eryn7997 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I find myself doing biology at home next year vs doing it at a tutorial class. My plan at the moment is to stick with apologia. Having said that, I can't find many people who have used the instructional DVDs. I'm looking for an opinion on those. Is it worth the extra cost to buy them? Or did you find yourself not using them after a bit? I'm not a science person at all so I was wondering if the content of the DVDs really added a lot to the class. Thanks for anything you can share :-) Eryn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistachio mom Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I used these last year for reinforcement. I did buy them since I have younger children who will use them. The last time I checked the Apologia website, the video option (at least for Chemistry) was only available through a renting type of situation for the DVD's. Also available was an online access to the video clips for a fee. Since I wanted to buy due to limited bandwidth, this was not an option to me. You might want to re-check though. Maybe the biology videos are still available to buy. About the content: The teacher is great. She reviews and teaches through each section in the book. She is on video sometimes talking, other times, her voice is heard as the viewer sees diagrams and other animations. This type of teaching made the concepts very clear! All experiments are on video. This was a help to us especially for viewing a dissection before actually doing it. I think the 150ish price I paid is worth the videos since now I own them and can use them for you younger children. The reinforcement to my teaching was so helpful! At the cost of online classes and coop classes, the price of the videos - whether to own or "rent" is a good investment. I used these videos throughout most of the book, except the really easy sections. For my non-science daughter, it was helpful to have this teaching option. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Looks like the Biology dvd is still available for purchase. http://www.apologia.com/biology/416-biology-video-instruction-dvd.html and I don't know anything about it or the "recorded" classes for rental.The rentals seem to be different part of website with the online academy. I don't remember them being around when my oldest did apologia biology, so I've never had them. We read the text. If needed more help found other things like blogs and youtube stuff. so I have no help on the dvd. Just wanted to find the link to the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) Dd just finished the course in May, and did use the DVDs. That said, we petered off on doing the labs fairly quick. She ended up doing the Biology Lab Intensive with HIScience instead when it was offered in Houston. That let her check off the lab portion. I think the DVDs are worth the money (they should resell easily and help you recoup). The textbook is a LOT of reading, so you can use the videos in spots where you want to be brief and cut some text reading out. It's a dense book to get through completely in a school year, at least in our experience. The instructor is engaging and the videos are well done. I would recommend them if you have $$ for them in your budget. Edited July 17, 2017 by texasmom33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xanderlily Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 We've used the dvds this year & loved them!! I can't say enough good things about them. My son does well just reading the text & answering questions, but I'm visual & if I was taking the class, the dvd would be what kept me engaged. Idk if you saw already, but the Apologia website has sample videos. Some show her on location, the computer animations explaining processes & diagrams were particularly helpful, then of course, she does the labs. We were able to purchased them used, which is the only reason I got them at the time, but now I plan to buy them for our remaining Apologia courses, and I won't mind at all paying full price. 👠Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAIMOM Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 We used them two years ago with great success. My Dd enjoyed the fact she could follow along in the book and did not have to do the long readings as the instructor covered all the topics. The dvds made the year not painful at all. I cannot say enough good about them. I was very happy with my decision to purchase them. I think I got them used online for a little less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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