DVD and Online Curriculums Explained
What are DVD and online curriculums?
Perhaps one of the greatest advancements in homeschool came with the advent of the DVD and Online homeschool curriculums because it has meant that any parent can homeschool and still be able to give their children the best possible education.
DVD and Online curriculums are just what their name suggests. They are a full year of instruction in each grade level. DVD’s can be played on any DVD player with no internet connection required, whereas the Online option requires an internet connection. Students can complete their homeschool anywhere, anytime, with either of these alternatives. DVD options generally come with books and worksheets, and online options vary in that some come with books and worksheets, and others contain all of the material online.
Parents do not have to know the subject
Parents do not have to be good at teaching. They do not have to know the subject material themselves. And, they do not have to spend the entire day standing in front of their students explaining each subject. Instead, homeschoolers can learn everything from teachers seen on the DVD or Online platform. DVD and Online curriculums, for the most part, contain all of the educational material that would be normally required for students in a specific grade. Therefore, parents don’t have to be experts in knowing what things a child needs to master for the year either.
Parents do less of the teaching
DVD and Online curriculums vary greatly. Some require more parent involvement than others. But the beauty of most of them is the fact that parents no longer have to stress about teaching subjects they don’t feel expert in themselves. The quality of DVD and Online Curriculums varies between institutions and publishers, but there are some that provide a strong education.
DVD and Online options differ from Academies in that Academies generally assume the responsibility for verifying that a student has completed the work, whereas DVD and Online curriculums require that the parent is responsible for their own student’s completion of the program. What that means is that Academies generally have some way to track a student’s progress for proof that the material was completed. They, then, may offer accreditation, report cards, transcripts, and possibly a high school diploma upon completion of high school. With DVD and Online offerings, the only ones checking to see if the work is completed are the parent and the local overseeing authority. Publishers or institutions selling the curriculum do not issue report cards, transcripts, or diplomas.
Many parents prefer DVD and Online curriculums because parents have full control. Parents can change up the curriculum, adding or deleting elements of the program. They can turn lessons into “hands-on” activities instead of the student simply viewing the teacher talking. And they can “splice” curriculums together, using different curriculums for different subjects to create a school year that addresses any unique needs that the child may require. Parents have full control over start and stop dates and days and times that lessons are completed.
With DVD and Online curriculums, parents are responsible for making sure the child completes the lessons and any accompanying assignments; explaining material that the child may not understand, (although some come with a teacher that can be accessed via phone or e-mail for questions); and all record-keeping.
Using DVD and Online curriculums requires more time and responsibility on the part of the parent than Academies, but less time and responsibility on the part of the parent than Book Packs. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that the cost of DVD’s and Online curriculums is higher than that of Book Packs and lower than Academies.
Cost more than book packs, less than academies
The cost of a full year of DVD’s or Online teaching varies. For Abeka, the cost runs around $900.00 to $1219.00, depending upon grade level, for all subjects required for a year, including “Bible” and electives for high school. BJU is slightly lower at $899.00, however, “Bible” and electives are optional and there is an additional charge for them. Monarch allows a family to have access to 50 courses for three students for a year at the set price of $629.96 per year. Or for one student only, it is $359.96. Additional classes can be purchased at a very reasonable rate. Liberty is on the higher end at $549.00 per full year class, but they also provide a live teacher and a higher end platform. Most DVD and Online curriculums allow for the purchase of individual classes as opposed to the full year’s curriculum; however, the “individual class” price is generally much higher.
There are a number of other homeschooling DVD and Online programs out there, and we will add them to the information on this site as we obtain additional information about them. Our policy is to only include information on the site that we have verified personally. It should be noted that we contacted Alpha Omega about Ignitia, but they refused to let us see their platform unless we paid for a full year for a student to attend. They do not allow individuals to see the platform in advance, which we found questionable. Since they also run Monarch, which we found to be substandard, we could not place a student in their program.
Our Reviews
Not all DVD and online curriculums are created equal. In this category, we found vast differences between publishers.
For example, Abeka offers their classes in either DVD or online. These are the same classes that are available in their academy. And they are filmed during classes at the Pensacola Christian Academy. It is a sound, classical, Christian education.
BJU Press, also offers classes in either DVD or online format. With these, students watch a teacher on video talking directly to the student. The lessons are good, but short. And supporting work to help solidify concepts is lacking compared to Abeka.
Monarch offers an online curriculum, but parents need to be aware that this is not equivalent to other online platforms. Monarch is basically like reading a book online, so parents must be far more active in teaching. Their marketing makes them sound like they have more to offer than they really do.
Liberty Academy from Liberty University is an online platform conducted like online college. Students complete most things online with a live teacher. Parents have less teaching responsibility than other options in this catagory.