Bju videos

[Dotty]

Hello.

I had planned on using BJU online videos (out of necessity)

I really liked their 20-30min teacher videos, but they’ve changed their format. They’ve cut the lessons down by half. They are now 10-15mins. I don’t understand why they would cut them so drastically. Anybody have experience with the new short videos? English is down to 11mins, as is science and history. (Price hasn’t changed)

I’m confused why they did this when their method has such a good reputation.

Any input/opinion is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Plink]

What grade are you looking at?  I would love to go back to BJU if the lectures were shorter!

 

Their site has lesson times listed for each grade and course.  http://www.bjupresshomeschool.com/product/421487

[Dotty]

The lectures have been cut in half, you’ll be happy with that. :)

I’m not because I rely on the lecturers as I cannot teach at the moment. The Mrs Vick excellent ones have been removed and the newer ones are just a teacher reading off words and definitions. :/

[Dotty]

Yes, English 6 is 11 minutes and moves very fast, and hard to follow.. 7th grade science is 11-13mins, as is history. I’m just confused as to why the cuts are so dramatic. 15-20mins per subject isn’t unreasonable for a video based program. Thought that’s what the $900 was for.

[Amy in KS]

What’s the quality of the new 7th science teaching? Clear? Does it have enough review?

[Dotty]

Bju and Abeka are decent quality and the sound is good.

[Garga]

We did 6th grade science last year and the lessons were 20–30 minutes long and they bored me to tears. My son watched them and seemed ok with them, but whenever I was in the room with him when they were on, it took everything in me to pay attention.

 

We ditched BJU this year because the lessons were so long.

 

The textbook was also boring as dirt. We’d read it together and I could barely stand it when we did. I came to dread science class.

 

I don’t know if the shorter lectures are better or not (because we ditched them), but maybe they got feedback from people like me who thought they were too long/dry.

 

Obviously, this is all highly subjective and I’m sure other people love the long lectures and the text. But maybe it provides some insight into why they changed them.

Edited March 16, 2018 by Garga

[Dotty]

i Agree 30 is too long, but 11 is too short for a rigorous biology course. 6th is now 18-20mins and the teachers are great. Just about perfect course. 11 mins for chapter introduction plus only day on mammals isn’t quite enough when Mrs Vick’s version was 30mins. Hers were great even at 30 because she’s engaging. They’ve also added “guided notes†for 7th and up for science.

[specialkmom]

The videos range in length from 7 minutes (experiment days when the student has an activity to do) to 30 minutes. I have one in Science 6 and one in Life Science. The Science 6 teachers are more engaging than the Life Science. I had heard good things about Mrs. Vick and was a bit disappointed we didn’t get to find out what she was like. The videos are shorter, I think, to give the students more time for the reading assignments, study sections, lab sheets, etc. Almost every class they are doing reading, and study questions and/or lab sheet. So, 45min to 1 hr a day, at least.

 

I think the instruction is adequate. I’ve watched some of the videos with my kids and usually don’t feel the need to add anything else in. But maybe it clicks easier with them than others. They grasp and retain the material and sometimes go looking up more info for themselves.