qtkimi Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Please tell me more is this worth the $60 for a years subscription is it easy to use. Tell me everything. I have a son starting High School this year so I really need to keep good records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Why don't you try the basic first for free before going with the Plus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Plus is quite a bit better than the free. I think I would recommend diving in and getting over the learning curve on the plus rather than having two learning curves. In the long run, with three kids, I have found it very worth the price. I always have to comment on the learning curve at the front though. It doesn't seem intuitive in lay out but I was able to do a very professional transcript with little work the senior year because most of the work was done as they finished their assignments and I was able to reuse lots of the lesson plans for the next children. I really liked starting in the 8th grade so I had a year to stream line and figure out how I wanted it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qtkimi Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 I downloaded the free I'm not sure if I like it or not. The plus does look really good maybe I'll try a month before I commit to an entire year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I like it. I've tried other systems but I do like this one. It really is easy to use once you get the hang of it, and if you have to have transcripts and reports to turn in this program does a nice job of making that easier. If you can afford the price, It's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I used the free version for several years before biting the bullet to get the Plus. Honestly, it wasn't that much of a learning curve from Free to Plus. Small curve, and once you get past that, it's sooo worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymomofboys Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Please tell me more is this worth the $60 for a years subscription is it easy to use. Tell me everything. I have a son starting High School this year so I really need to keep good records. I use the version for Windows and it was a one-time purchase of around $50 with free updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 How easy would it be to go back and put in info for the last two years? My dd is going into 11th, and up to this point all her records are on paper, and it's becoming a paper nightmare. I was thinking of HST for my 7th graders but would like to be able to get my highschooler's records organized with it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn121 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 The subscription is to Plus Online right? I paid the $60 for plus and have it forever and get free updates. I did not like the online version. It did not have all the features that make HST+ useful to me. They have done some major upgrades to it and I have not look at the online version recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I love the Windows version. I would be reluctant to pay for a subscription, though I understand that the web version is a lot more user-friendly. It took me a year to really learn how to use in the way that is best for me. I love that at the end of the year, I can back up my school records, print out a hard copy of everything my kids did, put it in their portfolios, and throw away all the paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I love the Windows version. I would be reluctant to pay for a subscription, though I understand that the web version is a lot more user-friendly. It took me a year to really learn how to use in the way that is best for me. I love that at the end of the year, I can back up my school records, print out a hard copy of everything my kids did, put it in their portfolios, and throw away all the paper. So, if I'm understanding correctly - and that's a big 'if', the advantages to the online version are you could access it from any location, and you wouldn't risk losing all your information? Just from looking at the website, I don't know how to tell which version would be more user friendly. Can you tell me what you know. Also, would it be fairly easy for me to go back and add two years' worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 So, if I'm understanding correctly - and that's a big 'if', the advantages to the online version are you could access it from any location, and you wouldn't risk losing all your information? Just from looking at the website, I don't know how to tell which version would be more user friendly. Can you tell me what you know. Also, would it be fairly easy for me to go back and add two years' worth? I think that is true. The advantage of the online version is that is is more user-friendly, and you will not lose information if your computer crashes. I don't really know much. I just watched the demo video, but it was a while ago. I decided that there was not enough advantage to make it worth a yearly fee, as long as the Windows version continues to be supported (which I imagine it will not always be). As far as adding two years worth, it really depends on what you want to enter. If you use curricula that have worksheets 1-150, then the automated feature would make it really easy to enter. But if you want things like lesson topics, obviously that will increase your workload, perhaps to the point that it wouldn't be worth your while (unless you are OCD like me and just have to have it all in there). You could enter a single assignment for each subject in previous years, make a note of which lessons were completed and make that assignment the same as the final grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I think that is true. The advantage of the online version is that is is more user-friendly, and you will not lose information if your computer crashes. I don't really know much. I just watched the demo video, but it was a while ago. I decided that there was not enough advantage to make it worth a yearly fee, as long as the Windows version continues to be supported (which I imagine it will not always be). As far as adding two years worth, it really depends on what you want to enter. If you use curricula that have worksheets 1-150, then the automated feature would make it really easy to enter. But if you want things like lesson topics, obviously that will increase your workload, perhaps to the point that it wouldn't be worth your while (unless you are OCD like me and just have to have it all in there). You could enter a single assignment for each subject in previous years, make a note of which lessons were completed and make that assignment the same as the final grade. That sounds like me which is why I go crazy every summer over lesson plans. Anyway, it's starting to sound like the online version isn't worth the yearly subscription fee for me. Also, it appears that you can transfer your files if you do decide to go with the online version at a later date. Thanks for you help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 That is how I feel. As far as saving my work, I just do an occasional backup and throw it up on Google Docs so if my computer crashes, I still have my info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I have the Plus and I love it.(one time fee, not online version.) I use Carbonite to back up all my files, so I'm good there. Re: adding past years: What I would do is create a lesson plan and add 1 assignment per semester. Make that your semester grade. I do this for online classes. I, too, am OCD and have to have each assignment w topic, etc listed, but I would handle preparing past years like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I spent yesterday reading older threads about Homeschool Tracker and just about got scared out of it. I just feel too old for learning curves. But... my 16 yr old came to the rescue and said she would like to help. I'm going to get the 30 days trial for $5, and if I'm able to manage it without going crazy, I'll get the windows version. That $60 yearly subscription fee starts to add up., and I don't feel it's worth it for us. I can always change to the online version if I want, but from what I understand, you can't go from online to windows without re-entering all that information. I hope my brain can handle this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 The best thing to do is to pull up HST+ and the companion/help videos. Do it step-by-step with the videos until you learn it. For things that are "cut and dry" such as do a lesson a day in Math, the lesson plans are fast and easy to set-up in HST. Things that aren't cut and dry take a bit more time and effort - for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 That $60 a year cost is for the cloud version. The download version is still only a one-time cost of $49 and includes free upgrades. True, you can't access it from everywhere, but you can install it on your laptop, too, and put your database on a flash drive to move it back and forth between them, if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherOfBoys Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I have HST+ for windows not online. My husband said if you want it available in other locations put it on a laptop. It's not worth the yearly fee for online in our opinion. I like the lesson plan scheduler. I can play with my schedule as much as I want and make different ones for each semester if subjects change or whatever. I like that I can print reports for to-do lists, grades, book lists, etc. My dislike somewhat is typing in the lessons. I'm short cutting by not putting every detail in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherOfBoys Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I backup to a usb stick every time I do a big task in it (like entering a subject's lessons) and every couple weeks. Delete the old. I don't have high speed internet so the windows version and backing up to a stick is preferred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mims Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I have the program downloaded on my desktop and laptop and save the files to drop box. It automatically saves it on the computer I am working on and the other computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I checked out the discussion board, but it seems pretty quiet. I thought maybe someone here would have a quick answer. I've made it as far as courses and I'm stuck. I was think of doing something like math 6, math 7, prealgebra, algerbra 1, etc. However, if I wanted to assign grades, I can only set up grading once for each course. I have twins, both doing different math and graded differently. So should I have more courses: saxon 7/6, MUS zeta, teaching textbook 7, so I can do different grading scales. It's not the most intuitive program I've ever used, and I'm starting to feel like a real dunce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Never mind. I think my brain was fried last night. I feel like a total idiot. Funny how the simplest things can confuse my brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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