Anyone ever heard of Kinetic Books? They have an online Algebra -

[StaceyinLA]

that looks REALLY neat. It is a full program with online access ($50 for a year, $70 for a year with a textbook as well). I did a walk-through and it looks really cool. They use a lot of animated whiteboard stuff, and also do interactive explanations, etc. The scope and sequence ends with quadratic equations, so I thought it looked pretty thorough.

Anyone interested in checking it out and giving me feedback? It looks to be a really good price for what you get. They also have some physics programs as well.

Here's the site:

www.kineticbooks.com

[Ailaena]

We were fortunate enough to be able to get the free version and it is really fun. We used it as a supplement but I really feel as though it would be a great, basic first year algebra program depending on what it is you are looking for with math. It is NOT Dolciani, but it even includes the word "Proof" here and there, which is unusual. It does cover more topics more thoroughly than the Larson book, and it is WAY, WAY better than Aleks.

I cannot get away from the fun thing, but it was just plain fun. It has games, puzzles, challenge problems, movies and keeps track of answers. It actually teaches the material, and walks you through problems, not just shows it to you. I cannot imagine a high schooler using it without feeling a little silly at times, but at least they would learn the material.

Giving it a second look just now, I am still impressed by the amount of material it covers and I cannot imagine anyone being worse for the wear afterwards, even using it as their main source. When the time comes, I will have to seriously consider their physics program.


HTH!

[AngieW in Texas]

We've been using it since August. My dd is actually doing two complete algebra programs at the same time, so it's going to take her more than one year to finish it. She is about 2/3 of the way through chapter 5 right now.

I like the program and so does my dd. She actually like the way it covers the material better than Jacobs. The thing my dd doesn't like about it (and that I think is a great feature of it) is that it has instant feedback. That's fine for her when she has the answer right, but she gets very upset when she gets an answer wrong. Even if she immediately sees why her answer was wrong - the fact that she got it wrong makes her come unglued. My dd is an Aspie though and she actually starts to go into a panic when she gets things wrong. She handles finding out that she missed something several hours after she did it much better than when she finds out immediately.

Doing Jacobs for one chapter after finishing each chapter of Kinetic Books gives her a little breathing space. She prefers the way that Kinetic Books teaches.

We have the free download version. I'm sure I'll be buying a subscription so she can finish what's left once the free download expires in July. She won't need a full year to finish, but that's fine.

[freethinkermom]

Ds(11 today) is using it. We both love it. I looked at so many algebra programs for him. When I watched the demo for Kinetic I knew that was the right one for him. For us there are enough written problems with the End Of Unit problems, but some students may need more. If we ever reach a unit where he needs more I will use Math Mammoth worksheets, but so far we have had no need.

[StaceyinLA]

I'm just wondering about the logistics. Do you just sign in and go, or is there more to it? Does it keep track of where you are, or do you need to know where to go each time? Does it keep up with any information like ALEKS?

[AngieW in Texas]

I have the free download version. I don't know if the subscription service works the same way or not.

With the free download, it keeps track of your scores for you. There isn't any signing in to do because it's downloaded on the computer (not online). If you don't remember where you were when you stopped last time, you just have to go the table of contents for your chapter and then click on "scores" at the bottom of the screen. That will show you which problem sets you have worked on and you can click to go back to the latest set. My dd has learned to write down the number for the section she's working on when she's doing end-of-unit problems so she can easily find her way back there.

[StaceyinLA]

I guess I just need to find out if the other works the same way. I may just give them a call...

[mama25angels]

Wow, Stacy it seems that we're on the same track homeschooling wise this year. Will you let me know what you find out about this program. Thanks