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Plato vs. K12 science for 6th ??


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I'm looking for science with an online/computer-based component for dd next year (she'll be in 6th), and K12 or Plato are the top two contenders I've found.

 

Has anyone had a chance to use or examine both of these to compare?

 

As far as I can tell from samples/descriptions I've been able to see:

 

Plato is online only, no book, nothing to write, no hands-on experiments. Lessons are mostly auditory/read to the student/text of what is read is not on screen.

 

With K12 the student reads the content from online text. There is a student book (to record things? or what is in it? I'm a bit unclear) and about biweekly offline, hands-on labs for which you can buy supplies from K12.

 

Both have online animations and tests/quizzes.

 

What I'm trying to figure out in addition is depth of content in relation to each other. Plato is cheaper (especially with this HSC buy), but I'll have to find some hands-on component to supplement. I know Plato is often used by gifted/advanced kids, but is that because it's content is superior, or just because most of those gifted kids are using it younger than its stated target audience (I notice a lot of the kids using it are 3rd/4th rather than middle school - is Plato really anything special compared to other middle school programs like K12, or just advanced content more accessible for younger gifted kids because there's almost nothing to read/write?)

 

Any feedback or advice??

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I answered your other post. I don't think PLATO is superior to other texts. My 9yo had an easy time, but I know 12yos who are having a hard time with it. If your 6th grader really likes science and likes to be challenged, I'd choose something more intense. Based on what I've *heard*, K-12 will be about the same level as PLATO. If you really want online maybe you could choose the HS level of PLATO courses. But I believe those are largely like reading textbooks on a computer. You could even use high school texts on CD-ROM that would be less expensive than PLATO. I guess it depends on what you really want out of your computer component. Sorry, I'm obviously no help. Good luck.

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My friend uses K12 and she has specifically said to me that K12 is weak on science, in her opinion. I think it might depend on which grade you get. I have no real experience.

 

Do you know if it's middle school? I'd heard good things about their middle school science, but not much about elementary or high school.

 

This kid is such a tough nut. She's very bright, likes math and science, loves anything on the computer, but doesn't like to read, hates to write, handwriting is atrocious (thank goodness she can type). Doesn't want to work hard (or much at all). I do want to transition her to more output, but I'm thinking I want to get the information in there first. She has even balked lately at using the Exploration Education book to just write down what she did on the screen! Sigh.

 

I am a bit hesitant that the Plato has absolutely no reading, writing, or hands-on. But maybe I can spin that to be a good thing and have her focus even more on reading/writing skills in LA so she can transfer those to the content subjects later? And if I signed her on for a local class with hands-on, maybe it wouldn't be too much to do both.

 

Her older sisters were so easy. CPO was great for them. I can't see her reading, taking notes, and really absorbing the info right now. This is also why I'm wondering what is next. I'd like her to do CPO Physics: A First Course in 8th - I'm hoping she'll be ready to use a text by then! Maybe next year could be the ACS Chemistry, and maybe a Chemistry class given locally? She does well with positive peer pressure. If we do Plato, I'll also have to find some local hands-on science stuff - that's what really gets her engaged. (And I can never pull off projecty stuff on a regular basis - so it'll never get done otherwise).

 

I love Ellen McHenry's stuff, but she doesn't even remember that we did The Elements last year. :glare:

 

Sorry... thinking out loud. It would be so much easier if I could just do the same thing with her that worked for her sisters!

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I don't have any knowledge of K12, but my oldest really liked the Plato middle school sciences. He took them our first year of homeschooling when he was 11. My middle son did not like the computer format at all. I switched him to Rainbow Science which he liked better. I am still debating whether or not to go the Plato route with my dd.

 

My son also did Plato's high school level biology and chemistry. Imo, the biology is a solid program that prepared him well for college level biology classes. The chemistry, on the other hand, is very weak, and I would not consider it at the high school level.

 

Good luck with your decision.

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We have used Plato Middle School Earth and Space Science. My son really enjoyed it and has learned a great deal. He is a gifted learner and finished it in half the time expected.

 

Plato Middle School science is used by the Johns Hopkins Gifted and Talented program. So it isn't a light program, but it is enjoyable. There is no hands on component, so if you want experiments you might want to pick up a small science kit related to the topic of study you choose.

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and it's a pretty decent mix of online and paper working. We don't always do all the experiments/labs because sometimes the answer is obvious and they don't need the experiment to show them that. But we always discuss what the outcome would be and why, and we do any related writing, or write-ups, of the experiment.

 

It is a bit public-schoolish, but that doesn't bother me so much because with K12 everything is scheduled out, I usually have everything I need ahead of time, and science gets done every week, regularly. There is something to be said for that!

 

Students can be as independent as they are able to handle. I was careful to follow up with my DDs--make sure they had all student pages they needed for the week, that they were doing all the assigned work, etc. And I checked everything they completed, and we went over corrections, etc. There is a fair amount of short-answer writing, but it isn't overwhelming. However, you as the parent must follow up at each lesson to make sure concepts were understood. Sometimes we did the lesson together if it was a challenging one.

 

There is also an "advanced" or "honors" K12 Earth Science (can't remember what they call it). My kids aren't science nuts, so I didn't choose that option, but it might work for a child who really enjoys the subject.

 

BTW--My DD (8th grade) transitioned very nicely into a rigorous private middle school science program after having done K12 for several years.

 

HTH,

Lisa

Edited by Maisy
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What I'm trying to figure out in addition is depth of content in relation to each other. Plato is cheaper (especially with this HSC buy), but I'll have to find some hands-on component to supplement. I know Plato is often used by gifted/advanced kids, but is that because it's content is superior, or just because most of those gifted kids are using it younger than its stated target audience (I notice a lot of the kids using it are 3rd/4th rather than middle school - is Plato really anything special compared to other middle school programs like K12, or just advanced content more accessible for younger gifted kids because there's almost nothing to read/write?)

This. I don't think the content is particularly advanced (I would rate it lower than CPO, for instance). The advantage of the PLATO middle-school courses is that they provide the information in a fun, accessible, interactive way that requires minimal reading and no writing/outlining/notetaking. That was perfect for DS at the time (4th/5th), because he could definitely handle the level of material, but did not have the reading/writing/notetaking skills to do something like CPO without a LOT of support from me.

 

FWIW, the middle and high school courses are very different and were, I believe, originally created by different companies. The MS courses were developed by CyberEd, which was later bought by PLATO. Originally they kept CyberEd as a sort of subsidiary, then they closed down CyberEd and made the MS courses more like their own HS courses. DS was very disappointed to discover that the HS Bio course was not at all like the fun MS courses.

 

Jackie

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