Thursday, August 19, 2010

Reviewing ETC Online

I bought the Explode the Code books, however when I saw that the online ETC classes was 60% off at Homeschool Co-op Buyers, I decided to give it a try. I figured there is no reason in not trying it. I have to say that there are it's pros and cons. Luk seems to enjoy it, however as a mom that is watching him complete online courses there are a few things I wish that would be taken into consideration.

First the Cons:
- You can't tell the online course your child's age. I say this because Luk is four. The grade level for
   ETC Book 1 is for grades 1-3.
- With the first being the primary problem, he is graded based on the average of that lesson with that
  age group. He is doing great; he is proficient, however because it takes him a bit longer he is not
  graded "excellent." Logan was pulling on the laptop and being a distraction, and I think that assuming
  the time taken is just because the student didn't know how to do it fast is discouraging. Time doesn't
  equal knowledge and understanding.
- He accidentally hit the mouse on my laptop with his belly hitting the wrong sentence. It does not give
  me the option to correct that on his grade range in the system.
- Really. The major con in this program is not being able to customize the student's age, and that if you
  know something was grade incorrectly, you can't change it. If you can, I didn't see where.

Pros:
- It gives Luk the extra practice I want him to have.
- It grades for you so that you know that you are right in thinking your child understands it.
- It takes away from always being behind books.

All-in-All I think I will ask the hubby to let me purchase it again for Luk next year. I will make sure to look for the same discount I got this year. There's my thoughts. I still enjoy the books because I can do the one-on-one teaching, but the online class is a way for learning to work with the knowledge. It would not be my primary choice, but a supplement.

2 comments:

  1. I was thinking about joining it. Is it exactly like the workbooks or is there a difference? We just started using the Time4Learning website. (Which, if you happen to not have looked at beforehand... I'd recommend doing so.) However, I was thinking of tying E.T.C. online as well.

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  2. I have seen Time4Learning. I just really haven't put aside the money for it. I may have to if Logan keeps his clinginess up. =) The workbooks and the online class is the same. There is the obvious lack of handwriting practice by doing it online. However, we do use Handwriting Without Tears. So, that would not be an issue if you have another handwriting system. Also with the computer you do still to spell the works. I like that because it helps with beginning stages of learning to type. What you see on the workbook is what you do online.

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