Doctor Aviation ~ Review

I have a unique product to introduce to you all today, called Doctor Aviation, if your family enjoys anything to do with aviation then this may just be right up your alley. My high schooler has been undertaking a course in aviation education and was provided access to the complete course in order to bring this review to you.

What Is Doctor Aviation

This product is the brain child of Daryl Smith, aka Doctor Aviation. The course is an introduction to all things aviation and will provide the student with the basic tools and knowledge to take off into the world of flight. The course is recommended for ages 16 and up, of course if you have a younger student that is a very keen aviator then be sure to take a look at the trial lesson on their website.

Doctor Aviation himself has a long list of credentials, including those of United States Airforce Command Pilot, Instructor Pilot, Research Pilot, he has authored an aviation book and is currently a college professor.

The program is based around a series of video lectures, that all average 60 minutes in length.

The lesson structure is broken into sections, with each section containing two - four accompanying lessons. It is broken down as follows.

Section One - Course Overview
The Aviation System

Section Two - The Aircraft
The Major Components Of An Airplane
Axes & Forces
Why An Aircraft Flies - The Secret Of Airfoils & Lift
Why An Aircraft Turns, Pitches & Slides - The Flight Controls

Section Three - Air Traffic Control
How We See An Aircraft Miles Away - The Secrets Of Radar
The Air Traffic Cops - How Air Control Works

Section Four - Aircraft Maintenance
Keep 'em Flying - Propeller Engines
Keep 'em Flying - Jet Engines

Section Five - Airfield Operations
The City In & Of Itself - Running A Large Airport
The Small Airport & Running An FBO

Section Six - The Aircraft II
Flying In The Clear & Not So Clear Air - VMC & IMC
Important Pilot Instruments - Attitude Indicator
Important Pilot Instruments - Airspeed Indicator
Other Aviation Ships - Gliders, Helicopters, Airships

Each section also contains a printable guided notes pdf. This is intended to be downloaded and completed as you watch the video lectures.

For those that wish to delve even deeper there is also a 'To Learn More' page, this area has a huge array of further resources to take the learning to a deeper level. Here you are given recommendations of books to read, websites to visit and further study ideas all pertaining to that particular lesson.

As you progress further into the course you will have the option of printing off Exam Practice Questions. Potentially allowing the student a complete high school credit option if they chose to undertake all of the learning opportunities housed within here.



How Did We Use Doctor Aviation

My teen chose to use the site in its simplest form, that of watching the live lectures and completing the printed guided notes, as you can see in the image above.

Whilst we do spend some time looking at the extra resources to see if there is anything there he would like to follow further, for now he is content in simply increasing his introductory knowledge of aviation.

What We Didn't Like

This is a thorough course, giving a great introduction to aviation and it is designed for students 16 years and over. My son is 15, he is able to complete this independently and whilst he has found the video lectures extremely informative, he personally doesn't overly enjoy the basic lecture style of video presentations.

His wish was two things, for it to be somewhat more animated in the delivery style and for the videos to not be quite so long, therefore expanding the number of videos included. This is always going to be a personal preference though.

What We Did Like

He is however truly enjoying the sharing of information and the exploration of aircraft. He does feel he is learning a great deal from this program. If aviation was a possibility on his list of potential careers then I know that this course would be a truly valuable asset.

Further Details

Visit the Doctor Aviation website for a trial of the first session, The Aviation System.

Doctor Aviation on Facebook

Doctor Aviation on Twitter

If you would like to see more reviews about this product simply click on the image below.

Marsh Media ~ Review

Today I would like to introduce you to MarshMedia a company that produces health education products mainly for use in schools but would like to reach out to the homeschool community.

Our family was given access to the suite of health and puberty videos that MarshMedia have available in order to bring this review to you.

What is MarshMedia

The company creates educational products, mainly based around puberty and health for children and young teens and up until now have primarily created these for schools. The company has put together a great plan though in an effort to reach out to the homeschool community!

The company was originally founded in 1969 and whilst the ownership has changed hands during that time their purpose has always remained the same. That is to provide quality, engaging and educational health videos to children from grades K through to 8.

The MarshMedia suite covers topics such as

• Health
• Hygiene
• Safety
• Puberty
• Head Lice
• Immune System Disorders
• Nutrition
• Character Education
• Social Skills and more

MarshMedia points out that their video's do not discuss sex education, although the terminology is referred to within puberty and health education. I watched these videos mostly with my 8 year old son and was pleased to find nothing that was inappropriate for him to see.




How Did We Use MarshMedia

After logging on I spent some time browsing the various titles available as there was quite a range to choose from.

We watched several of the videos in the hygiene section, the Keep It Clean video was particularly useful, with a teen boy in the house they can always use a little reminder. The video featured a small group of teens singing and chanting with a catchy 'rap' feeling tune. The video covered a huge amount of information around keeping clean and why it is important, but because it was presented in this fashion it wasn't arduous to watch in any way.

Nutrition and safety are topics we discuss around here quite a lot, but having the video option to present the information in a slightly different fashion was a welcome change.

Whilst we didn't access the videos in the Special Needs area I was pleasantly surprised to see them available.

I have not shared images of everything available, these are just a cross section of what you will find in the range.

What We Didn't Like

I personally felt that the website as whole could be a little more user friendly, but after a bit of poking around I did get to everything I needed.

My eldest teen felt some of the videos were a little childish, but he is above the targeted age range.

What We Did Like

That we could quickly and easily access videos relating to just about any health topic a child may need. I didn't need to go googling I knew that all of the information would be presented in the videos here.

Further Details

MarshMedia are currently offering homeschooling families access to unlimited viewing of 59 videos for only $50 USD. To find out all of the details visit the Homeschool Offer page on their website.

MarshMedia Links

Facebook
Twitter
Google+
You Tube

If you would like to see more reviews about this product simply click on the image below

K5 Learning ~ Review

These past few weeks we've been using an online program from K5 Learning to supplement my son's math and reading lessons. Our family have been given a subscription to K5 Learning in order to provide this review.

What is K5 Learning

K5 Learning is an online portal created to supplement reading, math and spelling for children undertaking grades K through to 5. It is not a complete curriculum. If your child could use a little extra help though, this may be the thing for them.

The site includes assessments in both reading and math, which the child takes before diving in to any lessons. This gives the parent a good overview of where they are at and allows the program to work out exactly where to place the student and what to have them cover.

The lessons are all online using nice quality animated videos. There are also worksheets that can be printed as you go along.

 K5 Reading includes:

    Phonemic Awareness
    Phonics
    Sight Words
    Vocabulary
    Reading Comprehension

K5 Math includes:

    Numbers & Operations
    Measurement
    Geometry
    Data Analysis
    Algebraic Thinking

K5 Spelling includes:

    Adaptive instruction
    Optimized visual interface
    150,000 word database

The Assessment Component

I really liked how thorough this part of the program was. The assessment took around 30 minutes although the child does not need to sit and complete it in one sitting. On completion of each assessment (one for math and one for reading) you will receive an email which not only gives you a grade score but also breaks down the subject areas.

For example depending on how the student goes with their assessment their breakdown would look something like this ---->

Overall Reading Score: Below 2^nd Grade Range

The Overall Reading score is based on student performance in phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Placement

We have now placed Student X at the following levels in our reading lessons: 

Phonemic Awareness             Exempt
Phonics                                  High 1st Grade
Sight Words                           Early 3rd Grade
Vocabulary                            Mid 2nd Grade
Reading Comprehension      Mid K

After completing the math assessment a similar report is emailed to you.

The parent area of the program also keeps you well informed of what your child is completing and how they are scoring in each particular area.

How We Used K5 Learning

My son doesn't generally enjoy many programs that cover language arts skills online, he prefers to do those more traditionally with me, however he worked through his lessons on K5 Learning without any complaints at all.

I believe this is due to the fact that they are highly colourful, engaging and kept relatively short. On most occasions he would complete 2 - 3 mini lessons in one sitting, several times a week.

The program remembers everything, so each time he logged on it simply gave him the next lesson that he needed to complete regardless of where he left off last time. For our busy lifestyle this has to be one of the most important considerations for me. My child must be able to log on themselves and know exactly what they need to be doing without needing me to get them set up. So of course I loved this part of the program.

What We Didn't Like

Unfortunately, being here in Australia, meant that some of the math components didn't work for us so we did mainly stick to the reading section of the site. This was the area I wanted my son to work on the most anyway.

What We Did Like

I loved that K5 Learning includes the assessment, it shows just how much work has gone into creating this program and I know that each lesson is going to be targeted exactly where it is needed. My son loved that it was quick and easy to use. We've never had a moment of frustration with the site, everything has always worked as it should.

Looking Ahead

We have a six month subscription to K5 Learning and I can't wait to see where he is by the end of that period. This program has gone into the basket to seriously consider purchasing our own subscription.

Further Details

K5 Learning offer a 14 day free trial, which does allow you take the assessments and use the program for the full 14 days.

Follow them on social media to find out more --->

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k5learning Tag: @k5learning
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/K5Learning Tag: @K5Learning
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/k5learning/ Tag: @k5learning
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/+K5learning

If you would to read other reviews about this program simply click on the image below.

Digital Savvy ~ Review

In this age of technology it is really important for our students to understand fundamental computing topics so I knew I had to review the new Digital Savvy course from CompuScholar, Inc. My teen has been using the information technology course, 'Digital Savvy' which we were given access to for the purposes of this review.

What is Digital Savvy.

CompuScholar, Inc formerly known as Homeschool Programming has a range of computer courses aimed at middle and high school aged students.

Digital Savvy is aimed at grades 6 - 12 and is an overall Information Technology course. It aims to teach the students about computers, various applications, it explores social media, has them creating simple web pages.

The topics covered in the Digital Savvy course are:

• Hardware, software, and operating systems

• Managing files and folders

• Basic networking

• Online safety and computer security

• Using Word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation programs

• Creating simple databases

• Image editing

• Using social media and email communications

• Introductory website design

• Simple computer programming concepts

• Exploration of computing careers

This is exactly the sort of course I have been wanting my teen to undertake.  A good overview of all things I.T and so far this course has been valuable to him.

How We Have Used Digital Savvy

This has been one of the easiest to use programs we have come across in a very long time. It is so well laid out and navigation is a real breeze. As a user you really can't get anything wrong.

After logging in to the program and selecting the Digital Savvy Course we were greeted with the screen below. There are a total of 25 Chapters in the course.

Each chapter contains several lessons, a brief quiz at the end of each lesson. A culminating activity and chapter exam is also included.

It really is as simple as log in and get started right where you left off the previous day.

Below I have shared a series of screenshots showing the progression through the program.

After logging into the Digital Savvy Course you are met with the chapters screen. Digital Savvy contains a total of 25 chapters.

The lessons within each chapter are again very simple to navigate to. Each lesson contains a video and a quiz. All of the quizzes are graded.
 

At the end of each chapter (approximately 3 - 5 lessons) is a culminating activity or project. These are submitted to the teacher (parent) for grading and the grades are stored along with each of the lesson quizzes.

On completion of all the lessons and the activity for each chapter is a longer multiple choice test, which once again, this is graded.

What We Didn't Like

My son and have been chatting about this and there really isn't anything he doesn't like about the course. Some of it he already knows but that will be the case with many things he undertakes. Whilst he still is only in the early chapters the short lessons and ease of use really make this such a simple subject for him and a very hands off one for me.

What We Did Like

For me as the teacher/parent I love that this is completely graded. All of his scores are kept and he can see his grades for each test immediately. He also has the option of repeating the test if he wishes to try and improve his score.


To use the program effectively we need nothing other than our computer and a decent internet connection. Every now and then a pen and paper and a word processing program is required but the bulk of the course is completed through the course itself.


As a busy mum with younger kids in the house that need my attention having the teen able to work independently, even on new to us courses, is such a blessing.

Looking Ahead

Without a doubt we will continue working our way through this course to completion and I am very confident that I will have my other children take the Digital Savvy Course also as it is great computer science basics course.

Further Details

Payment options for courses are either month by month or year long access. To find out more details about this program be sure to visit the Compuscholar, Inc website. You can also find them on your favourite social media channels. Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/CompuScholar Twitter -  https://twitter.com/CompuScholar

If you would like to read other reviews about the various courses offered simply click on the image below.

Essentials Skills Advantage ~ Review

For the past few weeks my younger kids have been brushing up on their math, phonics and spelling skills using the online Complete Home Learning Suite from Essential Skills Advantage.

What Is Essential Skills Advantage

ESA is an online platform for children in grades K - 6. It houses more than 14,000 activities across the subject areas of English, Math, Science and Geography. ESA is a supplementary program rather than a full curriculum, making it suitable to sit alongside any curriculum products you may be using.

The ESA program has been developed by a team of experienced teachers with the aim of covering all of the 'essential skills' a child requires to succeed at their specific grade level.

The platform is bright, colourful and engaging but does not have any unnecessary distractions on the screen.

We have access to the Complete Home Learning Suite, which gives us the flexibility to choose from all of the subject areas across all of the grade levels. This is perfect for a child that may be a bit all over the place because they can work in grade 3 Math and then grade 2 English all at the same time.

How We Used The Program

With two children using the program we've been all over it so to speak. What I have loved the most is the ease in which we can choose the subject area or the grade and then jump between them.

We often found ourselves in three different grade levels all in one morning. My youngest loves looking at the reporting area and seeing the green bar rising, showing him how much he has completed in a certain area.

Whilst there are no lessons in the program as they assume prior learning it really is a simple way to practice spelling, phonics or even math facts.

Each level also has a story time component where the child reads the story out loud and then completes a series of comprehension activities all based on the story. Each story progresses in length and difficulty as you move through the grades.

The story component has been a great way to add in yet more read aloud time for my daughter, which she really needs right now. If a tricky word appears, in most cases she can click on the word and have it read aloud to her.

What We Didn't Like

Honestly I'm having a hard time coming up with something I don't like about the program. Once you realise that there are no lessons here only review work then it really is very easy to navigate and use.

On the odd occasion my kids have complained a little about some repetitiveness in the activities, but overall they are both more than happy to use this program.

The one area where I did notice something was that in the spelling activities. The program always lets you know the focus words and then the child proceeds to work on the activities, however the focus words always sit right up along the top of the screen. If the child clues into that they can easily just copy the words needed for their activities rather than having to try and remember them.

What We Did Like

This is a really simple program to navigate, there are no levels or lessons to complete before moving on. Once you click into a Subject and then the appropriate Grade Level you can see all of the activities available to you. From there you can easily choose what you would like to complete on any given day.

The flexibility of the program, the fact that it is purely review and that I can easily check in on the reporting area to see how the kids are going are all bonuses here.

Looking Ahead

Will we continue using the ESA program, absolutely we will for all of the reasons I have listed above.

Further Details

You can get started with Essential Skills Advantage for as little as 7.99USD a month. Visit the pricing page on their website for more details.

Want to know more, check out ESA across your favourite social media channels

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skillsadvantage/
Twitter:     https://twitter.com/SkillsAdvantage @SkillsAdvantage
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/SkillsAdvantage
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skillsadvantage
Blog:        http://buyesa.com/blog/

Pin This So You Don't Forget It!

I hope you found this review helpful. If you would like to see further reviews of the ESA program, from members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, please visit this link.


Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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Math Mini Courses ~ Review

My daughter has been polishing up her math skills with Math Mini Courses from A+ Interactive Math.

We were given access to the Time and Multiplication mini courses in order to complete this review.

What Are Math Mini Courses

They are exactly that, mini math courses and are a great way to help with math learning gaps. If you notice that your child may be struggling in just one small area then a mini course directly related to that area may just be what you are in need of.

For example I knew my kids needed a little more practice with telling time so we've been using the Time Math Mini Course, along with Multiplication as that is where my daughter is at right now.

The Time mini course is 20 multimedia lessons, whilst the Multiplication mini course has a total of 13 lessons. Every mini course also includes an assessment at the end of each lesson.

Whilst the lessons can all be done completely online via the multimedia video lesson format, if you choose you can also print them out via pdf, along with worksheets, tests and report progress sheets.

How We Used The Mini Courses

My daughter chose to do these courses solely online, so she logged in, chose the course she was currently working in from the dashboard area of our account and launched the multimedia video lessons.

Each course is contained within a folder which needs to be expanded to see all of the mini lessons that are to be completed.

Once a lesson is opened up it begins immediately with a friendly voice over and simple animations to explain the concept through a brief video based lesson. Each lesson is only a few minutes in length and it moves directly into the assessment questions at the end.

On completion of a lesson the user or the parent is required to mark the lesson and the assessment quiz as completed, along with the scores in the quiz. The program does not do this automatically and lessons will sit uncompleted until their status has been manually changed.

This is a simple system to use and was very easy for my daughter to jump on and complete a lesson in a few minutes.

The time lessons cover the following concepts days, weeks, months, years, seasons, second, minutes, digital, analog, hour, half hour, quarter hour and five minute intervals, duration and units of time, converting digital and analog, elapsed time.

The multiplication lessons cover these concepts, introduction to multiplication, multiplying using objects, a table and tricks and multiplying with 2, 3, 4 and 5 digit numbers.

What We Didn't Like

My biggest concern with these lessons is that we continually forgot to mark them as complete and I don't quite understand why that wasn't built into the system as an automatic feature. It seems like it makes extra work that would be unnecessary if the system could simply mark it complete once the child got to the end of the lesson.

This process also wasn't shown to us so it was only by trial and error that we found we needed to mark lessons and assessment quizzes as completed.

What We Did Like

I love the concept of mini courses for math, it is a great idea and certainly one that would fill a need with many families. The courses are affordably priced, starting from just $9.99 US dollars which gives you access to the course for an entire 12 month period.

Given that our Time Math Mini Course only has 20 lessons we can revisit during the year to be absolutely certain all of the concepts have been learned.

I really like the multimedia component and the fact that the child does not need to complete worksheets if they don't want. But the worksheets are available for those that want them or need the extra practice.

Looking Ahead

My daughter will absolutely be completing both of her mini courses and will no doubt revisit them again over the coming year.

I've got my eye on a couple of the upper level courses for my son, especially the probability and statistics mini course. I think he would enjoy that one and it will help to hone his skills in that area.

Pricing & Details

As I mentioned above the mini courses are reasonably priced, starting from $9.99 US dollars. To see all of the math mini courses available visit the A+ Interactive Math Website.

To see more from them you can also follow along via your favourite social media outlet

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APlusTutorSoft
Twitter:      https://twitter.com/aplustutorsoft
Pinterest:   http://www.pinterest.com/aplustutorsoft


I hope you have found this review helpful. If you would like to see further reviews of the various Math Mini Courses, from members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, please visit this link.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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Read Write & Type ~ Review

My son has been using the Read, Write & Type Program from Talking Fingers Inc.

We were provided with  this program in order to review it. Read, Write & Type provides learners with early reading, spelling and typing practice.

What Is Read, Write & Type

Read, Write & Type is a research proven reading software program, that teaches phonics, spelling and early typing skills. The program is aimed at children ages 6 to 9 years.

My 7 year old son has been using the program.

How We Used The Program

As you enter the program you are introduced to the three main characters, those being Lefty LaDee Hands, Rightway McKay and the resident villain Vexor the Virus.

The premise being that Vexor has stolen all of the sounds and the child needs to help get them back to their rightful homes. Which are their keys on the keyboard.

To do so the child needs to work through a series of exercises and games each letter at a time. As they complete the activities the letters are won back from Vexor and returned to their rightful place on the keyboard.

Even though the program begins with the single initial letter sounds the child is very quickly typing words and simple sentences.

With each letter the child is presented with various challenges and games to ensure that everything is cemented before moving on.

Letters are taught in groups of four, once the child has successfully progressed through all of the activities associated with those four letters they will be presented with a certificate of merit, which you can choose to print out if you wish.

What We Didn't Like

My son felt he was slightly too old for the program, even though for me I believe he still got a lot out of doing it. He already knows all of his initial sounds and is completing early readers with ease but the lessons introduced very different words than what he is used to and it also helped him solidify his learning. Not to mention that he got to work on some early typing skills.

There are no real lesson stop and start points with the program so at times it is difficult to tell when you are finished. Although it does retain where you have progressed to so that the next time you log on the program simply picks up where you left off.

What We Did Like

I love that this is pretty much an independent program. Once in a while he needed to ask me something he wasn't sure on or every now and then I would need to remind him about his finger placement. Apart from that he could and did do this program independently.

I also like that once they progress enough they earn mini readers, which download as a pdf and are just another way to add in more reading practice for the child.

Each lesson is relatively short, being around 15 minutes, although as I mentioned earlier if the child needs to stop for the day the program will simply remember where they are at when they next log in.

Looking Ahead

My son is well over halfway with the program so he will continue and finish it off over the next couple of weeks.

If you have a child that loves to learn online, is asking about typing or needs extra phonics help then Read, Write & Type may just be the one for you.

Pricing & Details

Visit the Talking Fingers Inc. website for more details on this program and the other programs they also have available.

To see more from Talking Fingers Inc. visit them via your favourite social media outlet

Facebook ~   YouTube ~   Twitter    



 I hope you have found this review helpful. If you would like to see further reviews of the Read, Write & Type program from members of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, please visit this link.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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Rainforest Journey ~ A Review

Over the past few weeks we've been reviewing Rainforest Journey, a fun online science program from EdTechLens as part of my 2nd grader's school day.

We were provided with a one year subscription to Rainforest Journey in order to write this review.

What is Rainforest Journey

Rainforest Journey is the the first interactive digital learning program released by EdTechLens. This product is aimed at children in grades K - 5. The thoughts behind it is to deliver an aesthetically pleasing program that you would normally only see delivered in the higher education levels but for the elementary aged child. The concept is that of a photo book, filled with video clips, photographs and audio that the children can easily interact with. Each level covers the same concepts, however they increase in complexity as the grade level increases.

First Impressions

The EdTechLens website is bright and fresh with stunning photographic images on the home screen. These create a sense of what is to come for the user and you know already from the home page that a great deal of passion has been put into this site.

The site is laid out in an easy to navigate fashion, with all of the regular links  across the top that one would expect to see within a website such as this. After clicking on the programs link you can read in more detail all about Rainforest Journey, including access to a few free sample lessons across the various grade levels. Be sure to watch the introductory video found on the bottom of that page.

How We Used Rainforest Journey

We used Rainforest Journey exactly as detailed within the program. At this stage we haven't added any extra's as for us right now this is a nice little bonus learning opportunity.

My son logs in using the user name supplied to him by EdTechLens and he is taken directly to the first lesson. From then each time he logs in the first screen he sees is exactly where he is up to in the program.

There is a course outline link to the left where you can move back to review complete lessons and see what is coming up.

The lessons in the grade 2 level include a couple of stunning photograph's of either the rainforest itself or of some of the animals found within a rainforest. From time to time there are also short videos to watch.

With each image there is a small snippet of information that can either be read or the option to hear the details being read aloud is also there right on the screen.

There is a brief enrichment section, which contains just that little bit extra information about the topic being discussed right there alongside the lesson too.

So far we have looked at all the layers of the rainforest, some of the many animals that reside within those layers and various types of rainforests

At the end of each lesson there is a printable PDF of review materials. For the grade 2 option he has been asked to draw what he is learning about the layers and to describe each layer with several words. This is simple enough for him to complete and does help him to listen closely to the audio as knows he needs to come up with some describing words at the end of the lesson.

Each unit finishes with assessment quizzes. There are 5 units with a total of 34 lessons. Each lesson only takes around 10 - 20 minutes to complete, with end of lesson hands on activities as an extra.

We have also been using the Grade 5 level and it covers the same lesson concepts just at a higher level, with each lesson, being slightly longer and with more reading material. It still includes that audio link though which is a huge plus for me as so many programs remove that option for older children. The Grade 5 level also expects short paragraphs in terms of lesson review output as compared to just a few short words that is required in the Grade 2 level.

What We Didn't Like

At first logging in and getting ourselves all set up with user names for each student was a little confusing, but I contacted EdTechLens straight away and they were more than helpful in getting us all ready to go.

With each lovely photograph there is a piece of information that can either be read or listened to, however the links for the audio aren't aligned right there on the screen, so I found myself scrolling up and down a bit so that we could listen and look at the pictures at the same time. I'd love to see the audio button right there alongside the image.

Being an online program, if like me, you don't have fabulous internet, can make things a little tricky at times. This is just something to be aware with your own situation.

What We Did Like

The stunning large pictures and the audio voice overs is what makes this program so unique. We can listen to the audio and sit and discuss the images included. At times choosing to go and find more information than what is provided.

I really liked that this can be used exactly as is, as an easy supplement to your current science program. Or if you choose it can be fleshed out into one entire year long theme of study, that adds an element of audio visual, video's, photographs and voice overs to the unit.

Looking Ahead

This has been so easy to add into our week that we will most definitely continue along with the remainder of the Rainforest Journey.

I'm very interested in seeing what other 'journey's' EdTechLens may be working on. This is a great way to add supplemental information to a larger theme that you may be studying.

Details & Pricing

A 1 year license for the Rainforest Journey program for 1 child is $50.

To see more from EdTechLens visit them via your favourite social media outlet.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/edtechlens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edtechlens
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/edtechlens/
Google +: https://plus.google.com/+Edtechlens
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edtechlens

I hope you found this review helpful. If you would like to see further reviews of Rainforest Journey from members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, please visit this link.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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Math U See Digital Packs Review

Over the past few weeks we have had the pleasure of reviewing Demme's Learning Math -U- See. In fact we were given a 12 month subscription to their Digital Packs for the purpose of this review. I chose to focus on the Alpha Digital pack with my youngest son.

What Is A Math-U-See Digital Pack

Demme Digital Packs are made up of the video content of the lessons that Math-U-See users know and love. The pack also includes instruction manual PDF's, skip counting songs and digital manipulatives. No more losing blocks!! Twelve months access is included with each digital pack purchase.

How We Used The Alpha Digital Pack

If you've been a reader of my blog for any length of time you already know that we love Math-U-See and I mention it often as our go to math curriculum. We already own the complete primary years lessons on DVD but when the opportunity arose for me to take a look at the digital versions I jumped at it.

Given that we are regular users of Math-U-See not a lot changed for us to review this product. The big plus was that we could sit on the couch and watch the lessons on the iPad or in front of the PC. I didn't need to go digging for the DVD. The digital pack gave us the freedom to take our math anywhere.

What We Liked About the Alpha Digital Pack

The digital manipulatives are a great idea, as I must admit we often misplace some of our blocks. Having everything digital means I don't need to keep track of all the loose bits and pieces.

We own a few iPads, which means that all of the children can be working on their Math-U-See lessons at once, no need to wait until the DVD player is free. With 3 kids all using Math-U-See at times we've had a bit of a traffic jam at the DVD player.

Although we aren't a family that lives on the road this is truly where I can see a fabulous benefit. All the lessons, all the manipulatives, right their on your iPad. Just add in a student workbook and math is sorted.

What We Didn't Like About The Alpha Digital Pack

The only real downside for us is our current internet access isn't brilliant so there were some times in the day where we had to come back to our math lessons, but that is really a personal issue and nothing to do with the product.

One of my children especially loves to watch the lessons on the large screen and prefers using the DVD's because of that. Although with today's smart TV technology most of us could also stream these straight through the internet via our televisions.

If you have a good internet connection there really isn't anything to dislike about the digital packs and I'm certain that streaming math instruction such as this has been the answer to many homeschool families prayers.

Looking Ahead

We will continue to use the digital version of Alpha as my son really enjoys having it on the iPad. At this stage, given that we already own all of the DVD's I don't think I would invest in future digital packs.

I have, however made a mental note if ever we see ourselves traveling for any length of time. I really like that math can continue uninterrupted via the digital packs.

Details & Pricing

The Alpha Digital pack is $38.00 for 12 months access.

To see more from Demme Learning visit them via your favourite social media outlet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathusee

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/mathusee 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mathusee

If you have found this review helpful and would like to see further reviews of the Math-U-See Digital Packs from members of the Review Crew, please visit this link.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

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