I see. From the links that Nellie gave us earlier in this thread, we watched a sample video lesson in geometry from both TT and Video Text. Video Text featured a person teaching as well as manipulatives. Was this your impression of it? It looked like TT was mostly an illustrated version of the student workbook--words and examples but not the view of the teacher, at least in the lesson we watched. This may be exactly suited to some students. For our auditory learner, however, I think seeing and hearing the person teach will keep the attention longer than mainly seeing words on the screen and then similar words in a workbook. (I know you won't need my reasoning, because your children are all good readers, but maybe someone else reading this will.)
Prairie---It is so funny that you say that. My dd watched the DIVE video companion for Saxon, which has real people and the very reason she didn't like it was because it had real people. I guess that's why there are so many options out there.
what you see on the computer of TT is a chalk board, the teacher talks and moves the cursor around writing out the problems, etc. You don't see the teacher just the cursor moving and writing everything and circling things. My kids think it's more boring watching an actual person talk on the tv.
momothem -we posted at the same time and said the same thing! Yep, real people aren't liked around here. LOLOLOL
We think TT is much more lively and wonderful Even without actually seeing the person talk. Watching that cursor move around the screen and stuff is amusing.
I know what you mean. I, as a student, probably wouldn't have liked either one! Just give me the book, without the lecture, and I'll cut right to the heart of the problem, was the way I felt through most of my school years. But we're working with a young man here, who gets glassy-eyed when he sees page after page of (what to him are) mostly meaningless symbols (words). It's a challenge, because his twin sister is an avid reader! It'll be interesting, as the year progresses, and if we all go in the routes we're contemplating, to check back with each other and see if we each found what works for our children. (This is a slight deviation from the main topic here, but twin sister was the one who got "glassy-eyed" in science when we studied steam engines and then internal combustion and said boy not only waxed eloquent but produced a working model. He reconditions old cars for resale and can compete with the men in mechanics. So dd and I basically let him teach several lessons there. I try to put our various gifts and limitations into perspective. OK thanks for letting me share. Back to math.)
Prairie, if one is a visual learner and one auditory, you might try TT. There's a textbook that explains things, plus there's the lecture CD. Your reader can use the book to learn the info, while your auditory can get the same stuff from the lecture. That way you can cover both bases with just one program. One reason Carl didn't want to go with VT was that it did NOT have a textbook.
Really? And you still think TT is more "lively?" Well, I'm getting the VT at half-priced used and will start with only the first "module," so I won't feel too badly if we need to reconsider. Maybe I'll go back to the sites you gave us and look at a few more lessons. I surely do appreciate all the resources you dig up for us to help us make informed decisions, Nellie!
Jackie, we must have been posting at nearly the same time. Your idea makes a lot of sense. We may start math early so that if we decide to make major changes, (like changing to TT) we'll still have something in place by fall. I'm hoping that since dd was the one who went to the VT workshop at our state conference and asked if we could consider it, that her "ownership" in the idea will help motivate her for the long run. People are funny like that--if it's "my" idea, I just might try a little harder to make it work! Like I told Nellie, I'll go back to the sites and watch a few more lessons. Who knows? I may soon be looking for a used TT geometry program! This is part of what makes hs fun for me. Thanks for your input!
Jackie, There IS a textbook! What does he consider a textbook? We have used VT for my son for 2 years, and there's a textbook (paperback, but non-consumable, since you do the work on lined or graph paper) with all the problems in it that he works from.
Then we've got some confusion! Is it one that explains things, or more of a workbook? He talked with a representative, and was given the impression that it was a workbook only, that you had to watch the videos to get the instruction. Is that wrong?
I have been viewing you two talk about TT and looked at thier sight and am seriously considering that instead of VT, for Geometry... I like how step by step it shows you the work... I wont order mine till fall because we are still in Algerbra1, took a break for some fun camping and then swim lessons and Free baseball, I think I am geting in all my PE for the next year! LOl, Anyway I will be listening to this thread so I can learn the differences taht Deena has found and why one is better than the othere?
Okay, I see what he's saying. But I think it's more than that. Here's what the Student WorkText has for each lesson: the objective, important terms and their meanings, and a good amount of examples, where they give a problem and work through it step by step to the solution, THEN they have the exercises that they are to work through. It's actually pretty good, I think! I am NOT a math person though, so your dh and my dh would see it differently than me, I'm sure! (My dh loves math, but he doesn't teach it in any school but our homeschool.) Anyway, does that sound like what he would consider a textbook? It certainly is not like Saxon with a million billion things to do before you even get to the actual exercises! But I do like those examples they work through step by step!
Might be. The impression he was given is that the videos were the major part of learning. He is aa visual, rather than an auditory, learner. And he sometimes expects all his family to learn the same way. (And yes, we've had "discussions" on this topic time and time again :roll: .) So the idea of not having a "book to read" really bugs him. With TT, since you've got both, I think it will satisfy BOTH my auditory and visual learner. I'm just glad he finally realized that I REALLY needed something more than the old, discarded textbooks! They're fine books IF I knew what they were talking about in the first place, or if I had a REAL math genius who could sit down, read it and teach herself (as DH did when he was that age!).
