I am considering using Switched On Schoolhouse for my dd who is doing 6th-7th grade. So far, I have made my own curriculum but I am finding it to be way to time consuming these days as I am now homeschooling my son as well. She has a very good computer with Vista on it, does this program work well with vista? Also, do you need internet to use this program? We do have internet but lately its been on the fritz and though she loves Aleks, cant do it with no internet. Does anyone know how it compares to Aleks? Also, how time consuming is it to set up and maintain? Does it show her exactly what she needs to do for the week so that she can become more responsible for her assignments? I know I have tons of questions but I want to make sure it is what I want before I make the purchase. Thanks Lora
We used it last year but on a computer with XP, I'm sure they have versions for the vista program. My daughter did it for the 6th grade year for about 3 months and she couldn't stand it she said it was boring and annoying and made her want to fall asleep. So, we went back to doing just book work. But she needed something more than that program to keep her interested. It may be a different story for your child though. Oh, and try looking on ebay.
We used it with Vista and it worked fine. It's actually very easy for kids to navigate. I loaded it up - set up the schedule and that was it pretty much. You don't need internet - but there are some links that help "extend" the lesson and explain more - neither one of my kids used it that way. What they do is READ the assignment (which is on the screen), watch videos on it.... sometimes there are games.... and then answer the questions. It will automatically grade it and you as the teacher can set up how many times they can try and answer it (I chose 1x for True/False and 4x for others for my 7th grader and ALexis had unlimited times to try except T/F) However, I think both my kids are more "want books in hand" type kids and we JUST stopped using it - except for math which Alexis is still deciding if she wants to use or not.
I plan on using it in the 10/11 school year for mine. I had tried it out before, but it was 3rd grade and ds was 1st, so obviously it didn't work out for us at that time. But I loved it, he loved it, and it was something I knew I'd like to eventually come back to. I'm hoping to use it so that I can spend the time they're doing those 5 basics to do some work of my own. Then we'll have time afterward to do the fun stuff together, music, art, home ec (they both want to learn sewing), etc. ps...I think the only thing you do on your end is set up ahead of time what you want them to do each day, then at the end of the day you take a couple of minutes to look over it. Or maybe you can do that at the end of the week? I think you can even set up how much they have to get correct before they can move on.
we have used it in part or ful for 6 years now. IT works great with vista, no problems. you have a choice to load it up with complete curric on computer or do it by cd each time. On main computer I did whole thing, but on lap top cd. Only because I wanted the space for other things. You can do either way though. As for the kids enjoying it, everything but math is enjoyed on it by my kids, ds even kinda likes it on math, but there are some problems that take for ever to type out that would have been done in a second if you had written it. For cases like this we are planning now to print it out. you can do this and grade it yourself or print it out, then teacher-mom- enter in the answers for each according to what hte kids have written. It will mean a bit of work on your part but considering with SOS there is so little for the teacher to do it is doable for me. I had planned to do this for all the tests so they have scratch paper but forget often. they get ahead of me on some days and I dont get back to do the 'teacher check' work which is minimal but does exist. Thats about it for cons, Pros they have the video teacher things, that help. They do have links on the math work that help too! AND the timeline! no cuting or pasting just click and there they have it! I was going to do a history time line with MOH this year but ditched it, I am going to use the SOS timeline instead!
we tried grade 5 language arts with ds. he hated it....boring. Said the games were lame etc. Definately not a good match for us. Which if I had thought about it, could have figured out. He is an auditory & hands on learner. SOS was neither. But it seemed so easy....sigh!
I've never tried SOS, although it sounded very interesting when it came out. Quite frankly, though, I might use it for one maybe two subjects, but I wouldn't want to spend that much screen time or have my child doing ALL the work on screen. I can spend hours here, or doing some research I"m interested in, all day long and half the night, but I don't know if doing lessons that way would be wonderful.
We tried it out this year for 8th grade History, LA, and Science. Ds13 likes the science a lot. The experiments are built in videos if you don't want to set them up yourself. History is his favorite subject and SOS just wasn't "doing it" for him. I am trying out some relevent historical fiction and non-fiction instead, combined with DVD's and TV programs. He is getting so much more out of what we are doing now in history. He dislikes LA no matter what method, so it's hard to compare that for SOS to any other program. The pros we have found: * minimal prep time * teacher weights the types of assignments (tests count for more %, etc.) * you can go back in when the child has done poorly and reassign or do it with them to see if they actually have comprehension or not * program keeps excellent track of performance and can give you a printable report card * you can use a calendar that gives due dates for assignment or you can shut the feature off * program allows you to create your own subjects, assignment and tests if you would like it to keep track of grades for a curriculum that isn't on SOS * program allows student to highlight in various colors the text for quick reference later The cons we have found: * program is computerized so spelling/tense needs to be spot on or the question will be counted incorrect * since it is on a computer, it isn't always easy to find information again that you need if you are reviewing multiple lessons at a time. * material can be "dry" for kids who prefer multiple ways to learn new information. * sitting in front of a computer screen for several hours a day is not good for anyone, especially if you have Tourette's Syndrome, like my son. All in all, I think it would be wonderful if it worked out for us to use this for high school. Transcripts would be so incredibley easy. Ds13 is my oldest. I'm not sure that I will be keeping the 8th grade SOS for dd to use later. She is much more hands-on and needs my instruction in the way that I know she will understand it. Hope this helps!
Thank you for all your replies. I am a bit concerned about how much computer time would be involved. I am thinking maybe even one or two subjects, which would give me more time with my son as he really needs me available and there is a constant battle for mom in my house at the moment unless he is getting screen time (tv and pc) and I am not liking that at all. Currently, I spend my entire weekend getting assignments ready, locating resources, etc leaving no time for family time and then during the week outside of my daughters 1 hour of ALEKS each day, I have to teach. While I teach her, my son plays educational pc games or watches pbs or discovery kids which is not good for him with the amount of time he spends. He actually told someone the other day that he watches tv for school when asked what we do each day. Of course we do other stuff but it has been the majority of his day lately as he is unable to work independently and my daughter who should be able to do so just doesnt seem to be able to except for when the pc is involved. Any other suggestions for curriculum that could be done somewhat independently? What I am hoping for is little planning so I have weekends to actually spend with my family and about 15-30 minutes average instruction per subject with maybe a few subjects that can be 90% independent.
My kids both liked doing ACE's workbooks. (SOS publisher--Alpha Omega--makes workbooks in the same manner). They are designed for the student to set goals for what needs to be completed each week/day. My kids, even as young as 7 years old were able and eager to get out their work for the day and pretty much complete it themselves, except for the few times my youngest needed some explanation. I'm considering them again for high school since everything is designed for student-led learning and the teacher has very little, if any, prep work.
