Homeschooling with Technology

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 Teaching Geopolitics and World Affairs to Teens appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 Padlet Arcade for Learning Fun appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 Co-Teacher appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 Tools Through Your Library appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 post How to make beautiful presentations appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 for Your Homeschool appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 Podcast Network.

355: Vibe Coding – What It Is and How Homeschoolers Can Use It Vibe coding is a brand-new term, coined in early 2025 by former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy, and it describes a radically different way of creating software—by describing what you want instead of writing traditional code. In this episode, you will learn what […] The post Vibe Coding appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

354: New Year, New Tools   Episode Goal Choose one tech tool from this list to explore intentionally in 2026. The 10 Tools Featured   1. ChatGPT and Gemini AI assistants that homeschool parents can use for planning, teaching, and daily life. Ways to use them include: Rewriting articles at a child’s reading level Creating […] The post New Year, New Tools appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This is a rerun of episode 210 – you can find the original show notes here.   The post Replay: Taking Holiday Photos with Storytelling in Mind appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This is a rerun of episode 162 – you can find the original show notes here. The post Replay: Digital Christmas Cards appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

353: An AI-Powered Holiday Season   Learn how to make this an AI-Powered Holiday Season! If the holidays feel overwhelming, especially for moms carrying the mental load, AI can help you offload decisions, plan your days, generate gift ideas, create activities, and more. 1. Use AI to Create a Manageable Holiday Schedule Tools like ChatGPT […] The post An AI-Powered Holiday Season appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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. […] The post Hour of AI appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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: […] The post STEM Gifts That Build Skills appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 […] The post Learning Real-World Skills Through Game Creation appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 […] The post AI Companions: The Hidden Danger for Teens appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 […] The post How a Teen Uses Tech to Master Time Management appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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 […] The post BaseCampEd: Building Community and Connection for Homeschoolers appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.