inspect Writing” tool to check your child’s writing history and detect copy/paste Create auto-graded quizzes […]

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334: Creating an AI Policy for your Homeschool We explore why every homeschool family should consider developing an AI policy—and how to do it. As AI tools become more prevalent, it’s no longer a question of if teens are using them, but how. Meryl explains how teens often approach AI differently than adults and why […]

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Episode 333: Using Media in Foreign Language Learning In this episode of Homeschooling with Technology, host Meryl van der Merwe is joined by two of FundaFunda Academy’s language teachers—Sebastian (French) and Suzette (Spanish)—to discuss how media can enhance the foreign language learning experience. You’ll discover: 🎵 How music supports vocabulary retention and pronunciation🎬 How to […]

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