Since we are a somewhat large family (by today’s standards anyway), I like to utilize online learning as much as I can. It helps cut down on the clutter quite a bit, and is just easier to do. Our family received a year’s subscription to all of the Standard Deviants Accelerate Homeschool Courses from Standard Deviants Accelerate. The courses are recommended for ages 8+, and the cost is $99 per year per course for one student, or $24.95 per month. The AP courses that are offered are $14.95 per month for one student. Since this is for ages 8 and up, only 3 of my children used the courses.
Standard Deviants Accelerate is an online supplemental program that offers 14 courses, which include studies for Math, Science, Social Science, Test Prep, and English:
- Arithmetic – Grades 3+
- Fundamental Math – Grades 4+
- Earth Science – Grades 6+
- Nutrition – Grades 6+
- Algebra – Grades 7+
- Biology – Grades 7+
- Chemistry – Grades 9+
- U.S. History – Grades 9+
- AP Biology – Grades 11+
- AP Chemistry – Grades 11+
- AP U.S. Government & Politics – Grades 11+
- AP U.S. History – Grades 11+
- AP Eng. Composition – Grades 11+
- English Composition
Ethan used Arithmetic and Earth Science, Issac used Nutrition and Earth Science, and Rach used Biology, Nutrition, and Earth Science. The program is fairly simple to set up and use, and is very interactive. When students log in, they can see all of the courses that they’re signed up for. At the top of the screen on the Menu bar, students can view their classes, view their progress reports, their video notes, written response notes, and edit their profile. When the subject picture is clicked, a list of all of the lessons and units pops up, and the student simply clicks on the one that they need to go to. Each subject is broken down by units, then lessons. After all of the units is a complete subject review. There are around 3-5 lessons for each unit. The lessons themselves are actually taught via video, although there is also a transcript that can be printed if your student likes to follow along. This can also be used for the quiz that’s done later. Everything is open-book, which is nice. The video lessons are pretty humorous, with lots of fun characters, and we had a lot of fun watching those. They’re goofy and made school a little more fun!
Next will be a list of vocabulary words, and they are clickable, which allows you to have the words and definitions read to you. Next is a drag and drop diagram “quiz,” and I quoted quiz because it’s not really a quiz, but it kind of is, you know? It’s a review of what was learned in the lesson. Next up is the actual quiz. As I said before, the work is open-book, and the quizzes are fairy short, with only about 5 questions or so. Lastly is Written Answer. This is a thematic question related to the subject that is asked at the end of each lesson. Then 2 more questions are asked, and students are encouraged to use critical thinking skills to answer them:
1. How does the perspective of the thematic question inform your understanding of the topics covered in this section?
2. How does what you have learned in this section provide new dimensions to your understanding of the thematic question asked above?
There is an answer box for student to type their responses to one or both questions, which is saved to their Locker that I mentioned earlier.
The parent side, or Admin Toolbox (that sounds SO cool!) is similar to the student side, but different, too. Parents have the option to grade the Written Answers if desired, as well as set up new student accounts and add new classes for students. Here’s a more in-depth look at the Teacher Account.
What I loved most about Standard Deviants Accelerate is how easy it is for students to use. I gave the kids their login information, and they were pretty much set to go. They could print the video transcript to study later if they wanted, or just use it for the diagram and quiz. The tabs (video, vocabulary, diagram, quiz, and written answer) are completed in order, and that’s all there is to it. It’s really that simple! Students are graded on the diagram and quiz right away, so they can see what they need to improve on, and those can also be retaken. I love this, because when the kids miss a problem, I make them rework it until they get the correct answer. From start to finish, the kids can complete their work in the 30 minute time that I have allotted for them. This program would of course work great as a supplement, but I also think it could stand on its own two feet. I definitely recommend the program. The yearly subject price is pretty sweet, too. One thing to note is that the Biology course has a unit on evolution, which I do not teach or endorse, so we will just skip over that.
You can follow along with Standard Deviants Accelerate at:
Facebook
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Be sure to click the graphic below to read reviews from my fellow Crew Mates. You can see a general view of all of the subjects offered. Thanks for stopping by!