Master list of on-line classes...

[MarkT]

I saw on another thread that Bright Ideas Press is offering some online classes. I'd never seen their online academy before, but it should be added to the list. It looks like they offer middle school & high school classes. Based on what they have listed, I wonder if many of their teachers came from Landry?

 

Edited to add: I've poked around & those are definitely some of the same offerings Landry had, so I'm confident in saying that many of the previous Landry teachers have landed at BIP. They have a Raspberry Pi class; the Vet classes, Horse stuff, Art, the Three Languages class, etc. are all there.

 

this seems like affordable option:

http://academy.brightideaspress.com/classes/self-paced-classes/

[OneStepAtATime]

Will try to update this evening or this weekend.  Bumping to remind me and in case anyone is searching for on-line options...

[maize]

Can we get this pinned now so I don't lose it?

[maize]

I found this older list someone made, don't know if there is anything on there that is still active but no on the current list:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/145538-comprehensive-list-of-online-classes/

[OneStepAtATime]

I found this older list someone made, don't know if there is anything on there that is still active but no on the current list:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/145538-comprehensive-list-of-online-classes/

I will try to find time to sort through the links, maybe tomorrow or Tuesday but no guarantees.  Leaving town in a few days.  

[OneStepAtATime]

Was out of town and now I'm sick but I will try to get to that list later.  Bumping in case anyone is needing this.

[MarkT]

"Phil Four (Middle school and High School math plus Computer Science)"

 

Phil Four has Physics classes

[RootAnn]

Bumping & a request:

 

Please add "myfunscience.com" to the list. I think some Landry teachers landed there. It looks like they offer mostly STEM classes. I'd love to see a review.

[rachel_rfwp]

The new Royal Fireworks Online Learning Community will be launched in the next few days.  As well as a full range of Michael Clay Thompson English Language Arts courses, we are offering Philosophy for Kids: Justice, Faith and Free Will with Dr. Sharon Kaye; Conversational Spanish; A "Fairly Creative Writing" class with Aubrey Lively; an Introduction to Minerals and Rocks, the history of African Slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade...and much more.  If you sign up for news we will contact you direct.

[OneStepAtATime]

.....

Edited April 23, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[MarkT]

Math (pre-algebra through pre-calculus)

 

Mr. D Math (Dennis DiNoia)

https://mrdmath.com/

 

"The course is a mastery based approach.  There are spiral reviews throughout the course twice per chapter starting at chapter 2. When students reach high school level math, the reviews are also built into the new content as students are applying previously learned concepts in the new content.  During a lesson, the instruction both during the live class session or the pre-recorded video for each section reviews anything a student needs for that new lesson.

 

Mr D Math review here as well:

http://blessedlybusy.com/outsourcing-homeschool/

Edited April 22, 2017 by MarkT

[eternalsummer]

DD11 has taken online classes from Athena's and Lukeion.  Athena's was great for interest and discussion with other kids, but not as well organized or demanding as Lukeion.

 

The Lukeion class she's taking now (Barbarian Digrammarian) has been excellent.  Instruction is clear and interactive, without getting bogged down in student discussion (not a lot to discuss with grammar anyway, really).  Occasionally (like this week b/c of the convention) they have a recorded session instead of live.  When she does a recorded session her quiz grade for that week is usually 4-5% lower;  I think that is the value of the interactive component, where the teacher asks questions and then explains the answers, etc.  Expectations are clearly communicated and they run a tight ship.  Content is thorough.  Overall we just really really like them.

[lexi]

I would like to add Bridgeway Academy. 

 

My daughter is going to do one of their classes this upcoming school year. They offer trimester, semester, and year-long classes. They only offer the shorter classes for elementary aged kids but have year-long classes for middle school and up. 

[OnMyOwn]

I didn't see Ray Leven's classes listed anywhere.  https://sites.google.com/site/spanishlearningonline/

 

Here is a review for his class and for Sr. Gamache's class at la Clase Divertida.

 

Senor Leven's classes are extremely organized, efficient and well-thought out.  Class time is used to introduce new concepts and to practice them.  Classes meet for one hour a week and are small, about 5 students, and highly interactive. There are online computerized assignments through the Vista website as well as written assignments, which are quickly and meticulously graded by Señor Leven.  This class is for bright, self-motivated students who either work hard or pick up the language easily, IMO.  The expectation level is high.  My dd has taken Spanish 2, 3, and 4 with Sr. Leven and will take AP Spanish with him next year through PAHS.  She just took a Spanish SAT Subject practice test to see how she would do and she scored a 740 on the first try, so I feel he has given her a great foundation.  I do know there are others out there who have not meshed with his teaching style and who have found that the work takes them many hours a week.  We have never found him to be anything but kind and gracious and my dd has found the workload to be light, about 2-3 hours a week, which is what he advertises.  I just want to mention that so that anyone interested in the class can do their own research and decide whether they think Ray's class would be a good fit for their child.

 

My son has done Spanish 1, 2 and 3 with Senor Gamache.  This class offers 3 hours a week of class time, but there is a lot of time spent explaining assignments, giving directions, taking quizzes and taking care of administrative tasks.  Class size is about 20 students for Spanish 1 and 2, but I believe there were only 8 students in the Spanish 3 class this  year.  Most of the assignments are computer-based through the Vistas website.  Some of them are automatically graded by the computer and others are graded personally by Sr. Gamache.  The workload can be high, but varies from week to week.  There is an occasional assignment outside of the Vista assignments, like cooking a Spanish dish or making a family tree.  This class has been thorough and challenging for my ds.  Sr. Gamache genuinely seems to care about his students.  The main complaint I have is that he can be very disorganized, though that seems like it has improved this year.  I'm not sure if that's because my son understands more of what to expect from him or if Sr. Gamache himself has actually improved in this area.  Overall, I would say this class has given my son a good foundation in Spanish and I think ds will be able to get a high enough score on the SAT Subject Test to meet the foreign language requirement at the school he is interested in.  

 

 

Edited April 23, 2017 by OnMyOwn

[CAtoVA]

Thanks for the Lukeion review. I'm signing up my son for Witty Wordsmith and Barbarian Diagrammarian next year—great to hear the classes are worth the time and $!

 

Bridgeway looks interesting and is on my radar as well.

[calbear]

I saw that Dr. Wile is teaching Honors Bio, Honors Chem and Honors Physics live online this year.

http://www.bereanbuilders.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=action&emptyoverride=yes&template=PDGCommTemplates/Header_Footer_Responsive/zOnlineClass.html

 

Also Gifted Homeschoolers Forum offers online classes. http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/ghf-online/

 

I'm not sure if I missed these somewhere on the master list, I apologize if I am repetitive. These are providers that I have heard about.

 

Lively Latin https://www.livelylatin.com/ways-to-learn-with-livelylatin-2/study-online-with-the-magistra/

 

Escondido Tutorials - online Great Books classes. http://www.gbt.org/

 

Intersect University - online coding classes for students http://www.intersectuniversity.com/index.html

 

Scout - University of California - https://www.ucscout.org

 

Silicon Valley High School http://www.svhs.co/

 

Homeschool with Minecraft http://www.homeschoolwithminecraft.com/services.html

Next Level Homeschool http://nextlevelhomeschool.com/

 

Online Scribblers - writing classes http://www.sandiegoscribblers.com/home.html

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by calbear

[calbear]

Oh yes, Linda Hobar (Mystery of History) moved her MOH classes over to Bright Ideas Press.

[calbear]

http://www.languagecityacademy.com/

 

They have French and Spanish classes. I believe Chinese will be added at some point. I think this guy just left onlineg3 to start this.

[OneStepAtATime]

Thank you for the support!  I'm sure other parents will appreciate it.   :)

 

 

If ANYONE has reviews for any on-line provider PLEASE add them.  The list I'm trying to create and update will hopefully be helpful but I think a lot of people would like concrete reviews of specific classes/providers.  If you have a student that has taken a class on-line PLEASE consider providing a review.  Thanks in advance.  

Edited May 23, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[kathy_overman]

Is Veritas Press listed?  I did not see it.

 

They have both self-paced classes and live online classes.

 

 

[RootAnn]

Is Veritas Press listed?  I did not see it.

 

They have both self-paced classes and live online classes.

 

Yep. It is in the "elementary through high school" class list - right above Wilson Hill. If you have a review of one or more of VP's live classes, please post it.

[smartise]

I teach art classes online at www.blossomingartists.com.  I utilize a live feed so participants can all interact with one another and get feedback as they are working.  Classes include art history, art vocabulary, and various mediums/techniques are used!

[OneStepAtATime]

Reserved for review

Edited May 23, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[RootAnn]

After the school year ends, I will try to add reviews for Wilson Hill Academy's Fundamentals of Expository Writing and Honors Composition (named will be changed next year to Fundamentals of Academic Writing).

 

For now, I wanted to add a new online course site:  Integritas Academy. It is being started by Mrs. Lange who has taught at Veritas Press & Wilson Hill (up through this year). She's branching out. She'll have a 7th-9th grade Intro to Lit Analysis class, a 9th/10th grade Lit/Comp 1 class, a spelling class (4th & up), and a Constitution/Modern History class (10th-12th).

 

Her Intro to Persuasive Writing Through Literature class looks like it has similar goals to the Fundamentals of Expository Writing class that my dd#2 took with her this year. I would call it a "Intro to Lit Analysis" class. I can't give a review on it since it will be different than FOEW, but I can tell you that Mrs. Lange is a phenomenal teacher who has lots of patience and lots of high expectations, but who gears feedback to each individual student at the level they need to get better. She comments, sometimes line-by-line, on essays and even smaller assignments, in order to help specifically with things your kid is struggling with.

 

The price is $$$$ for each class.

 

Edited to add a link to my review of the two WHA classes.

Edited July 9, 2017 by RootAnn

[OneStepAtATime]

Reserved for review

Edited May 23, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[bluejay]

Anybody tried Crash Course Kids?   I like the original Crash Course and this seems to be a version for younger students.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

High School history and culture courses from Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education for grades 10-12.

 

Reischauer Scholars Program - Japan   I think the application is open once a year for around 3 weeks to fill both of the year's one semester long classes.  Application is competitive and students may need to apply more than once.

 

Sejong Korean Scholars Program   Also a competitive application.  I think this program may only be offered once a year.  

 

The cost of the program has varied over the years, depending on the outside funding that supports the programs.  Both courses are conducted in English.  

[Wendy Inman]

A plug for CLRC latin.. my son just finished up Latin 1. It was such a success. The classes were very organized and really taught him how to learn.

 

They have a significant discount if you sign up before the end of may! http://clrconline.com/latin/

[OneStepAtATime]

Everything from this post up to the first post should now be updated and a post link provided.  If you see any errors, or have suggestions on a better way to do this, feel free to let me know.  :)

 

 

As all additions continue to be added I will "like" the post so that you know they were added.  Anyone who can give reviews PLEASE do so.  I know other parents will really appreciate not just having a list but getting feedback from those who have BTDT.

Edited May 23, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[Hjfulg]

Bumping and reserving another spot for an additional review.

 

Hoping others will offer additional options or review listed ones. Anyone know anything specifically about FundaFundaAcademy?

[Hjfulg]

Yes! My son took the geography class and found it so interesting and engaging. He now wants to pick a career that will allow him to work remotely from many of the places he studied. I even watched many of the videos with him and was challenged to keep up! Never a dull moment journeying around the world virtually. He is signing up for the US History class next year and his sister will do Earth Science on FundaFunda. If you have any more specific questions, let me know.

[maize]

Yay! You got it pinned!

[MarkT]

The 50 Best Online High School Diplomas

https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-online-high-school-diploma-programs/

[MarkT]

ALGEBRA I

SAS Algebra 1 Course (free)
https://www.curriculumpathways.com/portal/#info/1713

 

[RootAnn]

Review of Wilson Hill Academy - Fundamentals of Expository Writing

 

Fundamentals of Expository Writing is geared toward 8th graders or high-achieving 7th graders. When my dd#2 took it, it was taught by Mrs. Lange. An extremely experienced teacher and long-time (now retired) homeschooling mom, Mrs. Lange made classtime a fun learning experience each time they met. The class was mainly focused on learning to analyze literature both through discussion and writing. The class starts off very gently with a focus on writing good paragraphs with a highly structured format. However, it ramps up over the first semester and the kids eventually write six 1-3 page essays over the year. The class teaches MLA citation, literary terms, essay structure & format, and provides on-going teaching/review of frequent-grammar-and-usage mistakes (their/there/they're, its/it's, than/then, effects/affects, hear/here, all right, etc.). There is homework after every class - usually reading & preparing to answer discussion questions, but also sometimes posts on the discussion board or a paragraph to turn in.

 

I feel like the class could have been a non-honors freshman level class or a honors level 8th grade class. They covered several short stories from the Little Worlds Collection, The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation), select Canterbury Tales (Coghill translation), To Kill a Mockingbird, and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. DD#2 is a strong writer, but the class challenged her and improved her analysis & writing level. 

 

Mrs. Lange kept strong control over the chat box and kept a quick pace in the class, but also provided humor and fun elements - like class Jeopardy games to review at the end of a literary work and some videos which enriched the kids' understanding (especially helpful for Julius Caesar). While Mrs. Lange isn't teaching at Wilson Hill (but has started her own private classes), the class itself should be a good investment if you are looking for an introduction to literary analysis for an 8th or 9th grade student. If you want an amazing teacher, check out Mrs. Lange's (pricey) classes. If you have questions, email her through the website. She's incredibly helpful and I can't say enough good things about her as a teacher.

 

Review of Wilson Hill Academy - Fundamentals of Academic Writing (called Honors Composition when dd#1 took it)

 

The title, Honors Composition, was misleading, and I'm glad that WHA has chosen to rename it, "Fundamentals of Academic Writing." WHA considers a separate writing class to be optional once high school is reached, as they include writing (but not the writing instruction) in their worldview classes (called The Great Conversation). However, they do recognize that some kids need a little more instruction on how to write a high school level paper, so they offer this class. Mrs. Starlet Baker teaches the class and she runs an enthusiastic & somewhat scattered classroom. She encourages kids to use the chatbox and be on their webcams during class. She often separates the kids into breakout rooms to practice what she's teaching. They sometimes work together on a single piece to present to the rest of the class, but other times have to work on their own pieces right next to two or three other kids. They can see each other's work - noticing where they differ or where someone else has done something much differently than them.

 

DD#1 has always been a writing-phobic child, so I wanted this class to cover the basics of a good essay while making her write-write-write. I think the class only ended up writing four 1-3 page essays over the whole year (which is why 'Honors' seemed a misnomer to me), but they did cover rhetoric devices, informal logical arguments, and common usage errors. If you have a kid who already knows how to write, this might not be the class for them.

 

I was frustrated with the class the whole first semester as there didn't seem to be a plan, a structure, an over-arching goal to all the little bits and pieces that Mrs. Baker was teaching them. (I got lost in the trees looking at individual branches & flowers.) However, my DD enjoyed the actual classroom, the camaraderie of the other students, and she was actually WRITING (often in the in-class workshops), so I sat back and waited. My opinion on the class changed as the second semester got going and I could start to see all these little things pulling together both in DD's writing and in the classroom teaching. The real eye-opener was DD's greater understanding of the usage sections on the English portion of the April ACT. The things she was learning were being understood and applied. I quit my complaining.

 

While DD#1 still doesn't like to write, she has more confidence in what she puts out. I was confident enough in what she learned & did as a result of this class that I actually contemplated signing her up for an AP Lit or Language class in the fall. Ultimately, I decided to go a different direction, but the class did improve her knowledge & writing skills.

 

If your kid is easily distractible, already a good writer, or wants a rigorous writing class, this is not the one for you. If you are looking for something that covers a lot of bases from an essay-format perspective, but doesn't require a lot of time outside of class, this might be a good one to look at.

[tonyquart]

Thanks for posting this list. I will check through it right away.  :thumbup:

[renaissancemom]

Can anyone who has used Roman Roads Media for classes please message me about your experience....or just reply to this?   Many, many thanks!

 

Ro Laberee

 

[scrapbabe]

Can anyone who has used Roman Roads Media for classes please message me about your experience....or just reply to this? Many, many thanks!

 

Ro Laberee

We've taken classes from Roman Roads.

Edited July 31, 2017 by scrapbabe

[Brenda Barnett]

High School Math Live offers live and interactive online instruction. Classes meet twice a week for 1.5 hours each. Quizzes are emailed to parents on Wednesday, completed by student - using paper/pencil and showing all work, and returned (via scan/picture) by Friday morning. Grades and feedback are sent by Friday afternoon. Excellent instruction, weekly accountability, and individualized feedback - from the comfort of your home! Pre-Algebra through AP® Calculus AB

[OneStepAtATime]

Anyone have any feedback from last year's classes or maybe this summer?  I will be posting mine and updating the list at some point.

Edited August 29, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[3andme]

You can add Wasko Lit for Literature. They offer a 4 year Great Books type program. The same organization WriteatHome also offers writing instruction online.

[mamamoose]

My daughter has taken a Bravewriter class and two class from MPOA. The bravewriter class was a waste of time and money. There was only positive feedback and nothing constructive. For a child who doesn’t like writing I imagine it would be amazing but we were hoping for something that took her from point A to point B and it didn’t do anything of the sort.

 

She took a summer literature seminar from MPOA. We didn’t hate it but the teacher wasn’t all that great nor engaging and she clearly had a class favorite. However, my daughter learned and gained test taking skills and it was short and to the point.

 

She is now taking First Form Latin and she loves it and so do I. It’s demanding and her teacher is wonderfully engaging. Mr. Piland is quick to fix problems and address issues. I can’t say enough about the organization, additional history, and excellent instruction I have witnessed. We will continue with classes from MPOA for a very long time.

 

All that to say I would love to find something less demanding for my son, who would not do well with the tests or this kind of rigor.

[Maryam]

I suppose I’m mentioning the obvious. We’ve had great experiences with Derek Owens math classes, PAH AP Chemistry, Center for Lit, and Bravewriter. We have had a good experience with Edhesive’s AP Computer Science. Also, everyone on these forums is really praising Clover Creek Physics (with Jetta). And of course WTM Academy’s classes are well liked.

Edited November 7, 2017 by Maryam

[MarkT]

FYI Philfour has disappeared from the WWW.

I have been checking for over a month now.

 

He did leave some videos on Youtube for example:

[MarkT]

related HS thread (FYI)

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/662790-online-live-courses/

[MarkT]

CTC MATH

 

 

FYI

The Middle and High School level courses are divided into 4 parts which could be used as quarters for pacing.

See lesson plans:

https://www.ctcmath.com/assets/files/complete_us_lessons.xls

[OneStepAtATime]

Thanks MarkT.  I am trying to browse back through this thread and see if I missed anything that needs linking to the first page.  If anyone wants to add anything, feel free.  Reviews would be great.  I am going to update a couple of my reviews...

 

I also wanted to ask if people could post regarding schools that offer one semester classes for the Spring (or Winter as Open Tent Academy calls it).  I know that Excelsior and Open Tent Academy both offer courses for the Spring/Winter but I am sure others do, too.  

[RootAnn]

I updated a post on the bottom of the first page with my review (so far) of Coram Deo's Intro to Essay Writing class.

 

Reserving this post for my review (once DD gets her final grade in a couple weeks!) of Lukeion's Advanced Composition and Research Writing class that was brand new this fall semester (2017).

Edited to add my review of Lukeion's Composition and Research class.

 

This class was brand new & offered for the first time in Fall of 2017. It is recommended for those working at the 11th & 12th grade level and was taught by Randee Baty.

The purpose of the class, according to the syllabus, was to "help you understand what makes good academic writing and to help your writing become stronger, faster, more efficient, and more academic in form and tone." In the first nine weeks, the kids wrote six papers of various types (narrative, descriptive, extended definition, etc.). Three of those papers received teacher feedback before the final draft had to be turned in. One was commented on by two peers before the final draft was turned in, and two had no draft versions. They also were responsible for discussion posts based on teacher prompts on the one book they read (Hound of the Baskervilles) during the middle of the course. During the last seven weeks (two of those weeks were holidays & had no class meeting), they were responsible for writing a compare and contrast paper and a research paper - both of which had rough drafts commented on by the teacher.

 

Pros (for us)

- This class wrote a lot of papers.

 

Cons (for us)

- Teacher feedback (for us) was minimal - both on the rough draft and with the final grade. There was rarely any specific feedback. Mostly, it was general things like, "use more examples" and "your tone is too casual for an academic paper."

- Grading took a long time (3-4 weeks usually - while two to three other papers were turned in)

- Teaching was "lecture style" in a once-per-week one hour live meeting with very little student interaction (outside of the chat box) = very easy to tune out. If you wanted to rewatch, you had to request access to the password vs. it just being available to view a section again if you didn't catch it the first time. 

 

If you aren't a very good writer, I'm not sure this class will get you there with the minimal feedback and honestly, minimal hands-on teaching. If you are already a good writer, I'm not sure what this class will do for you, either. DD is somewhere in the middle. She found out that she can, indeed, write a 3-4 page paper in less than an hour and still get a decent grade. (As her mom, I was glad to see she could churn out a paper in a short period of time, but not so sure I wanted her to get a good grade on her sloppy work. It was a mixed blessing.)

 

I don't know what level of writers were in the class or what the grading was like (hard? easy? middle?), so it is difficult to know what the teacher was seeing and grading on (vs. my daughter's papers).

I did see one glowing review of the class on another site, so someone got something out of the class. So, your mileage may vary!

Edited December 18, 2017 by RootAnn

[MarkT]

for HS Dual Enrollment  (especially MD based folks) this may be of interest:

 

https://www.homeschool.com/resources/ccbcmd/

[TarynB]

I updated a post on the bottom of the first page with my review (so far) of Coram Deo's Intro to Essay Writing class.

 

Reserving this post for my review (once DD gets her final grade in a couple weeks!) of Lukeion's Advanced Composition and Research Writing class that was brand new this fall semester (2017).

Edited to add my review of Lukeion's Composition and Research class.

 

This class was brand new & offered for the first time in Fall of 2017. It is recommended for those working at the 11th & 12th grade level and was taught by Randee Baty.

The purpose of the class, according to the syllabus, was to "help you understand what makes good academic writing and to help your writing become stronger, faster, more efficient, and more academic in form and tone." In the first nine weeks, the kids wrote six papers of various types (narrative, descriptive, extended definition, etc.). Three of those papers received teacher feedback before the final draft had to be turned in. One was commented on by two peers before the final draft was turned in, and two had no draft versions. They also were responsible for discussion posts based on teacher prompts on the one book they read (Hound of the Baskervilles) during the middle of the course. During the last seven weeks (two of those weeks were holidays & had no class meeting), they were responsible for writing a compare and contrast paper and a research paper - both of which had rough drafts commented on by the teacher.

 

Pros (for us)

- This class wrote a lot of papers.

 

Cons (for us)

- Teacher feedback (for us) was minimal - both on the rough draft and with the final grade. There was rarely any specific feedback. Mostly, it was general things like, "use more examples" and "your tone is too casual for an academic paper."

- Grading took a long time (3-4 weeks usually - while two to three other papers were turned in)

- Teaching was "lecture style" in a once-per-week one hour live meeting with very little student interaction (outside of the chat box) = very easy to tune out. If you wanted to rewatch, you had to request access to the password vs. it just being available to view a section again if you didn't catch it the first time. 

 

If you aren't a very good writer, I'm not sure this class will get you there with the minimal feedback and honestly, minimal hands-on teaching. If you are already a good writer, I'm not sure what this class will do for you, either. DD is somewhere in the middle. She found out that she can, indeed, write a 3-4 page paper in less than an hour and still get a decent grade. (As her mom, I was glad to see she could churn out a paper in a short period of time, but not so sure I wanted her to get a good grade on her sloppy work. It was a mixed blessing.)

 

I don't know what level of writers were in the class or what the grading was like (hard? easy? middle?), so it is difficult to know what the teacher was seeing and grading on (vs. my daughter's papers).

I did see one glowing review of the class on another site, so someone got something out of the class. So, your mileage may vary!

 

RootAnn, I'm so glad you linked to this updated review post in another thread. I saw it when you first posted but I had missed the update until today. Thank you for sharing your DD's experience with the new-this-year Lukeion class.