Holly IN Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hello I am a current user of Onenote. I love it. Love it so much but it needs a lot of tweaking on my part. I just signed up for a 30 day free trial of Homeschool Planet. I am in love!!! However there is a bit of learning curve. I will use both Onenote and Homeschool planet for this month and see which one I like. However my 10th grade son wants to keep Onenote. My beef with Onenote is that I have to keep switching back and forth for 10th grader and 9th grader. I do not like it for that reason. All the other benefits outweight that issue. So I thought I would ask you guys which you prefer Onenote or Homeschool planet and WHY? Holly IN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I use Homeschool Planet and am very pleased with it. I especially like the ability to easily reschedule assignments. I could never figure out how to get One Note to work in the way I needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I started using Homeschool Planet this year and love it. LOve, love, love it! At the beginning of the school year there was something that I wanted to be able to do that I just could not seem to figure out. I emailed support, they replied promptly that it was something that they were indeed working on incorporating, and within a month it was included in an update. I have tried many planners, excel spreadsheets, nothing worked any where remotely like I wanted it to. The only complaint I have now is that I haven't figured out how to easily give one child a day off (with one click) and not both. Of course I can do it by shifting the assignments for that child one by one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I started using Homeschool Planet this year and love it. LOve, love, love it! At the beginning of the school year there was something that I wanted to be able to do that I just could not seem to figure out. I emailed support, they replied promptly that it was something that they were indeed working on incorporating, and within a month it was included in an update. I have tried many planners, excel spreadsheets, nothing worked any where remotely like I wanted it to. The only complaint I have now is that I haven't figured out how to easily give one child a day off (with one click) and not both. Of course I can do it by shifting the assignments for that child one by one. If you just don't check that child's boxes for the day it will ask you the next day what you want to do with the assignments that didn't get done. There are options listed for each one, but there's also a circle that will select the same option for all of them (shift them forward, etc) so you don't have to click each assignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I haven't used Onenote, but I LOVE Homeschool Planet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I loved Homeschool Planet, but I can do so much more with OneNote that there is really no comparison. OneNote is so versatile. I don't understand what a previous poster mentioned about having to 'switch back and forth' between children with OneNote. It is all in how you decide to set things up. I am currently homeschooling two with OneNote and I made a table for planning and recording that includes both of them. I just cut and paste it into a new page for a new day. I have a new tab for each month, and tabs for subjects and also tabs for stuff like our state required paperwork and that kind of thing. When I need to put together a portfolio for the end of the year (required here) I just copy the pages I need into a new notebook. I especially love how I can put all kind of stuff into OneNote like pictures, video and audio recordings, as well as entire clipped web pages. I tend to find so many things while I am wandering around the web and OneNote gives me a way to keep those things organized and actually incorporate them into our homeschooling. OneNote helps me keep track of homeschool related stuff like passwords to websites and stuff I am thinking about for the future. I even made a bulletin board tab for my family with upcoming events and reminders on a calendar, and even a place for stuff to be picked up at the store. I've got my husband trained to check that bulletin board before he comes home from work. I have all ten million homeschool resources organized in there too, with links. I can't live without OneNote. I mean, Homeschool Planet is nice and does a lot but I can't see paying for something that can't match OneNote when I have OneNote on the software that came with my computer. Maybe we could have a thread on how people have their OneNote set up, so we can share ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaS Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 This is funny to me because I ditched Homeschool Planet for OneNote. I very much like OneNote better (I have the free download.) and find that the way I have it set up works so much better for me than Homeschool Planet. I found that I had an easier time putting in more detailed lesson plans in OneNote and I could tailor it to exactly what I needed instead of trying to make HP fit what I wanted. I should say, that until ON came along, HP was my favorite digital program for lesson plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'm with Tarrymere; I really like how easy OneNote makes my planning and record-keeping. This is how I set it up for homeschooling, and it works well, not excessive flipping back and forth. One notebook for the entire school year. (Other notebooks for household planning, future planning, etc.) Tabs across the top of said notebook as follows: -Attendance Calendar -- My state requires me to count days, so I have a PDF of a calendar under that tab, and I check off the box for each school day. I'll print it at the end of the year, to put in the portfolios. -Weekly Schedule -- Each week of the year has a page under this tab. On each page are Monday to Friday, and under each day, it says something similar to the following (varies a little by day), with a checkbox next to each subject, written vertically: DD: Math, Literature, Writing, General Skills, Latin, History, Typing, Music Practice; DS1: Pretty much the same stuff as DD; Family: Memory Work, Morning Readings, Literature, Science The weekly schedule has no specifics; each day is the same, except that Latin and Foreign Language alternate, and one day a week is different because it's our day out and the kids' class, and we do, if we have time, extras, such as Art, Picture Study, Composer Study, and Geography. I aim to get each subject to "do the next thing," whether it comes that way, or whether I have to figure that out myself. So then I have tabs for each subject, continuing across the top. -The tab to the right of Weekly Schedule is Science, with pages under it for each unit. On each unit's page, I have the pages the kids need to read, the labs to perform, and the lists of supplies I need. More checkboxes. -Next tab: Literature -- This has the list of things we listen to or read as a family and any notes or plans I have regarding that. -Fine Arts -- Pages for planning art, noting artists and works to study, placing youtube links for music, etc. -Geography -- Pages for each geography unit, with notes for each one, youtube videos, booklists, etc. -Trips -- Table for recording field trips, locations, dates, and who attended. -Early Learning -- pages for plans for my preschooler and kindergartener -Then I have a tab for DS1's individual subjects, labeled DS1. Under DS1 there are tabs for: Math (pages for each unit, with the list of what pages in the HIG, TB, etc. I want him to do -- this makes Singapore much easier to implement); History (I don't use this one much, because his history is printed out in a binder for him to look at and check off); General Skills (pages for each month of the year, and I type on each day whether it's spelling, poetry, whatever for that day); Literature (list of books he's read on his own, dates, and the number of pages -- he has a goal he's set for himself this year and wants to see if he'll make it, plus this makes it easier for me to compile his booklist for the portfolio; there's also a page with a list of possible books for him to read). -Next tab after DS1 is DD, and she has the same tabs under hers. I generally keep the Weekly Schedule up and just turn to the individual tabs as needed. Since I have OneNote on my iPad and on my desktop, DD can check off subjects as she finishes them, even if someone else is using one of the devices. I keep the iPad next to me when I work with each of the kids individually, so I have their plans right there. This is the first year I've used OneNote, and I really, really, really love it. And it's free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 If you just don't check that child's boxes for the day it will ask you the next day what you want to do with the assignments that didn't get done. There are options listed for each one, but there's also a circle that will select the same option for all of them (shift them forward, etc) so you don't have to click each assignment. I messed up. A few months ago a clicked somewhere to ALWAYS shift assignments not finished to the next day (and leave the rest of the assignments alone), and I can't seem to find how to undo this default setting now that I set it. Can you help me???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 For me, one of the best perks with One NOte is that it's always with me. I have the app on my phone and the program on all devices. I can be at an appointment and view it on my phone to see their planners and what they should be doing, what is being checked off, etc. Then I can click on my recipe notebook to remind myself what's for dinner and to run by the store on the way home. LOL Then, click over reminders, appointments, etc. I run my whole house with it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I messed up. A few months ago a clicked somewhere to ALWAYS shift assignments not finished to the next day (and leave the rest of the assignments alone), and I can't seem to find how to undo this default setting now that I set it. Can you help me???? Hmm, is there anything under the "Helpers" menu that would apply (I think what you're talking about is the Rescheduling Helper)? I've never checked that box to know how to undo it. Otherwise, I'd just email them, usually they are super helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 My problem with OneNote is that I just can't work from a blank canvas. It's just too overwhelming for me to get started. I need a template, some code to do things I want. When I start from blank I end up with a jumbled mess later and just give up. And yes, I realize this is a personal failing, not a problem with OneNote. I see why people like it, I just can't get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My problem with OneNote is that I just can't work from a blank canvas. It's just too overwhelming for me to get started. I need a template, some code to do things I want. When I start from blank I end up with a jumbled mess later and just give up. And yes, I realize this is a personal failing, not a problem with OneNote. I see why people like it, I just can't get there. I understand that. I know I looked at a few screenshots at first, and it did seem a little overwhelming to go from a blank screen to the beautiful things people had. I can try sending you some screenshots via email if that might help. I think in the beginning, I just started making random pages and lists and just dumping my brain in there somewhere, and at some point, I grouped things together and liked the way they looked, and then it was a bit tidier, and then it was even tidier, and then it all clicked. The learning curve was totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Couple of weeks late but have been researching planners. Like the previous poster, I am not good with a blank canvas so I am not sure how I would like one note. I use Cozi and love it (not as a homeschool planner but for everything else) and was looking for a planner like cozi only one I could input the assignments more efficiently and could print reports. I discovered Homeschool Planet and so far I love it. The one problem I have is that I cannot download it to my computer or use it as an app like Cozi, but it does have an ical format so I am able to share the two calendars and look to see what my kids need to do on Cozi or what my schedule is like on Homeschool Planet when lesson planning. I have only had it less that 24 hours but so far I am really liking it, just would like something all-in-one and economical. I am curious about OneNote and it sounds much more economical which would be a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 If I can figure out how to post screenshots of mine I will do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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