Ibbygirl Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hello ladies (and gents) I have been wondering which way to go next year for Algebra. I have heard good things about Jacobs and I read somewhere on another thread about Kinetic books. I googled it and found a link and it looks very interesting but I am wondering if I can get some feedback from folks who have actually used this program. I would like to know what are your likes and dislikes and what are the pros and cons to this type of course. Also, how clear is the teaching method? I know my dd would need very good clear instructions to learn. I like the visual aspect of it. I think that that would appeal to my dd, but I wonder how the coursework itself is. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks to all who reply. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 My Aspie did very well with this program. If there is any possible way to misinterpret instructions, she will find it. There were a few problems that she misunderstood and they actually changed the wording after I sent an email to them. The teaching is quite clear. My dd was using both Kinetic Books and Jacobs for one full year. She did chapter 1 in KB, then chpater 1 in Jacobs, and kept alternating like that. She liked the immediate feedback on the practice problems in KB. That kept her from thinking she knew what she was supposed to do when she really didn't. We got to exponents in Jacobs before we got to them in KB (chapter 8 in Jacobs, but chapter 9 in KB). After she did an entire lesson incorrectly in Jacobs (she thought she had it down when I went over the lesson with her), she decided that she'd rather cover topics in KB first. Then she decided to drop Jacobs altogether. I had to go over the Jacobs lessons with her and work through some of the set 2 problems (sets 2 and 3 were the same problems, just with different numbers/equations/graphs), but I rarely had to do that with Kinetic Books. KB was almost entirely independent. Jacobs was independent for my oldest, but she's not afraid of making mistakes, my middle is. KB has a trial. It comes in two different forms. They have the first chapter of Algebra I in one spot. In another they have a 3-week trial that has Algebra I, Algebra II, and their calculus-based physics. I planned to use their physics program until I did the trial. I love their Algebra programs (middle has done their Algebra I and oldest has done their Algebra II), but I didn't like the way their Physics programs were set up. They're completely different. KB doesn't have a solution manual (but neither does Jacobs). Practice problems give immediate feedback and often have stepped help that will walk you through to the solution one step at a time. The end of unit problems are to be done with pencil and paper. I do wish it was possible to print that page rather than have to sit at the computer and read each problem off the screen. Getting the paper copy of the text would take care of that. The answers are provided only for the odd-numbered end of unit problems, so I only assigned the odds. Sometimes I even cut it down to every-other-odd. KB isn't divided up into lessons like Jacobs. I ended up assigning an amount of time rather than an amount of work. My dd spent two full years on it, but she did the first 7 chapters of Jacobs along with the first half of KB. She did 40 minutes each day at first, but I cut that down to 30 minutes when it got much more difficult in the 2nd half. KB had all the content in Jacobs and then had more, so it's definitely rigorous enough. If they had a geometry or precalculus program, I'd be using it this year too. My middle dd is anxious to get back to KB for Algebra II. She really likes the way their programs work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I've been very interested in KB as well ~ thank you so much for that excellent review, Angie. It was extremely helpful! Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 My Aspie did very well with this program. If there is any possible way to misinterpret instructions, she will find it. There were a few problems that she misunderstood and they actually changed the wording after I sent an email to them. The teaching is quite clear. My dd was using both Kinetic Books and Jacobs for one full year. She did chapter 1 in KB, then chpater 1 in Jacobs, and kept alternating like that. She liked the immediate feedback on the practice problems in KB. That kept her from thinking she knew what she was supposed to do when she really didn't. We got to exponents in Jacobs before we got to them in KB (chapter 8 in Jacobs, but chapter 9 in KB). After she did an entire lesson incorrectly in Jacobs (she thought she had it down when I went over the lesson with her), she decided that she'd rather cover topics in KB first. Then she decided to drop Jacobs altogether. I had to go over the Jacobs lessons with her and work through some of the set 2 problems (sets 2 and 3 were the same problems, just with different numbers/equations/graphs), but I rarely had to do that with Kinetic Books. KB was almost entirely independent. Jacobs was independent for my oldest, but she's not afraid of making mistakes, my middle is. KB has a trial. It comes in two different forms. They have the first chapter of Algebra I in one spot. In another they have a 3-week trial that has Algebra I, Algebra II, and their calculus-based physics. I planned to use their physics program until I did the trial. I love their Algebra programs (middle has done their Algebra I and oldest has done their Algebra II), but I didn't like the way their Physics programs were set up. They're completely different. KB doesn't have a solution manual (but neither does Jacobs). Practice problems give immediate feedback and often have stepped help that will walk you through to the solution one step at a time. The end of unit problems are to be done with pencil and paper. I do wish it was possible to print that page rather than have to sit at the computer and read each problem off the screen. Getting the paper copy of the text would take care of that. The answers are provided only for the odd-numbered end of unit problems, so I only assigned the odds. Sometimes I even cut it down to every-other-odd. KB isn't divided up into lessons like Jacobs. I ended up assigning an amount of time rather than an amount of work. My dd spent two full years on it, but she did the first 7 chapters of Jacobs along with the first half of KB. She did 40 minutes each day at first, but I cut that down to 30 minutes when it got much more difficult in the 2nd half. KB had all the content in Jacobs and then had more, so it's definitely rigorous enough. If they had a geometry or precalculus program, I'd be using it this year too. My middle dd is anxious to get back to KB for Algebra II. She really likes the way their programs work. Oh thank you so much Angie! That's fantastic! :) So if you had to do it all over again, would you just do the Kinetic Algebra and maybe get the printed textbook with the cd-rom? Thank you so much for chiming in. Your answer is so helpful. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I do plan to get the printed text with it next time. I'm going to go ahead and buy the Algebra II cd-rom with the text for my middle dd to use next year. They have it on sale at a great price until the end of this month. I already know that it will work well for her. They're working on Pre-algebra right now, but it probably won't be ready until the 2010-2011 schoolyear. I don't know what they're working on after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 I do plan to get the printed text with it next time. I'm going to go ahead and buy the Algebra II cd-rom with the text for my middle dd to use next year. They have it on sale at a great price until the end of this month. I already know that it will work well for her. They're working on Pre-algebra right now, but it probably won't be ready until the 2010-2011 schoolyear. I don't know what they're working on after that. What about their licenses?? Don't they expire after a certain period of time?? I would like to buy the Algebra I if they have it on special, but I am a little confused by their packages that they offer. Do you know which one to get for homeschoolers?? Thanks in advance. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Their one-year online subscriptions time-out one year after the purchase date. Their cd-roms don't time-out, but they can be installed on only one machine and are for a single user only. Homeschoolers are most likely going to be happier with the cd-rom. It can be installed on only one computer, but it doesn't have a time limit. If you want a one-year subscription, you need to wait until you're ready to use it. That is here: https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/58 Algebra I + printed text https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/90 Algebra II + printed text If you want a cd-rom that won't time-out: https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/71 Algebra I + printed text https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/84 Algebra II + printed text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Their one-year online subscriptions time-out one year after the purchase date. Their cd-roms don't time-out, but they can be installed on only one machine and are for a single user only. Homeschoolers are most likely going to be happier with the cd-rom. It can be installed on only one computer, but it doesn't have a time limit. If you want a one-year subscription, you need to wait until you're ready to use it. That is here: https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/58 Algebra I + printed text https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/90 Algebra II + printed text If you want a cd-rom that won't time-out: https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/71 Algebra I + printed text https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/84 Algebra II + printed text Bless you Angie!! I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here to help me walk it through. :grouphug: :) Thank you. The Algebra I is not on sale is it?? The price is in gray instead of red. Is there a special promotion code to enter or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Alg I & II are on sale through the end of September. Here is the purchase page: http://www.kineticbooks.com/products/prod_purchinfo.html Note that if you have other children with whom you might want to use the program, for an extra $10 you can order the "Class Set" Cd-rom package, which you can reuse in the future with additional students. It's about half way down the page. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 $59.95 is the sale price for the cd-rom with the printed text. Normally the cd-rom by itself costs that much and the printed text is $20 more. The "class set" cd-roms are re-usable, but they time-out every year, so if your dc is only partway through the program after one year, all his scores will be wiped out when the one-year mark is reached. He can then start where he left off, but you'll have to have writen down his scores if you want a record of them. I was planning to buy the "class set" cd-roms, but decided against them when I found out how they worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Thank you both. :) I only have one student that I homeschool so I'll probably just go with the cd-rom and the text. Thanks for the heads up, Angie about the scores. I'll make sure to note them down. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Hi Angie, Just wanted some clarification on KB - If I have an 8th grader doing Alg 1 (again this year) and a 6th grader who plans to do Alg 1 next year (7th) along with Singapore Math Discovering Mathematics so, I'm sure she will require more than one year to finish Alg 1. Which KB set should I buy? The individual cd-rom w/book or class set cd-rom & book? (especially for 2nd dd - since scores are wiped out). Or should I not buy for both dc now? Maybe just for 8th grader this year? Sorry to sound confused on this. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I would do the individual cd-rom with the book for the 8th grader. I'd probably wait on buying for the younger. You could go ahead an buy another cd-rom that you just hold on to. You wouldn't need a 2nd copy of the book. I'd call KB and ask their advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Ay, I have been waiting and trying to decide whether to buy the Kinetic Algebra now or later. I have 2 days now until the sale expires, but I know that I won't be using it until next school year. Does anyone know if they have sales often?? I would like to buy it when it's on sale, but if they have sales often then I'd rather wait and buy it closer to the time that I will actually use it. Does anyone here know how often this company has sales?? I haven't purchased from them before. Thanks to all who reply. Didn't want to start a new thread on the same topic so I just tacked it on here. :) Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Don't know about that but my oldest is using it and doing really well!! I bought the online license and printed the textbook from the pdf file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Don't know about that but my oldest is using it and doing really well!! I bought the online license and printed the textbook from the pdf file. Yeah, I know I want to get it, but it's just a question of when. I mean, if they have sales all the time then I'll wait until dd is actually ready to use it next school year, but if it's one of those deals where they rarely go on sale, then I want to jump on it now before I miss the boat, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfam Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Don't know about that but my oldest is using it and doing really well!! I bought the online license and printed the textbook from the pdf file. You have to print the book out yourself? Or do you have the option of having it mailed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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