cricket1178 Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 I just got my catalog in the mail and see that they are 70% off right now. They are DVD courses, but are there any books used? If it is just DVDs, then did you use anything else? I'm looking at the World History DVDs, Albebra II, and Biology. Please share how you have used these or any other information you know about them. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 We have enjoyed the Teaching Co. DVDs. You don't need text books to go along with them. They are not necessarily meant to be a complete high school course, but you could use them as a base and expand them to be worth a credit of half credit, or use them alongside another program. Many of the DVD sets come with a booklet that contains additional resource suggestions that go along with the lessons. You could get those books and expand the topic accordingly. Others come with a booklet that contains outlines, discussion questions and essay questions, if you want to use those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 As an adult learner, I think The Teaching Company is a great resource! Just remember ALL their courses go on sale at least once a year. Only a few times have I seen all their courses on sale at the same time. If you see a course not on sale, you can wait until it does go on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 We used the Biology ones as supplemental lectures during the year and dd watched them straight through again the month before the Ap test. The lectures went in a different order than the book we were using, so I would really only pick certain ones that went along with some of the more difficult topics. The lectures cover the same topics that any college level book covers. You could treat the lectures like classroom lectures and read a corresponding chapter in whatever book you are using beforehand, then watch the lectures (while taking notes) and then line up some extra activities or labs on your own. IMO, even if you are not prepping for AP, the lectures are worthwhile. However, due to the expense (even at 70% off), if you are just doing HS-level Bio, something like hippocampus.org would work well, also. DD also began using A Brief History of the World about a month before the AP test to serve as a a review along with the prep books. it was a good overview for review, but never really had time to get into anything deeply, so would have been inadequate on its own (for AP purposes) (imo:D). If this is the one that you are wanting to use, I would suggest the videos as opposed to the audio lectures because, well, I found them difficult to listen to (even though dd was fine). But I also can't listen to an audio book without falling asleep 30 seconds into it! What I REALLY wish was that we had decided to do a 4-year cycle. Then we could have watched all of those ancient and medieval ones that I hear such great things about. Unfortunately, I do not think there are enough hours in the day to watch them all even over an entire year! I havent used a math one yet, we have both Calculus ones and a couple of Physics ones available to us, but I cannot imagine we will have time to watch them during the year :( If only we could have one extra hour each day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolanda in Mass Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Before you spend a dime, check your library. Our library system has a ton of them. I'm sure other systems around the country are every bit as good. You don't have to spend any money to enjoy them. Pair them with History Channel or PBS DVD's, get some books, also available through the library, and all you've spent is money on gas! Yolanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket1178 Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Thanks, everybody. This is all good information and exactly what I needed to know. Thanks, yolanda. I'll try our library first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouzel Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Beyond just checking your library to see what is on the shelf, remember that you may be able to request them through an interlibrary loan. This is what I do when the local library doesn't have a specific course. If you want to do the course slowly, you may want to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatinTea Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 One other thing, if you haven't yet, register at their site. They will send you a lot of short term sales all through the year. I finally figured this out last month and have been happily receiving many notices already. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 We have found that some are better than others. We LOVED A History of European Art. The professor was engaging, and the course was well organized. We were sad when it ended. :) We DESPISED Age of Henry VIII. The professor was mind-numbingly boring. He used almost no visuals, which was frustrating as he literally described a painting or the map of a battle - and didn't give us a visual! We watched the first few videos and gave up. I was going to tell you to check the reviews before ordering - but I did that for the Henry course, and the average rating is 5 stars. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Before you spend a dime, check your library. Our library system has a ton of them. I'm sure other systems around the country are every bit as good. You don't have to spend any money to enjoy them. Pair them with History Channel or PBS DVD's, get some books, also available through the library, and all you've spent is money on gas! Yolanda :iagree: We've been able to get quite a few from the library as well. Also, if you don't mind VHS, you can get these used for a pretty low price. Check ebay--and I've also bought a few sets here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I was going to tell you to check the reviews before ordering - but I did that for the Henry course, and the average rating is 5 stars. :confused: :iagree::iagree::iagree: Yes, the reviews are VERY helpful!!!!!!!! Before you make the investment you should check them out. There are some courses that move slowly, have very few visuals, or an instructor who is 'boring' or has a distracting accent, etc. This info is usually pretty easy to find out if you read the reviews on their site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 My ds really like Timothy Taylor's Economics DVD series. He used those in an AP class and looked forward to watching them. We would highly recommend you "bookmark" those for later. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 We have enjoyed several history courses by Dr. Rufus Fears - a great storyteller. The music courses by Dr. Greenberg are wonderful. The biology course by Dr. Norwicki is great although very detailed. Foundations of Western Civilization - Dr. Noble - a little more dry than some of the others mentioned but very good. Some courses lend themselves to listening format (mp3) which have the added advantage of no shipping fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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