Anyone using Apologia for Physical Science?

The quiz is now available for Module 7. This one was more interesting to put together because I included some questions about recognizing types of cloud from pictures of them.

 

A milestone event: I've finished the quiz for Module 8. As you probably know if you use Apologia, the first 8 modules in a book represent a unit and the second 8 modules represent a different unit. In other words, by completing 8 quizzes, I'm ready to put together a self-study, a guided study, and a full-blown online course. I hope to publish these within the next couple of days.

Anyway, if you'd like to try out the quiz for Module #8 of the Physical Science book, use the same link, user name, and password as before.

 

Thanks Steve! My son has been doing them as we finish each module. It has definately helped reinforce it. He likes taking them before taking his test. We didn't start apologia until after Christmas so we are only on module 3. You have done a great job. Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

I don't know if I can convince my son to use this, but I have checked it out and I like the way it works, especially if you get it wrong. I think knowing where you went wrong helps you correct your mistakes, rather than just getting a mark and no explanation.

 

That's good to hear - thank you! It's taken me an age to create 8 quizzes, because I added 200 questions to each quiz, and each question has a hint (for when you take a practice attempt) and a full explanation that refers back to the textbook. Personally, I do think this will help each child to understand the material thoroughly - because they'll see a different set of questions on every attempt. Hopefully, all the effort will be worth it.

I'm partway through creating the self-study. Basically, I'm adding all the experiments as tasks to be completed during the lessons. Each lesson in the self-study will include the tasks and the quiz for one module. Grading will be automatic, so no instructor is needed.

After that, I'll add the student manual tests provided by Apologia and make one of the experiments a project in each lesson - which means students must submit a written report for that experiment. By adding these things, I'll have a guided study in which the parent (or a teacher) can guide the student and grade the test and project.

The final step will be to add discussion forums with seed questions so students can interact and discuss in the online classroom and the instructor can push them deeper and deeper into the subject. I'll also make some of the experiments (e.g., monitoring the weather) team projects so that students can learn to work together in teams. This will be the online course version in which students progress together according to a fixed schedule. One or more parents will need to act as teachers for the class.

My hope is that this first course will deliver value so I can afford to pay someone else to convert other Apologia books into similar online courses and studies.

 

More progress. I've created a self-study, and you're quite welcome to sign your child up to take it. For the moment, there's no charge - and I'll keep this offer open to Homeschool Spot members who register a child before the end of June (regardless of when your student completes the study). Of course, you'll need to have the "Exploring Creation with Physical Science, 2nd edition" textbook from Apologia or the lessons won't make much sense.

To take the study, you will need to create a member account (as opposed to an educator account) at the system. Go to www.sharedstudy.com and click on the 'Member Sign Up' tab on the left. Follow the instructions to create an account (which costs nothing). I haven't updated the Terms of Use or the Privacy Rules, so please excuse what's there.

Once you're logged in, select the Study tab and click on the 'New' icon (the page with the turned corner). You should see Physical Science Part I. Sign up and you'll be able to access the first lesson. The second lesson can be accessed once all the activities in the first lesson are complete, and so on. There are eight lessons in the study, corresponding to the first eight modules in the book.

Apologia recommends two weeks to complete each lesson. I've set the time-out to be 30 days, which means the student must complete each lesson in less than 30 days or they are deemed to have abandoned the study. The only items that contribute to the student's grade are the eight quizzes (one per lesson). The student can take as many practice attempts as they like. The only one that counts is the graded attempt.

I shall start work tomorrow on the guided study, which will allow you the parent to guide your student through the study. I shall add the module tests, and you'll need to grade your student's work (I will include all the right answers, though, to make the grading process simple). Also, I'll require students to write up a report for one experiment in each module, and you'll need to grade that as well. I'll post another note when this version is complete.

 

Where do I find the Apologia Yahoo Group? I need help in trying to figure out how to help my daughter prepare and study for tests.

 

We'll be starting module #2 next week. I'll check out your link. =)

 

I didn't use any of the yahoo groups but I did use Steve's quizzes and they were a big help. My son would do them before he took the test. I also followed Donna Young's schedule. Her schedules are free on her website.