Opinions on Florida Virtual School

[Grace is Sufficient]

My 9th grader wants to take the Earth Space course at the Florida Virtual School. This would be through their 'global services' section as we are out of state.

It's really pricey -- $750 for a full year course. Has anyone taken anything there? Is it worth it?????

I'd love to hear about any experiences others have had.

Thanks!

[Sue in St Pete]

I have investigated FLVS, but haven't tried it yet. Not sure that I will. Here is one link and it leads to another:
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33469&highlight=florida+virtual

I remember reading on the boards here that it's worth it when it's free, but it isn't really worth it if you are out of state. Places like PA Homeschoolers and Scholars Online have better reputations. I have been investigating online Latin classes. Most run $500 a year.

I hope others who have actually used it will answer as well.

[FloridaLisa]

with more of a thumbs up than thumbs down. Here's how it breaks down:

Latin I and II (3 dc so far) -- excellent. No complaints whatsoever. The teachers know the material, know their students and care about teaching. There are extras like NLE, Latin Honor Society and Junior Classical League. My reasons for choosing FLVS for Latin are that 1) it's free; 2) we can document a foreign language and 3) the dc earn *real* grades for their transcript. If it wasn't free, I would certainly look at the many online sources or a tutor and compare.

AP Biology (1 dc) -- mixed. My son was well-prepared for the exam and the teacher was very helpful. BUT, the program had some glitches only apparent in the tests -- the computer would mark certain answers incorrect or ask the same question twice. Once ds was into the class, we were told some of the glitches did need to be worked out and ds' teacher was very, very helpful in working with ds on it.

World History honors (1 dc) -- We won't do this again. I was underwhelmed by the material and writing requirements. It was a vast survey with busy work and little meaningful writing instruction or feedback. The (recently-graduated) teacher moved out of state in the middle of the class and we just did not experience the same *connection* my dc had with their Latin and AP bio teachers.

Truly, I doubt I would pay that much for an online earth science course.

HTH,
Lisa

[BeckyFL]

I would definitely recommend against it. The Potter's school or something similar would give you much better content. Bright students who spend a year doing FLVS often make little progress when they test at year end.

[Grace is Sufficient]

With a little more searching (okay, a lot more), I found the exact course (the course outlines on the two websites were almost word-for-word equivalents, even as to what was added to constitute 'honors' through Sevenstar Academy for $495. There is probably some difference in the Origins segment as Sevenstar is coming from a Christian background, but that's a bonus.)

My daughter was so excited about the content that I hated to nix the course due to cost, so I'm really pleased with the alternative.

Thanks again for the input!

[FloridaLisa]

Bright students who spend a year doing FLVS often make little progress when they test at year end.

Becky, are referring to year-end standardized tests? There are some challenging, solid courses on FLVS. I've had friends' children take Physics and AP courses and do very well on SAT-II and AP tests. Our only experience so far has been ds' AP bio class. He made a 4 on the AP and we were very happy with that.

ETA: I guess I should have just clarified that while our review stands as mixed, I was happy with the AP test preparation.

Lisa

[Jenny in Florida]

Both of my kids have taken FLVS courses, and we really like the program over all. The quality of individual classes does definitely vary.

My daughter took:

- Geometry: Her first course and a very good experience. She enjoyed the class and learned a lot.

- Algebra II Honors: She did well, learned a lot, didn't love the course.

-Chemistry Honors: Probably her least favorite. The instructor was brand new and hadn't signed on to be the lead teacher. The course was not particularly well written or well designed. Once the instructor got comfortable with FLVS and my daughter, she became very helpful and things got better. But still, not a highlight.

-AP Microecononics: So-so. It was a heck of a lot of work, and the instructor, while very capable, was not particularly warm and fuzzy. The online text used was poorly written.

-Spanish I: Good course. My daughter liked both the class and the instructor and has continued with Spanish in college.

- American Government Honors: A big, big hit. My daughter loved this course and began to seriously consider majoring in political science in college.

In addition, my son has taken some of the FLVS middle school courses and been very happy with those.

[LaMere Academy]

How exactly does it work? Online lectures? Do they send you any materials?

[TraceyS/FL]

With a little more searching (okay, a lot more), I found the exact course (the course outlines on the two websites were almost word-for-word equivalents, even as to what was added to constitute 'honors' through Sevenstar Academy for $495. There is probably some difference in the Origins segment as Sevenstar is coming from a Christian background, but that's a bonus.)

My daughter was so excited about the content that I hated to nix the course due to cost, so I'm really pleased with the alternative.

Thanks again for the input!

I"m not sure what grade you are looking for, but BJU has Space & Earth Science on DVD. I"m actually watching it on homesat right now. It looks like a great course.

A friend just had a bad experience with FLVS - enough that her DD says NO to another class.

[NancyL]

My dd is starting her second semester of Earth and Space Science through Indiana Univ. High School. She is doing it through correspondence, but the online component may be in the works soon for the same course. (I prefer correspondence so I can proof it because I control the postage stamps:001_smile:)Its fairly rigorous (kind of comparable to the BJU course--we have the book so I've looked at it) but it uses an older Prentice Hall that is reasonably priced, with color photos and lots of vocabulary and chapter summaries to help you study. You can take up to 12 months for 1 semester (she did it throughout 8th grade) and is starting the 2nd semester now. It has overlaps with Physical Science (she also did Apologia last year). I always proofread her lessons. She did well but it wasn't a walk in the park. It's worthwhile though. We are also watching the TC course on Geology as a supplement. Later, looking at U. of Missouri distance ed, they have a HS Geology Course (1 semester) plus one concerning Earth Satellite imaging which is a gifted course. I thought these would be nice to take also. If you like this area, both Indiana U. and U. of Missouri have some nice college level courses in both Geology, and Geography. I think this subject lends itself well to distance education. To me they are a nice science; interesting, challenging, and practical, but not a lot of math for the younger student. (I would say just mainly density calculations so far)

[BeckyFL]

definitely was not talking about AP courses. What I've seen have been already bright middle schoolers making no progress on year-end standardized tests when they switch to FLVS.

[FloridaLisa]

How exactly does it work? Online lectures? Do they send you any materials?

Most of the classes have the reading material completely online. In Latin, for example, the student clicks on the lesson and reads the material. The lessons follow with a worksheet that filled out on-line or a writing assignment that the student composes in Word and then submits online. Most of the language classes have oral components with the teacher. We've not done Spanish or French, but I think they have some twists in order for the student to practice the oral component.

For the AP biology class, FLVS sent ds a Campbell's text and hard lab equipment. There was still lots of on-line reading material and links to Campbell's helps. All of the worksheets, quizzes and tests were on-line.

HTH,
Lisa

[LaMere Academy]

Thanks. I just signed my son up today to take English I. He needs help writing, so I thought I'd see if this works. It's free, so may as well give it a try. He's just taking one class for now.

[FloridaLisa]

The few students I've known that have taken English and AP English and Comp through FLVS have recommended it. I had eyed the AP English and Copm but I'm going to try to put together a home-grown course. We'll see. :tongue_smilie:

Lisa