persephone43 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Is the Plus version really superior enough to justify $50? If so, what are the most notable additions in Plus that you find unable to live without? Are there any other downloadable planners you like better? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I use homeschool tracker plus and feel as though I could not effectively homeschool without it. It allows me to schedule based on the loop method without much work on my part. I'm sorry that I can't answer your questions about if plus is worth it over the regular version as I don't know the differences. I would suggest starting with the free version and if it turns out that you need more, then you can upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Yes!! There's really no comparison. HST+ is so much more powerful. I love the lesson planner for planning out the whole school year and the weekly planner, which allows you to specify which days you will use a resource and then just plugs in the next thing for you when you plan for the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani3boys Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 The one major upgrade that the plus version has is the ability to reschedule an assignment. Is use this a lot. HST+ saves me so much time. I have been using it for over two years now and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Is the Plus version really superior enough to justify $50? YES!!!!!! They're so different as to not even warrant comparison. The $50 is well spent. Upgrades are free, so you don't have to spend any more money after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I used HST for a bit in the beginning of the school year. Never HST+, but I do know that Plus allows you to weight grades, while the free version does not. That really bugged me, so I just went with HomeSchoolSkedTrack. If I had the $50 though, I'd go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 HST+ is one of the best investments I have made for homeschooling. While it has a steep learning curve, it is a powerful program. Well worth the $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Yes! I was just telling my dh this week that I'm so glad we bought the plus version in 2005. I've used it for basic recordkeeping and scheduling since then, but now that high school is only a few years away I'm familiarizing myself with all the other cool features (courses, grading, etc). The free updates for life and customer support are well worth the money spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 It has been so long since I used the Basic version that I don't really remember. But the difference is like going from Windows 3.1 to Vista (or whatever the current OS is). It is not like they are the same program with some features turned of in the Basic version. They appear to be completely different programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Worth every penny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 HST+ is one of the best investments I have made for homeschooling. While it has a steep learning curve, it is a powerful program. Well worth the $50. :iagree: I spent Thanksgiving weekend pouring through video tutorials, reading the user manual and playing with the program, reading the forums for specific questions I had. I now have *everything* planned out for the next semester+. Every curriculum I'm using has a lesson plan in HST+, and all I have to do when I get ready for a new week of school is go in and assign items from the lesson plan (select the ones I want to assign and click the Submit button). It will automatically put each subject on the proper day (like history is MWF, science is TT, WWE is MTWT, etc.). I have every library book I will need put into it, with which library has it and what the call number is, so when it comes time to go to the library, I just print out a list of the library books I need for the week - all the info is there on my printout, so no searching the card catalog on library day (the bigger library system has an awful online system). I also put in the supplies I need for each assignment (experiments and projects) and can print out a list of those too. Looking at the features of the Basic vs. Plus version, I didn't even bother trying the Basic. They are completely different programs. I do recommend trying Skedtrack, since it's free and pretty decent, but it didn't do some of the things I wanted to do, and Plus did. I've been *very* happy with HST+, and it's very easy to use once you get past the steep learning curve. Really, the hard part was figuring out what system to use for organizing my courses and lesson plans and such. Once I got that worked out, the actual entry of the lesson plans was super easy, thanks to the copy feature, multiple edit feature, and grouping feature (I use grouping a LOT). Watch the videos and download the user manual to your hard drive so you can look through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreistetter Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I use the free version of homeschool tracker. Is it easy to transition to HS+, or is there a steep learning curve??? I don't *need* it yet, but middle school is rapidly approaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.