Outschool.com Has anyone used this resource? Thoughts?

[Michelle/OK]

Thanks in advance.  Michelle

[LAR]

We've used outschool for a few classes.  We really liked Big Picture History by Scott Powell. He's pretty cool, very hippie-like.  Our girls related to his style and free spirit approach to history and art. I'm trying to work his curriculum into our budget for next year.  We've also taken classes from Denyel Parent, Where the Sidewalk Ends.  Our youngest (11 years old) really wanted this class to run for the semester because it was so good.  We also tried Anatomy and Physiology with Pete Alexander Reyes. This class was ok, but it wasn't a good fit for our 13 year old who is on a pre-med path.  

 

Our dd11 is signed up for Science Around the House with Tiffany Manley later this month and she's very excited.  We're hoping this class is a good fit and turns into a semester long program. 

 

Our girls also took classes from Woodside Learning Center before she posted on Outschool.   We enjoyed Woodside's creative writing classes, and it looks like she's now part of Outschool.  Woodside's feedback was always positive, yet included good strong constructive comments as well. 

 

I hope others respond as we're always looking for new classes.

[KristaJ]

I had never heard of the website, but now that I’ve looked through it, I’ve found some classes that my 10 year old would adore.  She loves drawing comics and is a talented writer, and there happens to be a comics and graphic novels lab that I think she’d really enjoy.  How does it work?  She’s never done a class online before.

[fourisenough]

We've taken a few classes from Outschool, and have a new one beginning this week. It is a fantastic resource, however I think it's important to clarify that, unlike WTMA or VPA or Wilson Hill Academy, Outschool is simply a platform for independent teachers to offer their online classes to a wider audience. Outschool does the marketing and handles the 'back of the house' functions like enrollment management and fee collection, but the independent teachers design and deliver the content. I actually think this is a terrific thing because there is a much wider variety of content offered and courses have no standard length (such as a semester or academic year) making it much easier to jump into things that interest you without committing to a long-term course. It is very ad-hoc and can make for a much more customizable learning experience. BUT, you can't assume there will be any consistent quality or flavor. I see this as being a great addition to the existing online education options. It really gives the teacher a ton of control over what she is offering, how much she's charging, and who her target audience is, etc.

 

Our next class is "French History & Virtual Fieldtrip: 1300 Years of the French Monarchy. It is a fairly long one (14 weeks) and it is asynchronous, making it very different than the previous classes we've done which we're both just a few class meetings. We've chosen to enroll in the French History course to prepare for an upcoming visit to Paris; we didn't even know about the trip last year when I was planning our school year, so the flexibility to jump into the class mid-year without having to register (and pay!) many months in advance is critical.

 

Feel free to ask more questions if you have any. Or better yet, just enroll in one of the single-meeting courses that interests you. Our first was something like "Data Analysis with M&M's and Puppies" for $10, if I remember correctly. My DD12 decided she loved probability and data analysis after that...

[Michelle/OK]

Thanks!  This is so helpful.  Especially the explanation from fourisenough!  We are on of the Landry families trying to salvage this semester.