abrightmom Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 As I'm experiencing information overload with all of the high school research I need to ask a few clarifying questions that are likely clearly answered on his website ..... thanks for helping me out. 1. The on-line course is asynchronous meaning we can start in July and finish in March if we'd like. We can also take a week off when needed or slow down without fear of missing an exam or other "due date". Basically, we set the pace, yes? 2. What do I need to purchase to go along with the course besides the workbooks available on Lulu? I think he uses the Jacobs Geometry text but I'm not seeing anything telling me to buy an actual textbook. This is fuzzy to me. I think we'd need a textbook to reference, yes? Any Geometry tools or supplies? Does he send out a "supply list" once I've registered? 3. If we do this course then I never ever have to correct anything Geometry related, right? :) Thank-you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 As I'm experiencing information overload with all of the high school research I need to ask a few clarifying questions that are likely clearly answered on his website ..... thanks for helping me out. 1. The on-line course is asynchronous meaning we can start in July and finish in March if we'd like. We can also take a week off when needed or slow down without fear of missing an exam or other "due date". Basically, we set the pace, yes? 2. What do I need to purchase to go along with the course besides the workbooks available on Lulu? I think he uses the Jacobs Geometry text but I'm not seeing anything telling me to buy an actual textbook. This is fuzzy to me. I think we'd need a textbook to reference, yes? Any Geometry tools or supplies? Does he send out a "supply list" once I've registered? 3. If we do this course then I never ever have to correct anything Geometry related, right? :) Thank-you. You set the pace, yes. He charges by the month. I think he doesn't charge after a certain number of months (9?) - but wants you done in 12 months. (We seriously took almost the full 12 months for physics. Just shy of it!) You can take a month off if you contact him - if you have a seriously busy season or just want to take, say, December off. Geometry says, "Online Geometry students will need to acquire their own copy of the textbook by Harold Jacobs." So, yes, you'll need to buy the book. I don't think there is anything else materials-wise, but I'll let someone who has taken Geometry chime in. Can't answer #3. I did have to help (not correct, but help) with lots and lots of physics instruction. But my kid is very obviously not like most of the WTM kids who have taken DO's courses. (She hated it.) So, your mileage may vary. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 You can start and finish whenever you want. You need the 3rd edition Jacobs textbook. Practice problems are assigned from this book. Since Mr Owens does not correct practice problems, I recommend that you also acquire the solutions manual/answer key. I also found having the 2nd edition Jacobs book and answer key helpful--that book doesn't have as many conceptual leaps between instruction and what is required for the problem sets. I found that I had to give an extraordinary amount of instruction and extra problems (out of the 2nd edition text) for my son to really understand the material. My son is good at math, but IMO the weak link in the course was the 3rd edition text. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I second the second edition! We are in Derek's Geometry class in the Metro Atlanta area. This class is really tough for my dreamer-type girl. The second edition scaffolds better than the 3rd. We tend to pick practice problems out of both editions. You will have to grade the practice problems. You will need a compass and protractor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) My son is taking this class online right now. I've been completely hands-off, except to make sure that he's not falling behind the suggested schedule, so he can finish by the end of the school year. Independent for my son and hands-off for me is exactly what we needed and why we outsourced to Mr. Owens. :001_smile: Like others have stated, I know some folks really prefer Jacob's geometry 2nd edition over the 3rd edition that the DO class uses, but it hasn't been a problem for my son. DS has commented a couple of times that the printed worksheet "homework" assignments that DO creates (which are sent in and graded) are sometimes harder than the assigned "practice" problems from the textbook (which DS corrects himself), but it hasn't hampered DS progress and he seems to be understanding everything just fine. He's getting an A average in the honors option, and he's diligent and a good student, but not a math prodigy, if you know what I mean. YMMV. Anyway, DS checks and corrects his own practice problems (from the required textbook) using a Jacob's solutions guide. I purchased the solutions guide new from My Father's World, which had the best price I could find at the time we needed it. Homework assignments and tests, which are printed from the DO website, are scanned & emailed and graded by DO or one of his TAs. The homework assignments are usually quite short compared to the number of assigned practice problems. I believe the only tools DS has needed have been a compass, a protractor, and sometimes a calculator. Edited February 1, 2017 by TarynB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 My son is about to finish DO Algebra 1, then on to Geometry. If Ds cannot seem to understand, then he looks in the workbook and watches the instruction videos. If he still does not get it, he searches Khan Academy. If he still doesn't get it, he resorts to Mom. Right now that is because he is darn determined to do it all by himself. I have a feeling with Geometry, that is going to pass and I will be explaining if there is a glitch. Basic parent helping with homework stuff. I take pictures of Ds' homework/tests and tweek the light/contrast to make it legible. Before the pictures, I make sure he has boxed his answers and his handwriting is not attrocious. Nothing like asking someone to correct illegible, tiny, numbers over and over. I send the emails so that I absolutely *know* it was turned in, with all the pages, to the correct email, in a timely manner. This will be starting to shift in Geometry, but I will still supervise. I adore Ds, but sometimes he is just a space cadet. Spring for the workbook. You do not have to have it, since it is all online, but it will save you far more time and ease than it costs in dollars. I was determined to be cheap. It was not the right choice. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryam Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 My son is about to start DO's geometry class next week and DO said we needed to purchase the textbook. Can someone please put a link for the solution's manual needed for the practice problems that DO doesn't grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) My son is about to start DO's geometry class next week and DO said we needed to purchase the textbook. Can someone please put a link for the solution's manual needed for the practice problems that DO doesn't grade? This is the solutions manual I have: Answers to Exercises for Geometry Seeing, Doing, Understanding Third Edition Publisher: My Father's World; 3rd edition (2015) ISBN-10: 1619991160 ISBN-13: 978-1619991163 ------ ETA - I just saw that MFWbooks.com has the "complete package" listed for only $74.95 right now. That might be a better deal for you if you still need to buy the textbook too, based on current used book prices. (You wouldn't need the lesson plans and test bank if you're using DO, though, but they come as part of the package anyway.) http://www.mfwbooks.com/item/28080/Geometry-Complete-Package/ Package Includes: Jacobs Geometry textbook 3rd ed. Daily Lesson Plans developed by MFW Answers to Exercises for Geometry Test Bank Edited February 2, 2017 by TarynB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks for the feedback. It was so helpful! So, I opted not to do DO this round :). I was a little afraid based on the experiences with the different editions and some kids needing extra practice and the need to correct practice problems. Geometry is totally out of my league so I registered for Jann's Geometry class and look forward to it. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks for the feedback. It was so helpful! So, I opted not to do DO this round :). I was a little afraid based on the experiences with the different editions and some kids needing extra practice and the need to correct practice problems. Geometry is totally out of my league so I registered for Jann's Geometry class and look forward to it. :) Do you know for sure if Jann's math class involves the teacher grading the homework, or if student/parent checks their own? I might be mistaken and thinking of a different class, but my fuzzy thinking vaguely recalls that Jann grades tests only. I could be wrong but you might want to check on that if that's something you're not comfortable with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 (edited) Do you know for sure if Jann's math class involves the teacher grading the homework, or if student/parent checks their own? I might be mistaken and thinking of a different class, but my fuzzy thinking vaguely recalls that Jann grades tests only. I could be wrong but you might want to check on that if that's something you're not comfortable with. Thanks for mentioning this! I'm going to check .... ETA: Quizzes and tests are graded. So, it is likely I will not be as hands off as I am dreaming of. BUT, the good news is that she will be available for tutoring and she's an email away. Of the available options, i believe this is a fantastic one. I really like what I read about her courses and her heart for her students and their math education. Edited February 3, 2017 by abrightmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks for mentioning this! I'm going to check .... ETA: Quizzes and tests are graded. So, it is likely I will not be as hands off as I am dreaming of. BUT, the good news is that she will be available for tutoring and she's an email away. Of the available options, i believe this is a fantastic one. I really like what I read about her courses and her heart for her students and their math education. That's great! I remember a year ago struggling with this decision, what geometry course to go with. If we didn't need self-paced and asynchronous, we'd have looked into Jann's class too. I know how good it feels to have made the decision. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks for mentioning this! I'm going to check .... ETA: Quizzes and tests are graded. So, it is likely I will not be as hands off as I am dreaming of. BUT, the good news is that she will be available for tutoring and she's an email away. Of the available options, i believe this is a fantastic one. I really like what I read about her courses and her heart for her students and their math education. We are taking Jann's class now, only she has another teacher also teaching Geometry this year and we're using the other teacher. For next year, the other teacher isn't teaching Geometry, so you'll get Jann. It could be different with Jann, but here's how it's been for us this year: With each homework assignment, all answers are given. My son does the work, and I check his answers. I simply check that his final answer matches the answer on the answer sheet. If it doesn't, I hand it back to him. He re-does it and I check it again. Sometimes it takes him 3 or so tries to get a tricky one right. I don't try to figure out where he went wrong. I just circle the wrong ones and hand the paper back. I'll admit, there have been a couple (very few) times where I've sat with him and helped him with a problem he kept getting wrong. I already knew the answer from the answer sheet and was able to remember Geometry from literally 30 years ago and get him going again. I didn't have to do that, but it worked out that I remembered the concept and had the answer in front of me. There was one homework session where he was getting them all wrong. I contacted the teacher and she was right on top of it, offering tutoring. We decided to have him re-watch the lesson. They're live, but recorded for later viewing. After watching, he was fine and got them all right. Overall, it's been very hands off for me. I chose to help him with a few things at the beginning of the year, but mostly I just check the final answers he gets and say, "Yup, it's right," or "No, try that one again," and hand back the paper. If he completely can't get a problem, he highlights it and asks his teacher about it at the beginning of the next class, which is what she tells them to do. We are very pleased with this class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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