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Online classes?
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What program/school are you using for online classes? Why dod you choose them? I’ve been wondering if this would benefit us but wasn’t sure what to look at.
Thanks!
BYU has some online high school classes that you can get credits for. I took 2 science courses from them when I was in high school. It’s is.byu.edu
We have used many and are using 7 this year between three kids.
– Classes By Beth Plus for ds13 for literature and writing this year. Previously for older dd for essay styles. Excellent communication and clear expectations.
– Academy at Bright Ideas Press – new to us. Ds13 taking mystery of history, dd16 taking psychology, dd10 taking marine bio. One week in and all are a hit. Both older kids took marine bio with Jen Henriksen via Landry Academy online (now defunct) in previous years and she is fantastic!!! Linda Hobar, author of mystery of history, is ds teacher. This is a good fit it seems for this son who does not love reading
– my homeschool math class with Jann Perkins. Ds13 taking prealgebra. He took basic college mathematics (7th grade) last year. Terrific!
– Armor of God bible classes with Chris Smith. Dd16 and ds13 taking apologetics and life applications this fall. Previously both took old and New Testament survey with him via Landry. Excellent classes and teacher
– Schole Academy by Classical Academic Press. Dd10 taking Spanish. Hasn’t begun yet. Their new platform is much better than when dd16 tried logic there a few years back. That wasn’t a great setup then and the teacher was not a good fit. We dropped and she did the class via Landry
– Aim Academy by Debra Bell. New to us this year. Dd10 taking writers in residence. Starts this week. Good platform
– currclick – did a couple little things years ago. Did not like their adobe connect platform. Nothing off with classes
my other provider this year is local college where dd16 is dual enrolled and has a hybrid class.
Online classes have been a benefit here. I am a CM purist at heart but am being a realist for my life and my family. I NEED to farm out some things especially this year. Ds13 is at a stage where being accountable to other teachers will be a benefit. He isn’t a huge reader and that is ok. He has fewer books but still well chosen. He also wants to move forward on his own a bit. Dd10 classes are per her request In her interests. Same for dd16.
We are/were using:
- Schole academy for Algebra (hasn’t begun yet, but communication with instructor has been excellent.)
- Big River academy for Writing. She is 3 weeks into the class and it is going very well. Wendy Reed is very organized and engaging. So far, I’m pleased with what I see and anticipate that this class will be very helpful for my daughter, who is not particularly fond of writing.
- We used the Well Trained Mind academy last year for a Study Skills class. Amy Upperman was fantastic; very organized and knows how to engage her students. Lessons were meaningful and my daughter has a notebook she created full of skills she learned. My daughter wanted to take Biology with her this year, but I felt apologia would be a better fit for her since she seems to enjoy their science texts. I hope I made the right decision ; )
If anyone one has had a good experience with an online Apologia Biology classes, please let me know. Right now, I just purchased the DVD’s with Sheri Seligson and am planning to do it at home.
My oldest daughter took and adored Latin with Amy Barr at Lukeion.org. She also took a few classes with The Potter’s School, which she liked but wasn’t as enthusiastic about as Lukeion. In both cases, the outside accountability and time management requirements were excellent for her, as her teachers were able to provide something I’m still not very good at! My middle daughter was all set to take Greek with Lukeion, but then a schedule conflict prevented her, though she had taken and loved a few Lukeion workships with Regan Barr. I would recommend Mr. and Mrs. Barr without reservation!
My middle daughter took Greek and astronomy with an online school, but I don’t seem to be able to find them now, so that’s not much help to you. FWIW, taking online classes was less of a good experience for her, not because the classes weren’t high quality, but because she found she was less able to pay attention and engage with this format. She did well, but after that year, she decided not to take more online classes.
Thank you! I appreciate the input.
alphabetika – I am looking more for individual classes. But, if there were something all inclusive that was great I’d look at it. My DD has some things that I think are working well for her and don’t want to change. But, I am thinking more and more that it would benefit her to be accountable, at least with some things, to someone else. She isn’t a strong reader (dyslexia struggles) which is hard with CM. I am open to combining methods and delivery if she will gain by doing so.
We have used our online state charter school (VLACS, although many states have similar programs) and Homeschool Connections. I’ve been highly pleased with both.
How strange – I wrote a reply to this the day it was posted and thought I posted it! Anyway…
My oldest daughter took and loved Latin 1 and 2 from Amy Barr at Lukeion.org. Amy’s husband Regan is also an excellent teacher; my middle daughter took a few of the shorter Lukeion workshops from him and loved them. She was sad when her schedule didn’t allow her to take his high school Greek class. If anyone reading this has a student who loves classical history or languages, check out Lukeion.
OP, if your DD with dyslexia does well with a more visual presentation, rather than having to read everything, she might enjoy taking a Lukeion workshop. The classes are real time, and they’re very visual. Both of the Barrs used (and I assume still do, this was years ago) lots of graphics, as well as lecturing, of course, and that was a treat for both of my daughters. I wouldn’t recommend taking Latin if she has trouble with reading quickly and absorbing info that way, because the class required hours of reading and work each week, but one of the four-session workshops might be good if she’s interested in any of the topics.
Oldest daughter also took a few theology classes from Potter’s School. She enjoyed them, but not to the depth she loved Latin. I have friends whose students have taken multiple classes with Potter’s School and highly recommend it.
Middle daughter took Greek and astronomy with an online school that I can’t seem to find anymore. She liked the classes, but ultimately she decided that the online format wasn’t the best for her. She felt she didn’t pay attention as well and had trouble staying focused. She really prefers a real classroom.
The benefits for me were that both daughters got to take high level classes in subjects I had little to no experience in and would not have been able to teach them at the level they were working. The outside accountability was also excellent for my oldest, because she worked well with more structure than I gave her. So, Mrs. Barr’s strictness about showing up to class, turning in homework and taking tests on a weekly deadline were great for her. It’s not that she even needed work on this – *I* was the one who needed work! I am poor at structure and deadlines, and she wanted more. So, even with those two years of taking one class each year, she was able to practice deadlines of a kind I hadn’t given her before, which she clicked right into and appreciated.
We have used Virtual Home School Group for General Science, Physical Science, and Biology. They use the Apologia series for these classes. They offer classes in other subjects, but we’ve never taken any of those.
It is a co-op, so it is free of charge. What I like about these classes is that you can sign up for a real-time online class at set times, or you can choose the at-your-own-pace classes, which is what we did. (Same lecture content, same slides, but no live interaction.) The teachers did a good job, there are quizzes and exams to take online that are graded and averaged for you, and you can submit lab reports for inclusion in your student’s grade report if you choose to do so.
We will be using the Chemistry AYOP class this year.
Thanks for sharing Sue. I’d seen them years ago and forgotten that resource.
We have never done an online course before this year. My son is not wildly interested in his foreign language studies but knows he wants to go to college so is dutifully fulfilling them. Prior to this year he has designed and implemented his own independent study in this area. This year we thought we’d give our state virtual school a try. FLVS (Florida Virtual School).
So far, and we’re only a couple of weeks in to it, we aren’t overly impressed. The graphics and interaction are dated compared to free equivalent programs out there. The material is pretty standard. I’d say the nicest thing is the teacher – she’s very personable, contacts us regularly and his evaluations are partially done with her orally.
hth
Claire, dd16 did drivers ed with Florida virtual and did fine, but didn’t care for the platform or the teaching though with that course it was bound to be dry. Honestly, the CM or classical homeschoolers I know who have tried flvs strongly disliked it and preferred other online options. The only flvs positives I’ve ever heard are from people doing public school type at home. That’s just a heads up for the future.
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