The Old Schoolhouse® Product & Curriculum Reviews
| With so many products available we often need a little help in making our curriculum choices. The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine family understands because we are in the same boat! Do you need more information on a product before you buy? With over 5,500 products listed in 52 easy-to-use categories, much of the information you need to know is only a click away! Let our reviewer-families help yours. |
Do you want to get the word out about your product or service to the homeschool community? Email Jenny Higgins and share a little about what you´d like showcased, and we can help with that!
|
Geometry (Interactive Course) Review by Colton Dumont
Carnegie Learning, Inc.437 Grand Street
Pittsburg, PA, 15219
888-851-7094
http://www.carnegielearning.com/
This interactive geometry course is a computer/classroom curriculum that comes with an install CD-ROM, a text in workbook form, a homework helper, and student assignments. It covers all of geometry and early trigonometry--from basic area and perimeter to sine, cosine, tangent, and isometric drawings.
Once you've installed the computer lab on your computer, your child will work on it for typically two days a week, and the program will tailor itself to the student's individual needs. The remainder of the week would be spent on workbook exercises and tests. A very helpful aspect of the curriculum is the Teacher's Toolkit, which provides detailed reports and allows the teacher to track student progress (e.g., the number of hints used and the time involved). In the Text Investigations, the student is required to explain the answers and formulas in complete sentences; and at the end of the week, the student uses a "writing prompt" to produce a written explanation of what was learned in that chapter.
On the negative side, answers are provided only for the weekly tests, not for the assignments and text investigations. In addition, the computer lab numbering does not correspond to that of the student text. Lesson 2.6 in the text is Lesson 11 on the computer.
We feel this program would be best suited for a small cottage school or a homeschool co-op situation where the teacher has an understanding of geometry.
