3. Learn to type quickly . Internet research and online courses are so much easier and less frustrating if you are a fast typist! Both home-schooling parents and children can benefit from programs to increase typing speed. These can be purchased commercially, or selected from some of the free typing programs available on the Internet. Even first graders are not too young to learn touch typing using these programs. Your goal should be daily practice of about 15 minutes, until you and your child are typing at least 35 words per minute.

4. Learn to navigate the Internet and make the most of your Internet connection. Learning how to do this will come slowly, with practice and experience. You may want to try the WebTeacher Web Primer tutorial below for a jump-start.

And what if you don’t have someone like 14-year-old Sam to help you learn how to use the Internet? You might want to try some of the following free resources:

Internet Use and Navigation:

• WebTeacher Tutorial : This free tutorial was designed as a professional development course for teachers by the Tech Corps and the National Cable Television Association. It is very comprehensive, providing about 80 hours of training. The Web Primer section will get you started using web browsers, navigating the Internet, using e-mail, and locating Internet resources. The more comprehensive Web Tutorial provides advanced instruction in web browsers and navigation; HTML and web page design; Internet research; image, sound, and movie files; newsgroups, mail lists, and chat groups; and a variety of advanced topics. This tutorial is ideal for both home-schooling parents and older home schoolers, and would meet computer literacy requirements for graduation in many states.

Typing and Keyboarding Programs:

• Learn2Type is an interactive keyboarding program that automatically keeps track of your speed and accuracy. Learn2Type offers a children’s version of its program, as well.

• Easy Type! is an animated keyboarding program with wonderful graphics. Easy Type! provides three levels of instruction, for children, teens, and adults. (You will need to use the Netscape browser, and download the Macromedia Flash 4 Player in order to use the program. Directions are on the home page of the Web site).

Internet Safety:

• Web Awareness for Parents: Safe Passage is sponsored by the Canadian Media Awareness Network. This site provides parents with basic information about how children and teenagers use the Internet. It also includes tips about developing family online agreements, filtering tools, tracking where children have been on the Internet, and other safety issues, as well as links to child-friendly search engines.

Kathi Kearney has been working with home-schooling parents for 23 years. She works as an educational consultant for parents of gifted children. She has taught at the university level and is a free-lance writer.You will often find Kathi in Crosswalk.com chat rooms, helping home-school moms .