So I Invented All This Technology

As much as some of you might dislike technology, it has been a must-have for education during the pandemic. Most of our schools moved to online platforms for learning and will most likely continue to do so going into the fall semester.

Technology companies have provided the means to video conference with programs like Zoom, which allow whole classrooms to be onscreen with the teacher. Thanks to telemedicine, we can continue to see our most important medical professionals virtually. You can even continue seeing your therapist via video conference, as my daughter has been doing with her therapy practice since the beginning of the safer-at-home order.

So what can we do with our kids and even our own learning needs as we move through the end of the year? The great benefit of educational learning is the ability to learn while being entertained. Here are some terrific learning tools:

ABCmouse.com is both an app and a website; it uses storyline-based videos along with an array of quizzes and activities. The program is designed for ages 2 through 8. You can give it a 30- day trial run at no charge, and then, it runs $10 per month for a subscription. It is available for both iOS and Android.

If your kids are readers (and if not, they should be), check out Epic, a digital library containing 35,000 children’s books. If your child is just learning to read, it contains a read-it-to feature and is geared for 2 through 12 year olds. Again, try it for one month for free, and after that, it’s only $8 per month.

Geography has never been my strong suit, but it’s an important component of our children’s learning process. An app called Stack the States is designed for middle school kids and combines both learning and fun by offering general knowledge about each state. The goal is to stack the states up and is recommended for ages 10+. The cost is only $2.99.

For high school students, look at Duolingo. This language learning app has over 30 languages and helps you with audio, word identification, and oral exercises. Geared for ages 10+, the program is free with ads, but if you hate ads like I do, you can opt for the ad-free Duolingo, which is $6.99 per month.

Yes, it’s true—even adults need education, and there are a lot of fine learning programs for us, too. Coursera provides a link to free, interactive, affordable education, bringing over 600 courses in over 20 subject areas. It’s available in 14 different languages and will provide video and reading sections as well.

If you are looking for general search resources, Wikipedia is great. You can research most any topic, and it provides a fair amount of details. And hey, check out my page. Yes, there is one on me!

As we all struggle through 2020, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel; through science, we will find a cure, and with good old American spirit, we will all get through this.

So, you can thank me for inventing all this technology. Well, maybe I didn’t “invent” it, but sharing it earns me some credit, right?

Stay safe.

See you on the radio!

Marc Cohen