Holly IN Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hello Didn't want to hijack the other thread. Several mentioned doing TOG discussion online. I am also hearing this on other boards as well. I would love this for my R son. Questions: 1) Where do I find out about these online discussions for R level? (We will be doing yr 4 fall 2010) 2) Pros for doing this? 3) cons for doing this? Thanks! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jananc Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 We use online discussions. I would say the pros are the discussions themselves. TOG at the R level is really dependent on the Socratic discussion, and it's more fun with more kids IMHO. When you join a virtual co-op, you also get to share the teaching responsibilities, which is a huge plus for me! The negative is the technology. There are several options for online meetings, but none of the free ones are truly wonderful. Sound quality sometimes suffers, and we get dropped sometimes mid-session. You can post on the TOG forums to find out what virtual co-ops are available in the coming year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 There's a yahoo group for those wanting to learn more about virtual TOG co-ops. Networking (finding a group) there is encouraged. There's a database for entering info on what you're looking for / what you have. TOG Virtual Co-op Synergy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi Holly! I LOVE being part of an on-line TOG co-op for the R level. This is our 2nd year doing it this way (we are doing year 4 now, other wise your son could join us!), and it has made all the difference in our success in stayinig on task. The pros are that we have to keep moving along with the curriculum in order to be prepared for discussions. (when I tried to do yr 1 without this support, we spent way too much time in Egypt and not nearly enough time in Rome...) It is also fun to make new friends - both on line and in real life. Last year we were able to visit one of our co-op families on the other side of the country while we were traveling - very fun! My sons enjoy the other students they interact with. It is also wonderful to spread the teaching duties around. Depending on how many families are in a co-op, you might end up teaching/facilitating history and literature 6 to 9 times per year, rather than 36. The cons are that you are pretty rigidly tied to a schedule for your group and by the end of the sessions the students can get a little squirrelly. We meet on Thursdays and spend roughly two hours on literature and another 2 hours on history with a shourt break in between. We do a planning session before each quarter to determine the teaching schedule and we try to accommodate each other as much as possible. Communication also has to be good among the teaching moms in order to have a successful group experience. Occasionally, controversial topics will come up in the curriculum. When that happens, the teaching mom will post on our yahoo loop about how or if she plans on covering it. It helps that we are pretty much "on the same page" in our spiritual convictions and line up with the worldview of the curriculum. I found our co-op on the TOG forum, and I am so glad I did! For me, the pros far outweigh any inconvenience to my personal schedule. I hope you are able to find a good group for you! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thank you!! I think we will benefit greatly with an online discussion group. We are struggling getting the discussions done. We are WAY behind schedule so bad that we have to do TOG with no breaks and through the summer. :( I believe it will help us stay on schedule. It looks like I will have to find a group this summer for Yr 4 2010. Thank you for your input. I am sold. Pros outweigh the cons. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi again, Holly! I woulod encourage you to start looking in the spring for a group or to start forming a group! I would suggest posting on the TOG forum in several places and also follow Jackie's link to that yahoo group. By summer, people may already have their plans in place. Just a thought! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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