Algebra II options

[Farrar]

I'm finally tapped out on teaching math. I don't want to grade it next year, though I'm okay with checking in on a program that's grading for them. I'm trying to figure out the right options for each of my boys for next year. I want to make sure I haven't missed any possibilities to consider. I know there's another math provider I literally just saw and can't remember now that looked similar to Mr. D. There are some things that I know aren't right for us, like AoPS or Blue Tent. I don't want to use a Christian provider either. I feel like I'm aware of a lot of options... but I'm torn about what's right for each of my kids.

For BalletBoy, I think ideally he'll do fine without a human instructor. He likes it when he can work at his own pace totally independently. He's good at figuring it all out. However, I need something where I can clearly see his progress and track how he's doing, because he also has a tendency to breeze on through even when he's getting mediocre marks. He's been using Khan to supplement for geometry this year and he really likes it, but one of the reasons it's not right for him long term is that he often makes a careless error or two. When you do that on a quiz with 20 questions, it's not a big deal. When you miss one on a quiz of six questions, like on Khan, you have to do it all over again and again. I need something where 90% is good enough to move on, basically. I'm not totally worried about him - I think whatever I get, he'll probably be okay.

For Mushroom, I think he needs actual feedback/potential tutor support. I think self-paced would probably be better than a live class, just because he can be really asynchronous in how he works and his theater schedule means he gets busy and we like to be able to go light during tech and show runs when possible. He can be a really creative math thinker. Super easy isn't good for him. He really thrived with Jacob's, which was a good balance between easy and in depth. And before that with the levels of Beast Academy that were out. But he also has anxiety and I don't see AoPS working for him. I think he's a bit of a tricky customer.

Live/Actual Instructor Feedback Options I looked at

My Homeschool Math Class (Jann in TX's classes)
Derek Owens
WTMA's Saxon based class
Live Online Math
Mr. D Math
High School Math Live
Unlock Math

Adaptive Software Options I looked at

Thinkwell
Tabletclass
Teaching Textbooks
ALEKS

Right now, I'm leaning toward doing the online only option of Mr. D for BalletBoy and maybe Derek Owens for Mushroom. But... I'm not sure... Any thoughts, y'all?

Edited April 23, 2019 by Farrar

[LAR]

We are all about Mr D and highschoolmathlive.com.  Ms Regina London has been truly phenomenal with AP Calc this year.   

[MamaSprout]

I'm running in the same circle for precalculus... so I'm all ears. I'm also trying to remember the like-Mr. D-provider. I think it was Canadian?

[Farrar]

17 minutes ago, LAR said:

We are all about Mr D and highschoolmathlive.com.  Ms Regina London has been truly phenomenal with AP Calc this year.   

Thanks. I forgot about High School Math Live. I like that it's twice a week instead of three or four, like a lot of classes...

[RootAnn]

Aleks, IXL

Videotext?

I remember something like Mr D but can't remember the name either.

[Roadrunner]

There is also UCScout but I am finding it hard to get reviews.

[Kassia]

My dd used Thinkwell for Algebra 2 and we were very happy with it.  

[Farrar]

13 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Aleks, IXL

Videotext?

I remember something like Mr D but can't remember the name either.

Videotext definitely won't work. I don't think the way it's laid out is right for us. And I think I'd still have to grade, right? And I don't think of IXL as being very complete, more just for practice. Aleks could work though... adding it.

I wish I could remember the thing I literally just saw the other day that looked similar to Mr. D. I remember I thought it looked promising because you could pay for different levels of interaction, which seemed good to me - and there was an in between one where you got the interactive but also access to occasional tutor support, which seemed perfect.

[fourisenough]

Check out Unlock Math. We used it briefly for quick pass through Geometry. It was impressive and I think may be perfect for my youngest when she reaches that level. If oldest reaches the point where she needs asynchronous delivery for all her classes, it will be a toss-up between Unlock and DO. 

[MamaSprout]

2 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

Check out Unlock Math. We used it briefly for quick pass through Geometry. It was impressive and I think may be perfect for my youngest when she reaches that level. If oldest reaches the point where she needs asynchronous delivery for all her classes, it will be a toss-up between Unlock and DO. 

I think that's the one I couldn't remember!

[klmama]

We've been using DO for a couple of years, and we tried myhomeschoolmathclass.com for a couple of classes before that; both were good, but we are going to try Unlock Math next fall.  We want a completely asynchronous class with unlimited problems for additional practice.  I'm hoping Unlock Math will be the right pick.

[Farrar]

That’s it! Unlock! I knew the hive would remember!

[madteaparty]

I think I’ve looked and briefly used about 70% of the options on your original post, lol. 

I would almost recommend DO for both unless you have an extraneous reason the boys shouldn’t use the same provider. We are using DO for algebra 2 completely a la carte currently to round off an in person class I’m not thrilled with but stuck into. 

I will say Aleks has no teaching at all from what I can tell. It’s mostly a diagnostic and review tool, but maybe I missed something? 

 

[Farrar]

So, this is funny. Then I went and looked at Unlock... and I'm still thinking of yet another one. Drat.

I don't know why I'm nervous about DO... but for BalletBoy, I think he'd actually do better with an online option. He really needs the immediate feedback. I think it stresses Mushroom out so DO might be perfect. But then again, maybe he could use it. I don't know.

[Farrar]

Oh, and they can use the same thing. That's fine. I just think  they're different learners with slightly different needs. But if the same thing is right, that's fine.

[MamaSprout]

32 minutes ago, madteaparty said:

I think I’ve looked and briefly used about 70% of the options on your original post, lol. 

I would almost recommend DO for both unless you have an extraneous reason the boys shouldn’t use the same provider. We are using DO for algebra 2 completely a la carte currently to round off an in person class I’m not thrilled with but stuck into. 

I will say Aleks has no teaching at all from what I can tell. It’s mostly a diagnostic and review tool, but maybe I missed something? 

 

How quick is feedback/ turn around on assignments. I've had two IRL friends not like DO for these reasons.

[madteaparty]

It’s been around 3-4 days iirc. 

[Farrar]

Honestly, looking at them more carefully including prices... I really like the way that Mr. D's has the tutoring available. Neither of the live class times are great for us (the 5 pm time is a hard no way - my kids have activities nearly every evening that start around 6), but self-paced is fine because of that tutoring time.

I swear there was another option that was new to me within the last few months. Argh. Unlock does look promising too, but something about it is putting me off. Sigh. Oh well, no need to decide now anyway.

[madteaparty]

I don’t think you’re locked into anything so you can try something and move on to the next thing if it doesn’t work.

if I understand correctly from the couple months of light use, most feedback in DO is in fact almost instatenous, because most work is problems worked out in the workbook and checked against the answers. Homework DS only sends in every few days, and I like that I get copied on the return to those so I know he hasn’t totally jumped the shark... 

the main DO value here has been that after a PhD in comparative math programs for homeschoolers 🙄 DS likes the way the DO videos explain most by far. 

Edited April 24, 2019 by madteaparty

[klmama]

3 hours ago, Farrar said:

I swear there was another option that was new to me within the last few months. 

I just checked my saved links and found CTCMath.  Is it the program you were thinking of?  https://www.ctcmath.com/   

[Farrar]

13 minutes ago, klmama said:

I just checked my saved links and found CTCMath.  Is it the program you were thinking of?  https://www.ctcmath.com/   

Nope, but that looks like a possibility too! 😂

I asked at Mr. D when they do the tutoring sessions and it's mostly late afternoon and evening Eastern time. So that may be out for us after all. Surely we're not the only people who are simply not home in  the evenings. Oh well.

[aaplank]

We have done self-paced Mr. D for Algebra 1 and Geometry and I think it might be a good fit for what you're looking for.  There is immediate feedback on tests and quizzes and as a parent, it is very easy to keep track of their progress.  This year the tutoring sessions have been at 4 pm and 8 pm, which have been difficult with various after school activities.

[deerforest]

We switched from AoPS to Derek Owens for Geometry this year, but I chose the self-grading option. It's been fine. More problems than AoPS and tests now, but the work has been extremely easy for her which has been a lovely change. She still prefers AoPS videos, but they aren't available at this level so it's not an option. But, I think AoPS prepared her math-inclined brain well. We're sticking with DO simply because it's been fine, and she has other priorities. Since we've self graded, I have no idea what tutoring or feedback would be. I'll keep doing the self-grading option next year for Algebra 2.

ETA: I will say that they've responded to any questions I've had the same day, within just a couple hours at most typically. Even today I had some questions about homework assignments for algebra 2 compared to geometry, and I got a great response with samples and a clear comparison between the two.

Edited April 27, 2019 by deerforest

[Shell 0830]

Farrar, could it be Colosky's? My kids used it this year and loved it..We watch it live when we can and catch the videos if we're not around. I have them do the corresponding homework and tests. My kids love the interaction with the live teacher and other kids. My oldest takes Alg II there next year. https://coloskys-math-academy.thinkific.com/

[Janeway]

On 4/23/2019 at 9:42 PM, Farrar said:

Nope, but that looks like a possibility too! 😂

I asked at Mr. D when they do the tutoring sessions and it's mostly late afternoon and evening Eastern time. So that may be out for us after all. Surely we're not the only people who are simply not home in  the evenings. Oh well.

What did you end up using? And what did you like?

[Farrar]

32 minutes ago, Janeway said:

What did you end up using? And what did you like?

We ended up using Mr. D's for both boys. I both like and don't like it. It's on the light side, but seems thorough - so definitely a step up from, say Teaching Textbooks. The format is good for us with the live class and the week of work. There's help sessions, but the timing of them is awkward for us, so we haven't used them a ton. I wish there was more graded feedback - I have taken to really spot checking and going through some of them with my boys so they can not just check the answer, but the whole solution. They seem to have been honest in their grading of the end answers, but they're not looking at the full solutions all the time.

I mostly like it for my dancer - he has a busy schedule and he's had some issues this year (kid can't see, it turns out... glasses arriving before the end of the week and I'm so ready to stop reading aloud). He likes it - he really likes Mr. H (all the kids like Mr. H - he's the teacher to have) - and overall, it's fine if he has a thorough but not particularly hard Algebra II credit. My other kid, I do regret it for. He doesn't like his teacher as much (though she's fine). And he did need more of a challenge. If I could go back in time, I'd have put him in Derek Owens, which is likely what he'll do next year for Pre-Calc, possibly with a bit of extra work to bridge the gap.

[Janeway]

1 minute ago, Farrar said:

We ended up using Mr. D's for both boys. I both like and don't like it. It's on the light side, but seems thorough - so definitely a step up from, say Teaching Textbooks. The format is good for us with the live class and the week of work. There's help sessions, but the timing of them is awkward for us, so we haven't used them a ton. I wish there was more graded feedback - I have taken to really spot checking and going through some of them with my boys so they can not just check the answer, but the whole solution. They seem to have been honest in their grading of the end answers, but they're not looking at the full solutions all the time.

I mostly like it for my dancer - he has a busy schedule and he's had some issues this year (kid can't see, it turns out... glasses arriving before the end of the week and I'm so ready to stop reading aloud). He likes it - he really likes Mr. H (all the kids like Mr. H - he's the teacher to have) - and overall, it's fine if he has a thorough but not particularly hard Algebra II credit. My other kid, I do regret it for. He doesn't like his teacher as much (though she's fine). And he did need more of a challenge. If I could go back in time, I'd have put him in Derek Owens, which is likely what he'll do next year for Pre-Calc, possibly with a bit of extra work to bridge the gap.

I own the workbook for the second half of Derek Owens, I am thinking of just having my son start algebra 2 over and going with Derek Owens.