Evaluate Any Homeschool Software Program First

All of the homeschool software programs I have mentioned before would work for tracking grades or assignments, and would fill the simple needs of most homeschooling parents. If you need something more robust, you might want to look into homeschool software that is more advanced, or more specialized. Those software programs come with a bigger price tag though, and a bigger learning curve. It would be important to consider and evaluate any homeschool software program using a review website or by talking to other homeschoolers, before spending a lot of money and purchasing something that might not fit well in your homeschool.

Online Homeschool Software

An online approach to homeschool software would be to use something like Google docs. Google has an online spreadsheet program where you can do almost everything Excel or iWork numbers can do. Plus it has the advantage of being completely online based. This can be beneficial, since you can basically access all your homeschool software from anywhere. You need to create a google account if you don’t already have one, but once you do that, you have access to Google’s entire online software suite. Using spreadsheet, you can enter grades, and keep track of work and assignments, and then pull up the spreadsheet on any computer, anywhere. You could assign reading or course work to be pulled up by your child while at a friend’s house, or if you have to go out of town, you can check their work, without having to email files around.

Homeschool Software for Mac Users

Another homeschool software program similar to Excel, but for Mac users is Numbers, made by Apple. Some of the best homeschool software packages are on the Mac. Numbers is very similar to Excel in its capabilities, and could be considered to be easier to work with. It is more graphical in nature, and easier for someone who is interested in the final presentation to make sense of, since that is where its focus is. Numbers could be used in your homeschool for tracking grades, or teaching your child about formulas and graphs. Its graphing functions are very nicely laid out and easy to use. Your child could use it as a computer enhanced learning tool when working on charts or graphs for their math curriculum. Its file format is not as widely supported, but you can export to many different formats that the people you are sharing with can accept.

Using Office As Your Homeschool Software

Many people use the Microsoft Office suite of products as their homeschool software for tracking assignments and grades. In the Office suite is a program called Excel. Excel is a software program that is good at keeping lists, and organizing rows of information. I can create an excel spreadsheet with multiple columns, perhaps a column for date, assignment, subject, grade, etc. I can then save the excel spreadsheet for future reference, or print it to show to the child or to homeschool administrators (required in some states). Excel is a great piece of homeschool software because it is so easy to use and is almost ubiquitous. I can share the files it creates via email or export them to all kinds of other file formats.

Homeschool Software Program for Tracking Grades and Assignments

The scenario is the same in most homeschools: I assign my child learning material to work on, and I need to have a system for tracking their assignments and grades in order to give them valuable feedback on the learning process. Is there a homeschool software program that can help me with this?
I will discuss several homeschool software options that you could use in your homeschool:

Microsoft Office

iWork Numbers

Google Docs

Specialized or custom homeschool software bundles

Choosing Homeschool Software

If you are homeschooling your child, you know how difficult it is to keep up with everything in the learning process. You have to research books, reading material, curriculum, study guides. Part of that process is evaluating homeschool software programs. When choosing homeschool material, you have to be conscious of what value the material provides. You have to ask the same questions about your homeschool software:

Does my homeschool software help my child learn?

Does my homeschool software help me teach my child?

Is my homeschool software worth the money I am spending on it?

What kind of homeschool software do I need?

These are important questions you must ask when evaluating the software that is available to the homeschool market. This blog will discuss and help you determine what type of software you need for homeschooling, in all its various areas, from managing the learning time to organizing your reading list to keeping your grades.