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Scholars Online Biology opinions needed


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I am seriously considering this class for my dd14 next year. I would appreciate some feedback on the class from those of you who have experience with it.

 

Thanks

Me too!!! My child hasn't taken a course yet, but I have been very impressed w/the communication from the teacher when I had questions abt. a lit class -- thorough, warm, human, & clearly quite knowledgeable.

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My dd took biology. A different instructor teaches Lit; he is her husband.

 

The course work is very demanding. My dd studied at least 1-2hrs/day (this includes class time) and about 6 hrs on weekends studying for tests. The teacher has high expectations and hard, diligent work is required to succeed. Essays were a weekly assignment, which I appreciated. She also taught them to write proper lab reports which were almost weekly. Labs took us about 2hrs/week.

 

The text is a college non-biology major textbook. It is VERY in depth. It goes far beyond the typical high school biology book. The tests are multiple choice and most questions are very specific and can be on small details mentioned in the text, so a lot of studying was needed for her to get a good grade.

 

When we took the class the teacher also had a real job and taught several classes. Grading was VERY slow. Essays weren't graded for weeks, as well as lab reports. Multiple choice tests were computer scored and grading was instant for those. 2 term papers were written. Final grades were to be given up to a couple months after the course was completed, but I asked if ours could be done sooner since we have to turn in grades to a cover school and the teacher did do this for us.

 

The teacher is very knowledgable and passionate about her subject. The class format moves slowly in that it is text only and sometimes 10 minutes would pass between posts.

 

My dd learned a tremendous amount in this class. She did well on the AP exam without taking biology prior to this AP class. She was frustrated by a few factors in the class, but this made her try harder in order to prove herself. She still remembers much of what she has learned.

 

This class is ONLY for someone who is willing to put in an extreme amount of effort.

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We don't have experience with the biology course, but my son is taking AP physics B from the same teacher. While my son seems to like her, her communication is TERRIBLE. She has not graded any of my son's homework (problems, labs) since last November. It has been 8 weeks since he took the mid-term exam and she only graded half of it. I have no idea if my son is acing this course or failing. She has not responded to my several emails asking for feedback. After the Christmas holidays, she has not been organized. Many of the web lectures have not been posted in a timely manner and the specific homework assignments have not been posted until the day they are due (and these problem sets take at least 2 hours to do.) I have no idea if my son has even a fighting chance at passing the AP exam. I will have to start coaching him on the AP exam now since she doesn't seem to be working on this portion with them, even though she has a separate meeting time for the students signed up as AP. She has not laid out a clear grading rubric so I have no idea what anything is worth.

 

While the content of the course is good, I am fed up with the lack of organization. I don't think we will be taking anything from them again.

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Well, it doesn't sound like this is the class for us. My dd and I would be very discouraged with the lack of organization and the wait for the grades. My biology quest continues...

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It is greatly appreciated.

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I have a friend whose son took it this year and finally dropped it. her and I went different ways as we took the Apologia Academy online biology course and she went with scholars.

 

She was shocked to learn recently that my daughter actually sees pictures and hears the teacher speaking, not just sitting there reading black and white text, the teacher he is presenting visual material. I guess they sell big on this but I know I would not do well in such an environment. Sitting there for ten minutes between posts yikes!

 

I was shocked to hear about the grading. We have always gotten papers and test back within days - a week was the most.

 

I don't know how the child can evalute how they are doing without knowing for months if they passed a test. I felt bad for her and having to drop the class. But yes, it seems that from what others have said here, it is true.

 

Kathy

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You might want to try VP Scholars Academy for bio.

 

My dh insists on secular science books. It seems that the Apologia Biology book is used for most of the online courses. The Campbell book used by SO was the big draw. It was the only online course that I have found that doesn't use the Apologia book.

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Would an AP class be a possibility for your daughter? I see that PA Homeschoolers uses Biology 8th Edition by Campbell (ISBN 0321543254).

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I think an AP class would be too much for her next year. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

I do have the Kolbe lesson plans for Biology. I may have to end up using them. I was just really hoping I could find a hs level, secular textbook using, online class to help me out next year. I guess that was too much to hope for.

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from Dr. Christe two years ago. We signed up for the AP option as well. Were there problems with the class? Absolutely; many of the problems already mentioned in other posts. However, I will say that my dd made a 4 on the AP exam (and a 780 on the SAT-Bio). She learned a lot about Biology. The quality of the teaching was excellent. My biggest gripe about the class was that the regular class was not slated to finish the textbook until AFTER the AP exam. I had to spend extra time with dd helping her work ahead of the class after the Christmas break so she could finish the textbook and have time for review before the AP test. We did it and she scored high on the test. Dr. Christe gave extra time (over the summer) to complete the labs that we put on hold while reviewing.

 

Despite the problems with the class I was pleased with the quality of instruction. I have signed my ds up for a class with her next year. I'm going into this with my eyes wide open, though, so I know what to expect.

 

Both dc have taken several classes with SO over the years and I will say that the only class I had a problem with was the Biology class. Their Literature classes are outstanding and my dc have taken Latin and History with them as well.

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  • 1 month later...

GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

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My dd took biology. A different instructor teaches Lit; he is her husband.

 

The course work is very demanding. My dd studied at least 1-2hrs/day (this includes class time) and about 6 hrs on weekends studying for tests. The teacher has high expectations and hard, diligent work is required to succeed. Essays were a weekly assignment, which I appreciated. She also taught them to write proper lab reports which were almost weekly. Labs took us about 2hrs/week.

 

The text is a college non-biology major textbook. It is VERY in depth. It goes far beyond the typical high school biology book. The tests are multiple choice and most questions are very specific and can be on small details mentioned in the text, so a lot of studying was needed for her to get a good grade.

 

When we took the class the teacher also had a real job and taught several classes. Grading was VERY slow. Essays weren't graded for weeks, as well as lab reports. Multiple choice tests were computer scored and grading was instant for those. 2 term papers were written. Final grades were to be given up to a couple months after the course was completed, but I asked if ours could be done sooner since we have to turn in grades to a cover school and the teacher did do this for us.

 

The teacher is very knowledgeable and passionate about her subject. The class format moves slowly in that it is text only and sometimes 10 minutes would pass between posts.

 

My dd learned a tremendous amount in this class. She did well on the AP exam without taking biology prior to this AP class. She was frustrated by a few factors in the class, but this made her try harder in order to prove herself. She still remembers much of what she has learned.

 

This class is ONLY for someone who is willing to put in an extreme amount of effort.

 

My dd was in the same class as Michelle's. We were extremely frustrated by the slowness of grading. My dd didn't have some grades from the 1st semester until after the end of the 2nd! It is really hard to gauge how you are doing in a class if your feedback is so incredibly delayed.

 

The teacher is knowledgeable, but she was not very accessible. If she had questions, it could take forever to respond. My dd is now standing behind me and she says that the teacher is knowledgeable but very opinionated and not open to discussions with views opposing her own.

 

My dd loves school. She always asks for harder courses and for challenging materials. SO biology was a class she really disliked. It is the only class I can ever remember her saying that about.

 

Wow.......I'm speechless! I have edited my response b/c of Ellen's post!

Edited by 8FillTheHeart
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I think an AP class would be too much for her next year. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

I do have the Kolbe lesson plans for Biology. I may have to end up using them. I was just really hoping I could find a hs level, secular textbook using, online class to help me out next year. I guess that was too much to hope for.

 

It's not an online class but we plan to use DIVE biology CDs next year with Campbell Biology book. He has a syllabus for it. DIVE is Christian but I chose the Campbell book because I agree with your DH that the secular science books are more challenging than the Apologia books.

 

Heather

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GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

 

 

Oh how awful. I am so sorry someone did that to you. I had something similar happen to me from the K-8 board when I was reported to Classical Conversations for answering some questions. Mine wasn't even negative but even if it had been I stand by my right to say them. I was disgusted that people take true comments and report them as if we are not allowed to have them and should only be promoting organizations rather than sharing the truth with people looking for experiences before plunking down their hard earned money.

:grouphug:

 

 

Heather

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GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

 

Wow, Ellen. That makes me sick! I just edited my post b/c mine made it very clear who we were. Not that is still doesn't simply b/c of the dynamics of that class, but goodness.....I really am speechless.

 

If SO can't grade papers appropriately, they should expect people to share that info. Gosh.....I can only imagine what MUS and TT posts have been forwarded to those publishers!

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Oh how awful. I am so sorry someone did that to you. I had something similar happen to me from the K-8 board when I was reported to Classical Conversations for answering some questions. Mine wasn't even negative but even if it had been I stand by my right to say them. I was disgusted that people take true comments and report them as if we are not allowed to have them and should only be promoting organizations rather than sharing the truth with people looking for experiences before plunking down their hard earned money.

:grouphug:

:iagree: Why would people do that? I think that's very rude! :glare:
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GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

 

I am appalled that someone used your name with Dr. McMenome. I am very sorry that happened. I have truly appreciated all the honesty in your posts. You ladies have saved my dd and me a great deal of frustration, not to mention money. Thank you all for your reviews.

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It's not an online class but we plan to use DIVE biology CDs next year with Campbell Biology book. He has a syllabus for it. DIVE is Christian but I chose the Campbell book because I agree with your DH that the secular science books are more challenging than the Apologia books.

 

Heather

 

Thanks for this suggestion. I will check it out.

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GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

 

 

Oooh. NOT good.

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I can't believe that somebody shared your post with Dr. McM. It is just wrong on so many levels! So many of us have benefitted from the reviews on this board, both positive & negative. Whoever forwarded your review did a disservice to everyone on this board.

 

My daughter is currently taking her 1st SO class, and there are definitely pro's & con's.

 

Ellen, I hope your son is not unfairly penalized over this situation. Hopefully, Dr. McM will work on improving SO's timeliness standards rather than shooting the messenger!

 

Nancy

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Ellen, I hope your son is not unfairly penalized over this situation. Hopefully, Dr. McM will work on improving SO's timeliness standards rather than shooting the messenger!

 

Nancy

 

I hope so too Ellen. We had problems with slow grading (and other issues) with an online Latin class we took this year. It really does matter. When the students don't get their work graded on time they don't know if they are misunderstanding something and can keep making the same mistakes. Hopefully they will take it as constructive criticism.

 

Heather

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My son had a great experience with Dr. Christe at Scholarsonline.org over two years of class. I have posted about this several times before, so hesitated to comment earlier, but she did a GREAT job. We did not have a problem that I can recall about slow feedback.

 

She inspired such a love of science that really boosted his knowledge at a critical phase of development. For our family, she was the professional teacher who really inspired him. I know he aced the science section of the EXPLORE test right after her class.

 

Pat

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My son had a great experience with Dr. Christe at Scholarsonline.org over two years of class. I have posted about this several times before, so hesitated to comment earlier, but she did a GREAT job. We did not have a problem that I can recall about slow feedback.

 

 

Pat

 

Pat, I am glad you had a good experience with her. I think Dr. Christe is a good teacher. It is feedback like yours that convinced me to sign my son up for class.

 

However, we are having difficulty with timely communication. I still don't understand her grading system and she has not graded one of the 16 labs my son has turned in. So, my son could be doing a really inferior job and not know it in time to be able to correct it.

 

BTW, I really don't think Dr. Christe is the type to grade in a capricious manner. It was just that her email was so defensive and not at all apologetic (at least, not that was discernable via email.)

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For shame. Really. I use this board for honest reviews and opinions of the few resources that are out there for me to consider. If I don't think I can get them, I will not waste my time to come here. The boards will become useless, thanks to this kind of behavior. Shameful beyond belief.

 

So sorry this happened to you, Ellen.

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GEE, thanks to the person who ratted me out to Dr. McMenome at Scholars Online and forwarded my review! The least you could have done was contact me before sending it on. I don't feel safe posting honest opinions here anymore. I hope I don't have to worry about capricious grading on top of the freak out of preparing my stressed out son for his AP exam next week.

 

I stand by my review.

 

Wow - that blows my mind. How and why would someone contact the teacher? Even if that person were trying to help you...for shame. That person should have contacted you first.

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For shame. Really. I use this board for honest reviews and opinions of the few resources that are out there for me to consider. If I don't think I can get them, I will not waste my time to come here. The boards will become useless, thanks to this kind of behavior. Shameful beyond belief.

 

So sorry this happened to you, Ellen.

:iagree:

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