My next question... have you been impressed with the quality of education your

[imeverywoman]

students have received either by dual-enrollment, or online? A comment made in my last thread, as well as the thoughts keeping me awake at night, have prompted this question.

 

I guess I'm wondering, do you use these options as a means to an end, either to satisfy requirements, or just "get the credit", or do you use them to hone in on some aspect of their educations that you feel less equipped to handle?

 

Have you been satisfied with your student's retention in the classes they've done this way?

 

I'm sure there are many of us in either camp. I'm just curious... :)

[Rhondabee]

students have received either by dual-enrollment, or online?

 

Yes. My student gave far more effort to his online class last year than to any other class. (It was Latin 2.) I think this was more due to the fact that I was not involved, and the level of the class met him where he was (not too hard or too easy) than anything else. It was a good fit, and he wanted to do well.

 

I guess I'm wondering, do you use these options as a means to an end, either to satisfy requirements, or just "get the credit", or do you use them to hone in on some aspect of their educations that you feel less equipped to handle?

 

No way I could have taught Latin 2.

 

Have you been satisfied with your student's retention in the classes they've done this way?

 

Yes. But, again, I think this particular set up fit this particular child. Frankly, a lot of the online classes scare me - they sound so hard and unforgiving! I think you have to find one that speaks to you.

 

I'm sure there are many of us in either camp. I'm just curious... :)

 

As good as our experience was, right now I'm not in a position to spend my money on a class I can do at home. Although I admit, he did take Latin more "seriously" than his at-home classes. (I'm not sure that's the best adjective, but it's the only one I can think of at the moment.)

 

I also don't think my DS really took advantage of "talking" with the teacher as much as he should have. I am going to keep that in mind as a goal for his on-line classes this year.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Rhondabee

[Ellie]

students have received either by dual-enrollment, or online?

Yes.

 

I guess I'm wondering, do you use these options as a means to an end, either to satisfy requirements, or just "get the credit", or do you use them to hone in on some aspect of their educations that you feel less equipped to handle?

We did it because I couldn't see doing high school twice. Many of the general education requirements are a repeat of high school, so my dc just did those classes once. I was also happy not to have to teach algebra, lol.

 

Have you been satisfied with your student's retention in the classes they've done this way?

I wouldn't even know how to evaluate that. And at that point, I don't really need to know, anyway.

[Heather in AL]

students have received either by dual-enrollment, or online? A comment made in my last thread, as well as the thoughts keeping me awake at night, have prompted this question.

 

Overall, yes. My dc have done online writing, Latin, and currently one is at the cc.

 

Online writing: It was OK. In total, four 'classes' have been taken with two different companies. While I wasn't super impressed, the writing coaches definitely offered what I couldn't, so that made me happy.

 

Online Latin: Huge *yes*! Ds has taken two semesters and is taking a third this fall (Latin 2). The class is once a week, live, and has audio and visual (powerpoint?). It's great.

 

CC class: The class is still in session, but it's going extremely well.

 

I guess I'm wondering, do you use these options as a means to an end, either to satisfy requirements, or just "get the credit", or do you use them to hone in on some aspect of their educations that you feel less equipped to handle?

 

For us, it's a bit of everything you stated. We started with the writing because I knew I needed help. While I write well, it's not something I can explain. With the Latin, it was something I didn't want to learn so I could teach; I find it harder and harder to retain new info as I get older, so for me, the cost was worth it to ease *my* workload. Plus, it was a way to validate mommy grades, and the kids got used to 'set in stone' deadlines. With the cc class, it was a 'triple score' for us.... not a mommy grade, it was a *real* cc class (our cc is really good and they are using the same text as the local Uni.), Ds gets college credit that transfers so any state Uni.

 

Have you been satisfied with your student's retention in the classes they've done this way?

 

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. The Latin is 'there'... ds will see something in a movie or on an inscription somewhere and can get all or some of what is written. I'm thinking you are asking about classes like Bio or History. The writing isn't something that's measurable for 'retention'.

 

I'm sure there are many of us in either camp. I'm just curious... :)

 

 

I know that each of us is different, and we have to do what we feel is right for our families, but I am happy with how we progressed through our online/cc classes. The money adds up, but one year-long class is less than one month of private school around here, by a good 50% or so. For us, that's worth it (if the class is good).

 

That said, I have yet to find a co-op class that I would pay for. My dc have been in a few classes that required a huge time commitment from us (travel to & from twice a week) but it only skimmed the surface of the topic. This lead to a waste of time & money. I also spoke to someone who is teaching a year-long 10th grade English comp class in the fall (can you tell writing is something I'm scared I will fail to properly teach my children!?). This woman was charging, if memory serves, $275 for the year... and while she was telling me what the class covered, I was appalled at her poor grammar!! If I'm paying someone to 'teach' grammar and writing, I expect the teacher to speak using proper grammar. So for me, the co-op classes are a 'no go', but the online and cc classes have been working well.

 

I hope you find the path that suits your needs and wants. It's amazing how much is 'out there'!!

[Sunshine State Sue]

Here is a SWB blog entry that prompted Janice in NJ to respond.

 

Here is a thread with some discussion of that blog entry.

 

I, personally, have found online classes a mixed bag - some worthwhile and some not.

[Jann in TX]

Our local CC has a 'matriculation' agreement (I think that is the term...) with the state universities.. their 'core curriculum' courses are guaranteed to transfer. My dd is enrolled in a program where she is allowed to take 2 courses per semester her Jr and Sr year... she will have completed her freshman year in college when she graduates high school next spring! DD plans to continue at the CC.. we are out of district so her tuition and books will run around $2500 per semester full time (my oldest dd is currently at the same CC full time)... so dd's Sophomore year in college will cost $5000 total because she can remain at home (CC is about a 40 minute drive).

 

I've been VERY impressed with the quality of the classes and the teaching. This is NOT a watered down version of college it is the REAL thing.

 

My 17yo dd has risen to the challenge of her classes--it has been a GREAT experience for her!

[Michelle in AL]

We have used outsourcing for 2 reasons: to teach things I am not competent in and to gain experience in areas they may want to major in that I am not capable of teaching.

 

Things I'm not capable of teaching: foreign language and upper level maths (above alg 2). Tried multiple foreign languages at home unsuccessfully. Both girls took Spanish 1 from Veritas Press. Expensive but worth every penny. Retention much better than when I taught.

 

Older dd took Precal from Veritas Press-excellent. Taught the concepts well. Increased her love for math (she didn't enjoy math until this course). They used computer programs that I have no clue how to use.

 

Older dd took Computer Assisted Design courses (mechanical and architecture) from Potters School-loved these. Could never teach this on my own. DD chose these courses on her own, I would have never picked them for her. As a result, she wants to major in engineering.

 

She took an AP Biology course that really challenged her. We had several complaints about the course, but several life lessons were learned.

 

The above classes were well worth it (with the exception of bio). It exposed her to areas I couldn't have.

 

I'm also discovering "happy medium classes." Free online repository classes, independent courses through Oak Meadow and Thinkwell.

 

The Free Online Repository Classes here look complete and well done.

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc/nrocdemos.html

 

Thinkwell appears to be complete and most motivated students that do well academically should be able to complete them on their own.

 

I've been really happy with all the Oak Meadow courses I've seen/used: Music appreciation, chemistry, world history. I couldn't teach chemistry or music apprecitation on my own, but I'm happy with these and they look independent.

[TXMary2]

We utilize dual enrollment strictly to receive the college credit. The quality of instruction and the materials used.......well let's say I don't have much to say. I still consider myself the homeschool teacher with these courses and I make sure time isn't being wasted while receiving the college credit.

[G5052]

Maybe it's just my budget and the fact that I teach both paid classes and at the community college level, but there are poor teachers anywhere you go, and no matter how much you pay. I personally would not pay for an in-person, online, or community class unless I knew the person and/or had really done my homework about them, the textbooks, and their teaching methods. And I would only pay for something more than I can provide. Right now we do that because I know the teachers and know that they can do more than I can on many fronts, but this is a year-to-year thing. I'm not committed long-term to delegating as much teaching as I have last year and plan to this year, but thus far it's been worthwhile for us.

 

Online teaching is especially iffy in my mind because I've taught online, studied it at the graduate level, and taken online classes, and IMHO online education is far less predictable than in-person. It is VERY hard to do well with many more factors at play than the traditional classroom.

[ilovemy4kids]

So far Writeathome.com and Apologiaonlineacademy.com have been worth every penny for us. Wouldn't trade them for the world

Sandra

[FloridaLisa]

I agree with GVA. It's a mixed bag and depends on the teacher. Most of my dc's online classes have been great to excellent. Most of the dual-enrollment has been great to excellent -- primarily foreign language, math and sciences at the university. Freshman English at the university, not so much. But other parents have sworn that their dc had excellent freshman comp courses at the CC. ::shrug::

 

Lisa

[AngieW in Texas]

I've been very satisfied with what my dd has gotten out of her dual credit classes at the cc. She has taken Intro to Psychology, Drawing I and II, Japanese I and II, and now Digital Imaging I.

 

The only one of the above that I could have handled was Intro to Psychology.

 

This fall she will take Japanese III, English I, Statistics, and General College Physics. She really needs to have somebody to answer to who is not me. She loves going to the cc.

 

We live in-district for our cc, so my dd can take up to two classes each semester at no charge. All we have to pay for is books. Since she's taking 4 courses in the fall, we had to pay for the extra two courses (about $380) and we'll also have to buy the texts (about $400 because all of them require the online access portion that would make used cost more than new). Her textbook for Psychology was just $28 and we got about half of that back when she sold it back to the bookstore. Her text for Japanese was $170 (newest edition of textbook with workbook and cds), but the same text is used for the first 3 semesters of Japanese and she'll be able to sell the text and the cds when she's finished. The drawing classes required $100-200/semester for supplies, but didn't have a textbook.

 

Our cc has a matriculation agreement with the state universities, so all core curriculum classes will transfer.

Edited July 23, 2010 by AngieW in Texas