IEW Online Classes..Reviews??

[mmasc]

Has anyone tried these? Specifically, the SWI B Online course?  I’d love some feedback on the classes and teachers. We’ve been using EIW for the last 2 years and might continue, but I really would like to outsource writing and have DS get feedback from someone other than me. 

It looks like you pay for the class but also need to buy the SWI package ($109). That doesn’t make sense to me. Why would I need 4 DVDs teaching my son, if I’m paying for a live teacher to teach him? Maybe I’m misunderstanding what’s required in regards to curriculum. Hopefully it’s just the student book. (?)

[2Peanuts]

Hi there,

My DD13 took SWI-B online this year. It wasn't her favorite class experience. (She has also taken WTMA classes and much prefers the platform they use.) That said, DD was very glad to have learned the IEW system of writing and acknowledges that it has improved her writing skills tremendously.

I outsourced writing instruction because I wanted it done & in a timely manner. DD is a good student, but she often gets stuck waiting for me to work with her because most of my time & attention is spent working with DS9 who is autistic and has language & attention issues.

Yes, you do have to purchase the DVDs and yes, most of the instruction comes from Andrew Pudewa & the DVDs. This was one of the issues DD had with the class - she felt like she didn't really learn anything new in class that wasn't already explained on the DVDs.

Most classes seemed to go over the DVD lesson to emphasize the key points. Then a good portion was spent on the grammar lessons (Fix It, which both DD & I did not enjoy). In theory, it's nice to edit a passage to practice grammar skills, but some of the passages were so poorly written (as in, the grammar mistakes were so contrived...not at all what you'd come across in real writing) that we actually abandoned the lessons halfway through the year when we felt like they were not the best use of our time & energy. She still got the grammar concepts just fine. (She had done a year of Analytical Grammar in 6th grade.) 

Some issues with the classroom platform - it's all typing-based so slower and non-typers were at a distinct disadvantage. DD's teacher did not turn on student microphones at all during class, which DD didn't like. Sometimes, it took so long to type something in the chat box that by the time she got the whole question/comment typed out, the teacher had moved on. Also, the teachers don't open the classroom until they arrive so there's little interaction between the students before/after class. WTMA teachers, I believe, do open their classrooms about 10 minutes early & DD has really enjoyed getting to know her classmates during that time. She really wished she could have done that with the IEW class but it wasn't an option. So, those were her 2 biggest "beefs" with the IEW platform.

The class was worthwhile to me, just for the aspect of keeping her on track. Since she was accountable to someone other than Mom, she did all her assignments in a timely manner and she covered several units of IEW. Had I been her teacher, I probably wouldn't have gotten her through half the material she covered in class!

So...it was worth it from that aspect - from getting the job done. But if you're better at holding your kids accountable, then you can probably just do the lessons on your own with the DVD. It's really hard to find a better writing teacher than Andrew Pudewa. Watching his lessons was by far DD's favorite part of the class.

[mmasc]

This is very helpful. Thank you so much for typing it all out for me! I think my DS would have  that same ‘beef’ about not learning anything in class if he has to watch the DVDs as well. It just feels like it should be one or the other, ykwim?

Would you mind sharing which WTMA class(es) you’ve been pleased with? Was it a writing class? I’ve looked at those as well. 

[2Peanuts]

DD took Expository Writing Level 1 as a 6th grader (last year). She said that her teacher for that class, Jennifer Roudabush, is one of her favorite teachers so far. (She's had 4 online classes...so really, all her teachers are "Top 5." ?)

As with the IEW class, I liked the WTMA class because it got her writing instruction done. However, I felt like DD needed more hand-holding & structure re: writing with style. Expository Writing didn't really go into stuff like how to vary sentence structure or how to organize info so you aren't quoting large swaths of research. But it gave great templates for how to structure different types of writing. I liked that it made DD think about the purpose of her written piece - is it to provide a description of a scientific discovery? A narrative of a historical event? A description of a person or character? Each type of writing had its own guidelines for what to include/think about. However, beyond those guidelines, students pretty much had to come to the table with decent skills in crafting a coherent (and interesting) sentence. DD needed *a lot* of help from me on that part!

After IEW, I felt like DD was coming to me with better 1st drafts. She's also better at figuring out how to organize her info into topics. And her narrations are really solid now!

So, I think it really depends on your student --- if they need more help with the actual craft of writing, I'd go with IEW. If they can already write pretty well but need help writing to different purposes, then go with WTMA. If either way would work, then WTMA would probably provide a more robust online classroom experience since the students did activities like work on assignments together in class and share ideas/insights in both the chat box and with the mic turned on.

FYI, DD also took WTMA's Socratic Discussion & Story of the Middle Ages courses. Both were great experiences for her. Mr. Caro (the history teacher) is a stand out for his ability to challenge the students with assignments that stretched their history muscles. We've been homeschooling for 5 years now and this was the first time DD actually enjoyed history. (Disclaimer: History is NOT my thing!) 

Socratic Discussion was great because it teaches some foundational skills in critical thinking and literary analysis. That class is heavily driven by student participation and since DD likes to share her opinions, it worked out quite well for her. I also liked Socratic Discussion because it introduced DD to lots of great short stories - I do ok finding good novels for her to read but I don't know my short stories at all so this was a fantastic addition to her literature lessons!

Hope this helps...sorry if I was too long-winded! ? 

[mmasc]

Very helpful! You’ve given me a lot to look into and think about. Thank you so much for your help. I’m going to look into the other classes you’ve mentioned, as well. I’m really wanting to outsource some things for next year, and these would be good possibilities (in addition to a writing class). ?

[CAtoVA]

My DS took the IEW SWI B class online this year (he is finishing 8th grade). We had two different teachers because we switched at the semester break. The difference in teachers made quite a "difference" (pardon the pun!) The first teacher had weak classroom management skills so very little of teaching substance got done online. There was one student in particular who was quite immature and liked to type loooooonnnnggggg, distracting things (spam type of things) in the chatbox. This teacher would allow it to go without wiping the chat and spent quite  a bit of time with the "Now, ______, please stop doing that......" It was highly annoying and took time away from teaching. My son, who generally has a high tolerance for this type of thing, didn't even want to continue the class. In hindsight I should have complained earlier and gotten a switch in schedule. So, if you have some distracting students in class, and the the teacher you have is weak with online classroom management skills, it probably won't get better and it will affect the quality of teaching .This teacher also spent roughly 30 minutes a class period doing Fix -It Grammar which we had found not that useful and stopped doing early on. So the 30 minutes was a waste for us.

The next semester we had a different teacher who taught similarly to me, ran a "tight" ship so to speak, and actually taught. This was a far different experience and worthwhile. This teacher spent about 10 minutes with Fix -It and the rest of the time with writing instruction, answering questions, etc. Often the class would end 10 minutes early because everything for the day had been covered.

Yes, you do need the DVDs because you need to watch them as the appropriate section comes up. I am selling the DVDs (and many people sell them separately) so if you are interested let me know. Then you need to buy the student book online at IEW (costs $10.00 as a downloadable ebook; only run off the pages you actually need) and you will have the whole course for less than $109.00. If you are using FIx-It Grammar you can purchase it used (I also have it for sale) and you only need the Teacher Book I think.......

The most valuable aspect of the IEW SWI B online course for me was that it kept my DS on track with writing and completing assignments regularly. I have other children to teach (younger) and the assignment schedule assured me that DS was doing enough writing for an 8th grader. His writing improved immensely as a result, and having to consistently go through all the steps (drafting, dressups, etc.) established an excellent routine. He also did many different types of writing (as the class delves into most of the units) and this was a plus.

As a follow up, DS will be taking Open Tent's IEW class online with Eva Meola (the one for grades 8-11) next year.

I used the Writing with Skill Level 1 book with my DS during his 7th grade year (no online class). I actually really like that series! However, for my DS he needed the structure that IEW provides in order to build his confidence and his writing skills. I did not consider the online class with WTM because it looked like there would not be enough scaffolding for my DS. I may consider it in the future (maybe for 10th grade) after he has another year of IEW to cement skills.

 

 

 

[CAtoVA]

Oh, I noticed your oldest  was doing Essentials in Literature Level 7. Not to hijack this post : ) but could you tell me what you think of the program? I am seriously considering buying it for DS (the 9th grade version). Is it solid and enough for an entire year? Any other comments would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

[2Peanuts]

CAtoVA - we stopped doing Fix It, too, although I took waaaay too long to give my DD the green light to drop it. I wonder if our kids were in the same class. I'll have to ask DD if there was a student who typed a lot of spammy stuff in the chat. I had thought about switching to another teacher at the semester break but thought I had to stick with the same one for some reason. Wish I had tried another class!

And we are also switching over to Open Tent's writing class for next year! DD will be taking Middle School Writing with Eva on Mondays. Wonder if our kiddos will be classmates! ?

Glad to see we weren't the only ones who hated Fix It. On the surface, it seemed like a great idea - esp. since DD loves to edit & revise. But it became so tedious after a few weeks....

[mmasc]

Your reviews have been immensely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to give thorough reviews. I’m feeling convinced that this isn’t the class for DS. 

[mmasc]

On 6/7/2018 at 9:34 AM, CAtoVA said:

Oh, I noticed your oldest  was doing Essentials in Literature Level 7. Not to hijack this post : ) but could you tell me what you think of the program? I am seriously considering buying it for DS (the 9th grade version). Is it solid and enough for an entire year? Any other comments would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

We did EIW for 6th and now 7th. We switched to it after doing 2 years of IEW theme books. It has been good for DS and the teaching is in small enough chunks that there isn’t much complaining. ? It’s working and DS’s writing has improved, so I’m leaning toward using it again for 8th, but this time adding in the scoring services that EIW offers. I think feedback from outside sources will help my DS. Ok, so here are my other thoughts. 

Pros:

gets done

Is improving writing

dvd teaching with short lessons

cons:

even though I’m not teaching, I still have to look at his work, help edit, revise, etc. If I don’t stay on top of this, then he does his little daily ‘chunk’ in a matter of minutes and ‘checks the box’ for writing. So, I think the biggest con is that it can be light, especially if you’re not staying on top of it. My DS finished the book by Christmas. ? BUT, that didn’t happen in 6th. I think when I gave him more independence for 7th, that’s what happened. So, yes, I think it can and should be a full school year course, but only if you ensure your DC is doing ALL of the writing, re-writing, editing, etc. This was probably more of a fail on my part, not the curriculum. 

HTH! Please let me know if you have any other specific questions. 

[mmasc]

I just realized you wanted a review of literature, not writing! Doh!!!

We really liked EIL 7. I gave a review in another recent thread, but I’ll give my thoughts again here. ?

It covered all of the elements that I fail to think about covering. It was all scheduled out so I didn’t have to wonder if I was getting to it all...Short stories, poetry, nonfiction, novel. Everything is available online except for the novel so at the beginning of the school year I just printed everything needed and DS would pull out whatever stories/poems were for the week. He would do all of the reading and work during the week and I’d discuss things with him at the end of the week. I also read the novel along with him so we could discuss it, along with the questions already in his book. (We also both really enjoyed the novel!) 

Using the given EIL schedule, my DS finished at the beginning of May, so roughly a full year course.

I would love to use EIL 8, but I’m on the fence because I don’t think my DS is ready for the novel. We could skip it and read a different novel, but then I feel like I’m paying for something I’m not fully using. I’m still pondering it. ?

let me know if I can answer any other questions!

 

[CAtoVA]

Sorry to get back to this after such a long time away (summer camps are sucking up a lot of time—driving, picking up, etc.....) Anyway.....

Thanks so much for the review of EIL, mmasc! I had the same thoughts about the novel in 8th so I skipped it. Now that DS is starting 9th, I'm looking again. However, Teachers pay teachers has a lot of truly excellent resources, as well, so I am torn.

2Peanuts, I understand the hesitation to switch classes but I was just so fed up with the poor classroom management it was either that or quit IEW entirely. I figured they would rather I switch than quit : ). I did not say that, though. I said it was a scheduling conflict and they never asked any questions but just switched my son.

My DS is taking Eva's All About Essays B week that starts Monday, October 15. Did you find out if your DD had the same IEW class that my DS had? The student in question would fill the chat box continuously with spam, looooooonnnnngggggg spam. And he also put forth comments that were unrelated to what was going on.

 

[2Peanuts]

CAtoVA --- Our kiddos will be in the same Open Tent class! I actually "met" another boardie whose kiddo will also be in that class. I'm excited to know DD will have some good company. We parents will have to trade notes! ?

I forgot to ask DD about the spammer! I can't believe I forgot to ask! (Actually, yes I can... So many details lost in the sieve that is my brain...or what's left of it.)