Teaching Company - am I the only one who doesn't like the new Guidebooks?

[MIch elle]

I like the new colors (I suggest this!), new packaging (less of it thus more can fit on my shelf, YAY!) BUT I miss the summary/outline form of the "Course Guidebook".

 

I LIKED the outline format!! :crying:

[Guest]

What are they like now? I am using VERY old library videocassettes and of course old guides, so I haven't yet seen a re-do.

[Corraleno]

The new guides have a narrative summary for each lecture instead of an outline. I kind of prefer the new narrative format because the only thing I ever use the course guide for is if DS watches some lectures on his own, I use the guide to see what those lectures covered, and the summary seems more detailed to me than the outline. But I can see how the outline format might be preferable for someone who uses it as a basis for note-taking or essay writing.

 

Jackie

[Nicole M]

The new guides have a narrative summary for each lecture instead of an outline. I kind of prefer the new narrative format because the only thing I ever use the course guide for is if DS watches some lectures on his own, I use the guide to see what those lectures covered, and the summary seems more detailed to me than the outline. But I can see how the outline format might be preferable for someone who uses it as a basis for note-taking or essay writing.

 

Jackie

 

Which ones are you using? My two new guidebooks, for US History and American Literature still have an outline, but with a very brief written narrative summary at the beginning, before the outline.

[Corraleno]

I think those two are still in the older packaging (dark green with the image inside a "frame" on the cover), aren't they? The newest courses have different colored packaging (with the images as unframed "cut-outs" on the covers) and all the disks are in one case instead of multiple cases. (The two new courses I happen to have on my desk at the moment are The Night Sky and The World Was Never the Same.) The newest guide books just have a few paragraphs summarizing each lecture, instead of an outline.

 

Jackie

[Tammyla]

I have four of the new ones, but haven't compared them yet.

[Nicole M]

I think those two are still in the older packaging (dark green with the image inside a "frame" on the cover), aren't they? The newest courses have different colored packaging (with the images as unframed "cut-outs" on the covers) and all the disks are in one case instead of multiple cases. (The two new courses I happen to have on my desk at the moment are The Night Sky and The World Was Never the Same.) The newest guide books just have a few paragraphs summarizing each lecture, instead of an outline.

 

Jackie

 

Oh, gosh. That packaging was newer to me, I didn't realize there was even-newer-yet packaging! I really like the little books with the packaging I have, which are a much better format than the previous booklets (though the content is the same). Bummer, bummer about not providing the outlines! I think we need to start a letter campaign.

 

Though, you know what, come to think of it, their customer service is beyond excellent. I bet if you called and asked, they would rustle up old guidebooks, if you asked nicely.

[swimmermom3]

Oh, gosh. That packaging was newer to me, I didn't realize there was even-newer-yet packaging! I really like the little books with the packaging I have, which are a much better format than the previous booklets (though the content is the same). Bummer, bummer about not providing the outlines! I think we need to start a letter campaign.

 

Though, you know what, come to think of it, their customer service is beyond excellent. I bet if you called and asked, they would rustle up old guidebooks, if you asked nicely.

 

If I could work anywhere, it would be for the Teaching Company or for Sauder. On a really crummy day I want to think of problems just so I can call either of their customer service lines and talk to real, competent, and courteous people. Sigh. I like the outline format too.

[Corraleno]

Though, you know what, come to think of it, their customer service is beyond excellent. I bet if you called and asked, they would rustle up old guidebooks, if you asked nicely.

The only courses I've seen with the new style guidebooks are also new courses, so there wouldn't be any "old" guidebooks for them. I assume they'll eventually repackage the older courses; I wonder if they'll redo the guide book contents or just change the cover to the new style? Seems like it would be odd to ask a professor who did a course 5 or 6 years ago to go through and rewrite their whole guidebook, so maybe they'll leave the content alone for the older courses?

 

Jackie

[Deece in MN]

I just received Classical Mythology last week and it has the new guidebook format. I like it because I read the summary/outline to my kids before viewing the lecture so they have a little prep of what the lecture will cover. The new summary reads easier than the outline version. I guess it depends on how you use the guidebook and what you like. I do really like the new packaging, too. :)

[MIch elle]

The only courses I've seen with the new style guidebooks are also new courses, so there wouldn't be any "old" guidebooks for them. I assume they'll eventually repackage the older courses; I wonder if they'll redo the guide book contents or just change the cover to the new style? Seems like it would be odd to ask a professor who did a course 5 or 6 years ago to go through and rewrite their whole guidebook, so maybe they'll leave the content alone for the older courses?

 

Jackie

 

I've borrowed JOS many times from the library and finally decided to buy my own copy. My copy of JOS Guidebook is in the new format (narrative) and the JOS Guidebook from the library is in summary/outline.

 

:crying:

[swimmermom3]

I've borrowed JOS many times from the library and finally decided to buy my own copy. My copy of JOS Guidebook is in the new format (narrative) and the JOS Guidebook from the library is in summary/outline.

 

:crying:

 

You are right. I just received JOS and the guidebook is nothing like the one I have for The Medieval World which is in outline form. I think I will give TC a call today and see if I can get an old guidebook in the outline format like Nicole suggested. As my dd pointed out, it is one thing to see the outlines that are given to students as an example, but it is a whole other level to look at academic outlines like those provided with TC courses. She found the outline in The Medieval World helpful in fine tuning her own skills.

[Nicole M]

You are right. I just received JOS and the guidebook is nothing like the one I have for The Medieval World which is in outline form. I think I will give TC a call today and see if I can get an old guidebook in the outline format like Nicole suggested. As my dd pointed out, it is one thing to see the outlines that are given to students as an example, but it is a whole other level to look at academic outlines like those provided with TC courses. She found the outline in The Medieval World helpful in fine tuning her own skills.

 

Good. Night. Nurse. This is a crisis! If you give 'em a call, please report back.

[swimmermom3]

No luck! They are phasing those guidebooks out and the young man I talked to said the old ones weren't available. Now I feel like MIch elle.:crying: I think I will check out our library's copy and see how different the outlines and summaries are. Would I be in violation of copyright laws if I copied the portions that I wanted from the library's guidebook? I do own a brand new copy of the Joy of Science.

[Tullia]

I sometimes used TC lectures to practice outlining and gave ds the TC version as an after-the-fact comparison. Even if outlines are being phased out maybe they'd agree to make them available at the website as pdf's for older series that did have outlines? It might be worth asking--it should be doable if they haven't purged all the information from their system.

[Nicole M]

No luck! They are phasing those guidebooks out and the young man I talked to said the old ones weren't available. Now I feel like MIch elle.:crying: I think I will check out our library's copy and see how different the outlines and summaries are. Would I be in violation of copyright laws if I copied the portions that I wanted from the library's guidebook? I do own a brand new copy of the Joy of Science.

 

:svengo:

 

This is just not right. If you can't get the old guidebooks from the library, frankly, I would hit up the actual professor, who probably has a pdf copy. Professor's contact information is usually available on the university website, and a polite email would probably be answered. The faculty might even be willing to rally for the old guidebooks as an option with TTC.

[swimmermom3]

:svengo:

 

This is just not right. If you can't get the old guidebooks from the library, frankly, I would hit up the actual professor, who probably has a pdf copy. Professor's contact information is usually available on the university website, and a polite email would probably be answered. The faculty might even be willing to rally for the old guidebooks as an option with TTC.

 

Nicole, I was thinking of sending TC an email with a link to this thread and elaborating on why it would be helpful to have the outlines available. If that doesn't succeed, I will try your approach. I would think there might be something in their contracts about sharing those files, but I could be wrong.

 

By the way, S. loves Vandiver. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Tammyla]

Phooey, I miss the outlines too.

 

I like the new colors (I suggest this!), new packaging (less of it thus more can fit on my shelf, YAY!) BUT I miss the summary/outline form of the "Course Guidebook".

 

I LIKED the outline format!! :crying: