Homemade Homeschoolers is now on Twitter.

Twitter is an Internet multimedia form known as “Micro-Blogging” where users are able to post interesting (or, in some cases not) updates in 140 words or less. Twitter has grown by an amazing rate recently and is used by some of the worlds largest businesses and news outlets, as well as common people such as you and I. Signing up for a Twitter page takes all of about 30 seconds and you are able to modify your profile theme to make it all your own. It is actually really fun to see what people can say in 140 characters or less! A wonderful use for Twitter is posting links to things that you find important and would like to share with your friends. Extra long URL links are automatically shortened by Twitter into a “tiny URL” so that they will fit into your allotted character field and have room to spare for some extra text. If you use the “Share/Save” option at the bottom of each post on Homemade Homeschoolers you will notice an option for sharing a favorite post on Twitter. Just click the Twitter button and it will post to your account so that your friends can find it too. Once you start using those options you’ll find yourself sharing all sorts of neat things with your friends.

Sign up and follow Homemade Homeschoolers on Twitter and keep up on all the latest news. It’s fun! We’ve included a video called “Twitter in Plain English” by those same, easy to understand guys that produced the “Podcasting in Plain English” video posted here a while back.

We’ll see you there.

Hello fellow Homeschoolers.

After much thought and planning, we at Homemade Homeschoolers are ready to launch a new (and possibly the most fun) feature: The HMHS Podcast Network! We need your participation, though. Our desire is to feature homemade podcasts from “do it yourself” Homemade Homeschoolers everywhere. Not sure of what a “podcast” is? Watch this video on YouTube called “Podcasting In Plain English” for a simple, easy to understand explanation:

Not only would this be a wonderful learning experience for our children (and parents too, in many cases), it will also be a great way to showcase the talents of your families and children! Some suggestions on podcast material and subjects are:

• Audio Theater
• Talk Radio
• Comedy Sketches
• News Programs
• Family Music Recitals
• Singing
• Book Reviews
• Movie Reviews
• Educational Material

We can also host video on the HMHS Podcast Network. Some ideas for video include:

• Plays
• Documentaries
• Music Videos
• Educational Tutorials
• Nature Studies
• Conference Trips
• Extracurricular Activities

These are just suggestions; the possibilities are truly endless! Let your children and family’s creativity shine through on the HMHS Podcast Network.

Each family that joins the HMHS Podcast Network will receive a direct link to their own program such as “hmhomeschoolers.com/yourpodastname” to make it easy for grandma to keep track of all your “episodes”. There will also be a subscription option for people to have new episodes sent directly to them whenever they are posted (much like subscribing to the Homemade Homeschoolers RSS Feed), for extra convenience.

Podcasting really is very simple. I should know; I am a “podcaster” and my shows have been downloaded over 75,000 times. If you are interested in joining the HMHS Podcast Network, or have any questions, please contact us through the website and I will assist you in any way that I can. And remember, friends: these podcast don’t have to be “professional” quality; and they can be as short as 5 minutes, or as long as half an hour to an hour – though I wouldn’t suggest going much longer than 30 minutes.

Please join the HMHS Podcast Network, and let’s have some fun while learning!

To discuss this and other things about Homemade Homeschooling, please visit our community forum.

Internet use and Website browsing has changed… A lot!

As we are approaching Web 2.0 , getting the information you are looking for on your favorite websites, blogs, and news agencies has become both faster and more convenient. The days of bookmarking all of your favorite websites, then systematically visiting each one to see what is new are over. Now, you can subscribe to any of your favorite sites that offer an RSS Feed, and the information comes to you. Just like a subscription to your favorite magazine, newspaper, or journal – which is delivered right to your door every time a new issue is out – your favorite websites will send (right to your computer) any new article, news item, or general updates regarding that site. That is both convenient and fun!

Here at Homemade Homeschoolers we offer several options for subscription, as well as the ability to email favorite, or poignant articles to friends. You can also share them on your Social Bookmarking sites.

I’ve included a very easy to understand video that I found on YouTube that was produced to further explain the use of RSS Feeds. Web browsing really is becoming easier, more organized, and exciting! Remember to subscribe to Homemade Homeschoolers, and we promise to send you updates as often as they come.