steppingstonemomma Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 We aren't able to get any kind of dsl, cable or fios. Our only option for internet is to use a mifi box. Unfortunately it is super expensive ($80/mo) and we are limited to 8 GB's for the month. We usually stay under our allotment but we can never stream movies or even watch more than about 5 you tube clips without getting charged an extra $10/gb. I will have a 2 high schoolers that I REALLY need to outsource some subjects with next year. I want to use some online classes. I have to drive over an hour to get to a co-op that is halfway decent and can't find tutors to teach the classes I'd like to outsource. Nor can I be out of the house that much! I have 7 kids to school! SOOooooo, is anyone aware of ANY OTHER OPTION? I'm desperate! We had satellite in the past and the 30 second delay to do anything always prohibited us from viewing any video clips at all. So I'm assuming that option is out too. Or, would someone that is techy have any idea how many GB's a typical online class might use? I'm willing to pay more per month if necessary, but I want to be sure it is actually going to work before signing up for a 2 yr contract. I contacted TPS and asked this question, but they just said we should use dsl or cable. Didn't answer my question at all...grrr Pretty please, can anyone help a momma out? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGHEALTHYMOM Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I feel your pain! Sattelite stinks here! I have heard for 7 years we will get dsl... next week.... hoping for it by the Fall...Good luck to you too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 @OP Possibly this is an idea you might investigate. DD is a "Distance Learning" student in TTUISD (Texas Tech University ISD). Their "Online" courses require that regular textbooks be purchased. The interaction with the school (lesson assignments, communications with teachers, etc.) is done via their "Moodle" server. Moodle is a CMS (Course Management System). I cannot tell you how many gigabytes would be used, in a typical month, if your DC take "Online" courses from TTUISD, but it would be far less bandwidth than that used by an "Online" course that does not use traditional textbooks. I remember that where we lived before, we had Cable Modem internet service and that we went over our plan, 2 or 3 months, and got hit with huge overcharges, and then we increased to a plan with more bandwidth. Here, we have ADSL which has unlimited bandwidth consumption during the month. The URL for the Home Page of TTUISD is: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/uc/k-12/ TTUISD Final Examinations must be supervised by an Approved Proctor and it is a requirement of the university that the final examination be passed. HTH and GL BTW, videos from YouTube, etc., consume a LOT of bandwidth. Video files are huge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Lanny, thanks for the link...I will look into that possibly when we travel (probably next year). How are they in working with you since you are located overseas?? Also, I perused their site and didn't see an answer, but do you happen to know if you have to be a us citizen or GC holder to attend? A friend is looking for options to get her ds in an american HS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Is there a place nearby that does have fast wifi, where you could either drop them off to watch the videos, or download them quickly, then watch them at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Lanny, thanks for the link...I will look into that possibly when we travel (probably next year). How are they in working with you since you are located overseas?? Also, I perused their site and didn't see an answer, but do you happen to know if you have to be a us citizen or GC holder to attend? A friend is looking for options to get her ds in an american HS. You are welcome. No problem for overseas students. DD is enrolled in 4 courses (we are still waiting for the new Online History course, which will be her 5th course). 2 are the new "Online" courses and 2 are the old "Print" courses. For the Print courses, they email PDF files with the course to her, and she sends her assignments back to TTUISD as .PDF attachments to emails. Getting the textbooks when one lives overseas is a small problem. We buy from Amazon Sellers and we have them shipped to South Florida and then Forwarded to our house by a Colombian shipping company from Miami. Buying things for the Science class is probably the biggest challenge. You need one of this or one of that and where to buy them. But, that is NOT limited to TTUISD, that would apply to any Home School or Distance Learning Science course. DD has just enrolled in the Middle School Art course and I believe buying the things she needs for that course will be a snap, compared to the Science course. Yes. I happen to know that you DO NOT need to be a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident to be a TTUISD student. They have approximately 1000 students, in Brazil, who are enrolled in schools in Brazil and will get diplomas from their schools in Brazil and also from TTUISD. DD is a dual citizen, so she does have an S.S. number, and when I log into the TTUISD web site, to enroll her in a course, I put her S.S. number, and if someone doesn't have an S.S. number they put something different, and that is the only difference. With regard to your friend's DS getting a diploma from an American High School. TTUISD is, legally, a "Public" school. However, they receive no funding from the U.S. Government or the State of Texas. So, one must pay... and so it is more like a "Private" school. In that respect, it is a Texas Public school and Texas requires EOC testing, in 12 (?) courses during High School years, to get a diploma. I correspond with a family overseas and their older DD is in TTUISD High School now. When one needs to take those EOC tests, it must be on the same day when students in Texas take the tests, with an Approved Proctor, etc. Since Texas requires testing, in some courses and in some grades, TTUISD students must take those tests. IMHO, no one would ever question the accreditation of TTUISD, it is run by TTU and accredited by the State of Texas.. And, in High School, as I recall, one can (with approval of the High School Principal and the University?) enroll in courses that are "Dual Credit", in the High School and in the university. That seems to get away from some of the problems I read about, where universities do not want to give credit for "AP" courses taken while in High School, or, courses taken in a CC while in High School. HTH P.S. Therre are easier ways to get an American High School diploma, and there are less expensive ways to get an American High School diploma, but we think this is a good route for our DD. There are also far more expensive ways to get an American High School diploma while living overseas. @OP When we first got Cable Modem service in our previous home, I believe we had 500 MB of traffic per month. After we exceeded that, 2 or 3 times, and paid a lot of $, we upgraded to a plan with 1 GB per month. With ADSL, from time to time, I download files that are 700 MB.... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Lanny, thanks for all the info. Yes, I figure supplies will be the main issue. I have a very good friend who will receive any items I need and make one big shipment to us if needed (issue will be customs where we are going, anything new in package they charge big $$$), or DH will pick them up when he comes to USA for a few weeks. It will require pre-planning for sure. I will have to look into it further for her. They are more interested in helping her get into college here or Europe. Even if she just wants to get a job in her country, having an American HS diploma will help. Her English is pretty good, and she goes to private school (several classes are in English) there. She does not really care about "dual credit" as her school there would not recognize it. It would be great if there was an option here that would recognize some of the courses she is taking at her private school, but I'm not sure if such an option exists. Where we are going will have slow internet I am sure. We speak to family there via webcam and even thought they have "DSL" there is still a slow down. So I will have to either download videos we might need then watch later to avoid sitting there waiting for it to buffer or look for other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppingstonemomma Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Thanks, I will look into the TTU class as an option. I kinda figured there were no other internet solutions. It's not really feasible to drive somewhere just for her to watch a class. Too much interruption to everyone else's school day. Grrr.... wishing this wasn't such a hard thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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