Unschoolers Share about the Technology
in their lives
SCREEN TIME
Roxana Sorooshian
SKYRIM
Heather | Today Was Amazing
Tech Support - How to Plug Your Kids In
Michele James-Parham | Natural Attachment
Unschooling: Embracing the All of It
STEPHANIE | ORDINARY LIFE MAGIC
IF YOU GIVE A BOY A VIDEO GAME - LEARNING TO SPELL
REBECCA | DOWN A RABBIT TRAIL
DIGITAL LEARNING: THE KEY TO KNOWING
AMY | UNEARTH AND FATHOM
VIDEO GAMES ARE AWESOME. JUST GET OVER IT
JO | UNBOUNDED OCEAN
THERE IS NO SCARCIT: UNSCHOOLING
AMY | ON BRADSTREET
UNDERSTANDING THE SHINE
PRIYA | FLIGHTS OF FANCY
UNSCHOOLING AND ACCESS TO THE MEDIA
IDZIE | I'M UNSCHOOLED. AND YES, I CAN WRITE.
IT'S SO NOT JUST A GAME
SHANNON | BREAKING DAYLIGHT
ON TV AND VIDEOGAMES
MARCY | THE PEREGRINE FALCON ACADEMY - OUR ADVENTURES IN UNSCHOOLING
LET'S TALK ABOUT TECH BABY
SHANNON | BREAKING DAYLIGHT
WHAT IS ART? ASKED JESTING PILATE WHO WOULD NOT STAY FOR AN ANSWER
Frank | Singularity
BEING A ROLE MODEL FOR MY SON
HEATHER | TODAY WAS AMAZING
VALUE OF VIDEO GAMES
The Literacy of Gaming: What Kinds Learn from Playing
Aran Levasseur | PBS.ORG
The Many Benefits, for kids, by Playing Videogames
Peter Gray | PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
How Videogames Like Minecraft Actually Help Kids Learn to Read by Clive Thompson | WIRED
IS MINECRAFT THE ULTIMATE EDUCATIONAL TOOL?
GOOD NEWS FOR GAMER
How Video Games Change the Brain
Lydia Denworth | THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
9 Ways Videogames Can Be Good for You
Drew Guarini | HUFFINGTON POST
Video Games May Treat Dyslexia
Michele Solis | SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Playing an Active Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition
Jing Feng, Ian Spence and Jay Spratt |PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Playing Action Videogames Can Boost Learning, Study Says
SCIENCE DAILY
Positive Association of Video Game Playing with Left Frontal Cortical Thickness in Adolescents
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE RESEARCH ARTICLE (PEER-REVIEWED)
Videogames and Learning
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
The Effects of Video Game Playing on Attention, Memory, and Executive control
SCIENCE DIRECT (RESEARCH PAPER)
Study Finds Gamers are Better Learners
Justine Alford | IFL SCIENCE
The Many Benefits of Videogames
Sandra Dodd's website hosts a huge collection of article links about the benefits of playing videogames
Minecraft
Embracing Minecraft
Sue Patterson | Unschooling Mom2mom
What My Kids are Learning While Playing Minecraft
Minecraft: Learning the 3 R's
Michelle Conaway | Michelle's blog
Minecraft & Social Skills
Minecraft Modifications
Michelle Conaway | Homeschooler Post
Book Recommendations
REALITY IS BROKEN | Jane McGonigal
EVERYTHING BAD IS GOOD FOR YOU: HOW TODAY'S POPULAR CULTURE IS ACTUALLY MAKING US SMARTER | Steven Johnson
DON'T BOTHER ME, MOM - I'M LEARNING | Marc Prensky
BAD FOR YOU: EXPOSING THE WAR ON FUN | Kevin C. Pyle
THE GAMER GENERATION: REAPING THE BENEFITS OF VIDEO GAMES | Jennifer Comet Wagner
KILLING MONSTERS: WHY CHILDREN NEED FANTASY, SUPERHEROES & MAKE-BELIEVE VIOLENCE | Gerard Jones
WHAT VIDEOGAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING & LITERACY | James Paul Gee
IT'S COMPLICATED: THE SOCIAL LIVES OF NETWORKED TEENS | Danah Boyd
Debunking Myths about Media
Playing Chess Could Shrink Your Brain for the Better
WIRED.UK
Long-Term Study Finds Zero Links between Violence in Video Games and Real Life
SCIENCE ALERT
Take Two Video Games and Call Me In the Morning
Alvaro Pascual-Leone and Lotfi B. Merabet
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Values and Uses of TV & Video for Unschoolers
Collection by Sandra Dodd
Arguments Against Arguments About TV
Joyce Fetterol
Personal Testimonials
From Crystal, an Unschooling Mom2Mom FB group member:
I was unschooled as a kid, so unschooling my daughter was the natural path.
I watched TV nonstop, at least I always had (and still do to this day) the TV on when I was working, playing, cleaning etc. I am a HUGE Disney fan, I obsessively watched anything and everything about ancient Egypt, mythology, fairy tales, Sci-fi and horror, and fantasy based stuff. I also read all the books I could on the subjects.
I'm now 34 and a successful (meaning I can pay my bills lol) artist. And my art is all inspired by those years of tv: Celtic Clay Creations and The Hallowed Grave.
Also side note when I was 16 I had to take a placement test to get into a program and I tested as having the equivalent of 3 years of college. Had I gone to public school,which I did for a couple of years at the beginning, I wouldn't have been that advanced, because I hated school. Being free to do as I wanted (watching tv, reading what I wanted, creating art any time I wanted to) gave me the freedom and the self confidence to take a leap of faith and become a professional artist.
I'm in no way an rich, or famous or any of that but I like to think I'm pretty successful in life. And I know I wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't had the freedom that unschooling allowed me.
Still have questions?
Lots of people still struggle with how much time their children spend using technology. Society reinforces this concern all the time. If you'd like to have some help figuring out how to be supportive to your child and continue to apply unschooling principles to your parenting - even when technology is concerned! - then join us in our parenting group. Even if you're not a radical unschooler, you can learn how those ideas can be applied.