An Easy-to-Use Microscope Perfect for Your Homeschool

There’s a never-ending conversation on how technology infiltrates our lives.  It’s a hard line to walk and there isn’t a set line for everyone.  But once you do let it in your life, it can be overwhelming to decipher it all and figure out what is useful and even how to incorporate it.  From those thoughts came the idea for this blog series…Tech Tuesday: Where Technology Meets Homeschooling.  I’ll talk apps, hardware, websites…all related to homeschooling, the homeschool mom & the homeschool lifestyle.  
Do you have a technology-related question in relation to your homeschool?  Or perhaps you have a favorite website or app that you use and think I should look at?  Leave me a comment!  

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Plugable USB Microscope

Three years ago, we spent a couple months looking at traditional microscopes but I couldn’t find any that I wanted to invest that much money into. What if the kids didn’t even enjoy a microscope?  The Plugable USB 2.0 Microscope was an immediate hit in our school.  At less than $40, the price point was perfect since the others we looked at were over $150.  {With little kids and no microscope that stood out, I just couldn’t justify that amount.}
The kids pull it out weekly  They know how to operate it, so I let them work it on their own if they are using it outside of class time.  I’ll spare you the details of some of the things we’ve looked at (two young boys & their creative minds can be quite…gross!!)
When I bought the microscope, we also purchased prepared slides from AmScope.  The slides include parts of plants and animals.  The kids prefer to look at things they found rather than the slides, if they’re choosing, but the slides are nicely done and are viewed a few times a year.  When we do biology next year, our first time since purchasing them, I expect we will use them more often.

Easy to Set-up

The microscope came with a CD-ROM containing the drivers.  But a CD-ROM?!  We haven’t had a drive for several years.  Luckily, their website has a section to download the drivers.
Once you have the drivers installed, you simply plug it into a USB port and it should start right up.

Easy to Use

I remember microscopes in high school as quite bothersome.  Finding the image and then getting a clear view of it could take all class!
With the Plugable Microscope, from going to the closet to get the box until we are viewing a clear image of the item?  Less than five minutes! 
Once you have the microscope on and software open, you can use the dial on the microscope to zoom in and out.  The software lets you view the images on the screen which is mighty helpful with multiple children!  You can also take photographs and short videos through the software.

Miscellaneous

We have used our microscope on both a Windows desktop (Windows 8 and 10) and a Macbook.  The installation process was the same.
This is the exact one we have but, like I mentioned, it is discontinued.  I’d love to add this pocket microscope to our homeschooling on-the-go bag.
My kids love to take photographs of what they see.  It would be fun to collect the photos into a photobook to remember a unit.

Materials

Plugable Digital Microscopes
Prepared slides by AmScope (and others)
Complete line of AmScope products

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There’s a never-ending conversation on how technology infiltrates our lives.  It’s a hard line to walk and there isn’t a set line for everyone.  But once you do let it in your life, it can be overwhelming to decipher it all and figure out what is useful and even how to incorporate it.  From those thoughts came the idea for this blog series…Tech Tuesday: Where Technology Meets Homeschooling.  I’ll talk apps, hardware, websites…all related to homeschooling, the homeschool mom & the homeschool lifestyle.  
Do you have a technology-related question in relation to your homeschool?  Or perhaps you have a favorite website or app that you use and think I should look at?  Leave me a comment!