Resource Description
Website: Switched-On Schoolhouse (may contain affiliate links)
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(30 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Outdated
Grades Used: 6+
My friend has this school system and I (a generally smart person) couldn’t get questions for the grade below me right. The system is outdated and answers that should be right we’re “ALMOST THERE” in one of my best subjects I could do nothing to help her. With the way her parents are she wouldn’t be believed if she were to complain, I DO NOT recommend this for any child.
Cons: Everything
Grades Used: 7-12
Doesn't give any explanation for wrong answers. It doesn't really teach you anything and you basically have to memorize the answers to the problems instead of learn why the answers are what they are. Also, the answers are ridiculously specific. Example: You have to fill in the sentence. The sentence is "time passes at a very ____ rate." So you say (based on the reading) "fast." It says WRONG. You say "swift." WRONG. "speedy" WRONG "brisk" WRONG. So you give up and look at the answer.
The answer was "rapid."
Boooooooo....😡😡😡
Cons: Math and Science subjects need lots of work and have many errors
Grades Used: 5-12
I used the old school switched on schoolhouse as my children are now grown and working so I suppose what I have to share should be extremely valuable since I can attest to its affectiveness as it relates to academics in comparing how your child would fare in the "real world". We used Switched On-Schoolhouse for three children, three different grade levels and from 2002-2011. From Elementary school through High School. In those days you had multiple discs for every subject and as with discs they were prone to scratching and intensified with use. This was before the pen drive era. Nevertheless, I would have only dreamed of the pen drive back then. From a technical standpoint I thought it worked extremely world, but again I also was one who before homeschooling was a customer service rep for Bellsouth business systems with DSL. I noticed that it was very challenging for others to maneuver but I thought it was a breeze. I retired the need for it at the point where they integrated the ability to add customized subjects and lessons into your lesson plan and that was the icing on the cake. Probably enjoyed this the most as the only two subjects that switched on schoolhouse offered that I wasn't crazy about was there math and science. I was able to get them through science, was only a major problem for one of the children as he was anointed and called to do something science related, that was his bend and he really enjoyed it. It was challenging for me because I am far from a scientist or a mathmatician the two subjects most needed to have mastered to work in a science related field. So we had to supplement those topics often and in fact the math was so concerning that I took out the math component and added teaching textbook as a supplement. Was awesome because I was able to add the lessons manually into the lesson plan and incorporate it such that once I graded the math portion I could just add it to the curriculum and it would calculate the grade automatically. Took the most time at the beginning of school year to add each lesson in but other than that Switched on Schoolhouse was a real asset for us. I am sorry to hear it was not as successful for others, if however, you are a parent now and you are struggling with it, I will admit if you are not computer minded it could be challenging, but I don't even recall really having to read the instruction manual to much the program seemed rather intuitive to me. If I can help someone just let me know..
Cons: Everything
The program is one that is very outdated.
The lessons are explained minimally and the tests are difficult to understand.
Mothers spend hours explaining.
Is expensive.
Causes lots of frustration.
Cons: Difficult to set up, not user friendly. Outdated. Difficult to study for student's tests. Poorly explained lessons. Questions often irrelevant to most education standards. Frustrating to maneuver. Not easy to get help. Uses complicated terms to explain lessons. Very brief explaination-if you didn't catch it, too bad! Too many cons to list. Don't buy it.
Grades Used: 10
I am a homeschooling mom of five. I chose this curriculum this year for my grade 10 student, as I was told it would do "90% of my grading for me". As I sometimes struggle with keeping up with helping students and grading, this sounded like a dream. I have been very disappointed this far. It has cost me hours in frustration and lost school time. I am finding it quite outdated as a computer program, and not user friendly. We have shed tears just trying to complete a lesson we already know!!!! We are unable to figure out how to enter information at times with no explanation as to why.
I was also told their tech support was amazing. I did not find this to be the case. Also, even if it was amazing, what homeschool mom wants to be on hold for hours just to as k someone why they can't get the course to do what it is supposed to.
The lessons are poorly explained. When test time comes, studying is difficult as the student no longer has access to completed lessons.
To date this is the most frustrating curriculum I have ever used, and I have been homeschooling 11 years.
Don't buy it!! I would just throw it out if I hadn't invested so much in this years' curriculum.