Wilson Hill Academy? Ranya Bailey or Joel Verano experience with either?

[matrips]

I am looking at the Great Conversations 1 course for my kids.  Ranya Bailey and Joel Verano are the two choices for teachers.  Has anyone done this course or had these teachers?  Thanks.

[SoCal_Bear]

When you hover over the search window, you have the option of asking it to search only for posts that have all your search terms. For Wilson Hill, you are better off searching WHA because everyone using that for shorthand and GC for Great Conversation. Hope that helps. Then it's combing through those to find the posts that are most applicable to you. You could try WHA and the last name of the teacher as well. Joel Verano is unfamiliar to me because I usually read WHA posts. I think he might be new. I remember seeing positive reviews about Bailey.

[ScoutTN]

No experience with the two you've mentioned, but if you have specific questions about teaching style, reading lists, course expectations, etc., I have found WHA teachers to be very responsive and helpful. 

[matrips]

What is an online 'live' class like?  My kids have done self-paced classes, but never a live one.  Do they see the other kids?  the teacher?  How do they interact?  Is there any special equipment or software that makes it a better experience?  My kids have headphones.  The computer has a camera/mic, but I know you can purchase ones as well.

Thank you!

We signed them up with Ranya Bailey for GC1.

 

[matrips]

17 hours ago, calbear said:

When you hover over the search window, you have the option of asking it to search only for posts that have all your search terms. For Wilson Hill, you are better off searching WHA because everyone using that for shorthand and GC for Great Conversation. Hope that helps. Then it's combing through those to find the posts that are most applicable to you. You could try WHA and the last name of the teacher as well. Joel Verano is unfamiliar to me because I usually read WHA posts. I think he might be new. I remember seeing positive reviews about Bailey.

thank you!  I will try that!

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, matrips said:

What is an online 'live' class like?  My kids have done self-paced classes, but never a live one.  Do they see the other kids?  the teacher?  How do they interact?  Is there any special equipment or software that makes it a better experience?  My kids have headphones.  The computer has a camera/mic, but I know you can purchase ones as well.

Thank you!

We signed them up with Ranya Bailey for GC1.

 

It is just that, live and online. Teacher and students are all online in a "classroom" in software like Adobe Connect or Zoom or Go To Meeting. Who can see whom depends on how the teacher sets it up. My daughter's class at WHA had everyone on camera for a bit the first day, then just the teacher (in a box to the upper right). The teacher's slides or whiteboard (for math) were the main screen and the chat box was on the lower right. Teachers have varying rules about the chat box too.Some control it better than others. Kids are called on, just as in b&m classrooms. They can raise their hands to answer by clicking an icon. For math, the students have a tablet connected to the computer so they can do problems "on the board".  

Sounds like you are good to go with tech: computer with fast internet, headphones (ours have a mic). They walk everyone through the technology protocols the first class. Canvas is easy and so is Adobe Connect. We did a whole year of class and only had one tech glitch, which was our internet provider, not hardware or software. 

My Dd's class at WHA did some fun chatting on the message boards (after class) and even had an art show, where they all uploaded a photo of work they'd done recently. They traded homeschooler stories, compared notes about where they live, and talked about books they love, hobbies, pets, etc. 

[SoCal_Bear]

The headphone with a mic work a lot better. I just started using that. His mic doesn't pick up ambient noise. My son is still young, so we got these ones which work fine. I actually used them for a online meet and greet FAQ I was hosting for my homeschool group. They really helped me a lot.

FWIW, I was able to sit in on a couple of GC classes and the discussions we really great. It was when WHA tried doing an open house a year or two ago. I was totally sold in GC and mine is only 9 right now. I'm just waiting until he is old enough to enroll. 

If you just signed up, email them right away and ask for the link for tomorrow night's parent orientation. It's at 8 EST/5 PST. I just was in the one this morning, and it was super helpful.

[SoCal_Bear]

Would be good if I linked them. Price is super cheap on some of the colors right now. https://www.amazon.com/Headphones-Microphone-Lightweight-Adjustable-Smartphones/dp/B015WBVKN2

 

[cintinative]

We are taking GC1 with Greg Lawrence. Can you not do that class due to the time slot?
 

I emailed with Ranya--she has been with WHA for awhile and I liked her. Joel is brand new to WHA. We were originally in the afternoon T/Th session and moved to the morning because of the teacher change (from Lawrence to Verano).

I had talked with parents about Mr. Lawrence and felt comfortable with him which is why we switched.

This will be our first year with WHA so I am afraid I can't give much input other than that.  ?

[matrips]

22 hours ago, cintinative said:

We are taking GC1 with Greg Lawrence. Can you not do that class due to the time slot?
 

I emailed with Ranya--she has been with WHA for awhile and I liked her. Joel is brand new to WHA. We were originally in the afternoon T/Th session and moved to the morning because of the teacher change (from Lawrence to Verano).

I had talked with parents about Mr. Lawrence and felt comfortable with him which is why we switched.

This will be our first year with WHA so I am afraid I can't give much input other than that.  ?

He must not teach on M/W.  the kids have a coop on Tuesdays which let out T/Th classes.  We should touch base as the year goes on to see how it's going with our kids ?

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, matrips said:

He must not teach on M/W.  the kids have a coop on Tuesdays which let out T/Th classes.  We should touch base as the year goes on to see how it's going with our kids ?

 

We have co-op on Wednesdays so we had the opposite issue. Sure--keep me posted on how it goes.  I was telling someone on here that I was laughing because Mr. Lawrence said that if the students wanted, they could start reading "The Landmark Herodotus: the Histories" because the class would only assign sections but some students might want to read the whole thing. The book is 842 pages not including indexes, appendices, etc.  The idea of my almost 13 year old reading the entire thing voluntarily made me laugh out loud.  I can only hope that if there are such motivated history students in the world, that they will rub off on my unmotivated one.  LOL.

[matrips]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

 

We have co-op on Wednesdays so we had the opposite issue. Sure--keep me posted on how it goes.  I was telling someone on here that I was laughing because Mr. Lawrence said that if the students wanted, they could start reading "The Landmark Herodotus: the Histories" because the class would only assign sections but some students might want to read the whole thing. The book is 842 pages not including indexes, appendices, etc.  The idea of my almost 13 year old reading the entire thing voluntarily made me laugh out loud.  I can only hope that if there are such motivated history students in the world, that they will rub off on my unmotivated one.  LOL.

one of mine would be the one to curl up and read it. LOL.   the other two kids, probably not. :)