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I'm at the Nashville conference this weekend and the guy at the Videotext booth really grabbed my attention. I'm thinking this might be a great fit for my youngest son.

 

Can someone please (quickly) tell me the pros and cons of Videotext before tomorrow morning?:001_smile:

 

I also looked at Abeka Algebra 1 and Landmark Baptist Algebra 1......( ok, please don't SHOOT me!:tongue_smilie:) Abeka looks so traditional. Landmark Baptist looks easy.

 

I looked at Keys to Algebra... would be a good supplement for certain concepts if needed, but I don't think we need to do all those workbooks.

 

My "plan" was TT Algebra 1 supplementing with Lial's PreAlgebra and Beginning Algebra and Interactmath.com. I want to put Al 1 and Al2 together with this student anyway that is why Videotext looks appealing to me.

 

I love going to conferences to discover new things.

I hate discovering something new and not being able to obsess over the decsion and feel like I have to make a decision quickly.

 

:tongue_smilie:

Thanks!

Pam

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We used videotext algebra and were very pleased. It was a good fit for our dc.

 

Pros (at least from our perspective): excellent teaching in the videos, short and focussed lessons, complete solutions to all problems in the worktext, quizzes and tests, challenging, develops mastery over time.

 

Cons: We didn't find any as far as the content goes. One possible con would be if it doesn't suit your math sequence timing. It's a 2-year program, so you do have Algebra I and Algebra II back to back. This would only be a problem if it delays getting in geometry before the PSAT (we did algebra early so it wasn't an issue for us.)

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Thanks Music!

This student is beginning 9th grade so we have plenty of time for Al 1 and Al 2 back to back.

 

I could not care less about PSAT scores.

 

I might try Module A and see how it works.

 

I tossed and turned in bed last night over this. I thought about the good Lial's books I have. I thought about a Larson book I have.

 

I'm taking my son with me today and he'll sit through the guys presentation. My son will help make the decision.

Thanks!

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I don't think that there is enough practice. It gives a good overview of Algebra but doesn't camp on concepts long enough, or have the kids do enough review, to really master it. That was our experience.

 

It didn't go well over here either. There was great instruction, though. But the pacing was strange. The tests are very long, and not paced evenly. We had a period over a quarter that I only had one test to grade... and the everyday quizzes were too close. I much prefer a regular text with a mid chapter quiz, then a test after 4-8 lessons, and periodic cummulative reviews. Also, VT only goes through algebra once, and it worked better for us to do "algebra lite" which is Algebra 1, then geometry, then "pull the stops out algebra" for a second time (algebra 2). Twice is good, and for my recent graduate, three times was a charm (we did a traditional algebra 2 high school course in 11th gr. and Lial's Intermediate Algebra for 12th).

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Thanks everyone!

I bought Module A to try out. And, those beginning topics are right where he is at now. I really don't see a need to continue with TT until we see how this works out.

 

My son seemed to really enjoy the presentation and grasped the concepts in the talk very quickly. I could "see" that this is the way my son actually "thinks." That alone is HUGE with this child!

I think it will be a perfect fit for this child.

(I hope those words don't come back to bite me.LOL)

 

I am a little concerned about the amount of practice problems. I have several other pre algebra, algebra 1, and algebra 2 books on my shelves. I think it will be easy to find other problems. We also make regular use of interactmath.com already and I plan to continue doing so. If there are not enough regular tests I can make up my own based these other materials. If there is not enough review, I can use these other things for review as well.

 

I'll need to get the materials in hand to actually see how it can all be planned out. I ordered Module A on the internet and should get the link to set it all up in a few days.

 

Thanks everyone!

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Late to the party, but I bought this this year to use and it's been FABULOUS for dd. We'd been using MUS up to the PreAlgebra level and for us, MUS lost its effectiveness at PreAlgebra. She's really retaining what she's learning with VT and she doesn't even do all the problems for each lesson. So, this is really clicking with her. It's been a wonderful investment.

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Thank you togo and onthebrink.

 

I'm excited about trying out Module A.

DS is actually excited about it too.

 

Videotext says that it could be done in one year. I plan to stretch it out over 2 years. I'm also glad to know there are extra problems available.

 

It is good to get some positive feedback!

 

I'll let you all how it is going in a few weeks.

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We tried it - also saw it at a conference and bought it. My daughter absolutely hated it. Way too boring and too many different books to flip thorough. It moves very slow and she thought the lectures were way too long and drawn out. I ended up selling it at quite a loss on eBay. She used Teaching Textbooks Alg 1. She liked it better (but not enough to continue with Teaching Textbooks next year). In my opinion Video Text is great for a child that needs a slower pace and extra help. If your childs likes math and gets it the first time he will be bored.

I hope it is a better fit for you then it was for us! We are still looking for that "perfect math program". I thought it was teaching texbooks but neither of my children want to use that again next year.

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One quick note on VT. There are additional problems on their website; go to homeschool, then support and you will find additional problems. Also make sure you sit down with the quiz/test book and mark in the student work text when each quiz, unit test, cumulative test, and comprehensive test comes up. If you do all of this, you should have no problem with enough review to keep them going strong!

Julie

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