Three years ago, Wendy Masterton transformed her home in Comox, B.C., into a high-tech schoolhouse. She has become master of their educational destinies in no small part because of an array of technology tools she can use in home-schooling them, including the Internet and the latest computer software. Whether it's exploring ancient Egypt or delving into the life of Joan of Arc, designing Web pages or communicating with students overseas, the two kids work at their own pace, guided by sophisticated teaching resources and lesson plans once available only to professionals but now right at their mother's fingertips.
Educators tell kids what they can learn and when they can learn it.
The technology allows us to go far beyond that. More and more parents of children in traditional classrooms and those being schooled at home are learning how to use the powerful resources of the Internet and other technology to form networks, investigate curriculums, draw up lessons and enrich their children's education outside traditional school hours. Of course, there's a learning curve for parents, too. But determined parents are finding their way. Today, the site is one of dozens of places that parents can go to discuss education and school issues, and trade ideas about how their children can and should be learning over the Internet.