Online Algebra classes?

[waltworks]

Our son is a big nerd and wanted to take algebra this year but we forced him to do prealgebra (he's a 6th grader) because we wanted him to have a solid foundation on some more basic concepts first. He was somewhat less than happy with the situation but ended up being ok with it, but the class did end up being VERY easy for him and now he wants to do algebra over the summer so he can move on to stuff he finds more interesting and also so he can ride his bike over to the high school for some physics and chemistry classes.

Anyway.

Has anyone here had their kid do algebra 1 online? If so, what program did you use and what did you think?

FWIW we don't need this to be accepted for credit by his school, he will likely not spend that much time in high school or ever officially graduate.

-W

[gatortator]

Yes, it’s pretty common in our school district for those wanting to start at the math and science school.  Most take it through the district online summer school.  4 hours every morning during summer break.

Check with your school district.  Middle and high school summer class signups open up the week after spring break in ours.

[Freedomin5]

Khan Academy has an Algebra 1 course: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra

DD’s private school uses Global Online Academy as their provider for online self-study courses. It looks like they also offer Algebra 1: https://globalonlineacademy.org/student-program/student-courses/algebra-i

[JJ-]

Most online tools like Khan academy, IXL, Mobymax, etc are primarily used by schools as intervention tools (i.e., supplements to reinforce concepts or improve student test scores) and not as primary instruction for new concepts.

If your son cannot get into a classroom and just wants to do math, there's no harm in them if he is a true self starter. Khan academy uses more videos, IXL is more student directed without videos but better for hungry learners that move quicker.

I'm not sure what parent dashboards look like. Teachers can monitor progress, areas of difficulty, assign tests and extension assignments.

I loathe KA as an intervention tool, but I cannot speak to its use as a primary instruction tool. I would recommend looking up the curriculum your son's school uses (if it is standard) and finding alignment there with IXL or KA. If not, our school district uses illustrative math and both KA and IXL have a skill alignment track with IM for at home work that "can" teach new concepts.

[la Condessa]

Art of Problem Solving has the best courses for strong math students.  https://artofproblemsolving.com/   There are both self-paced and live instruction online class options for Algebra 1, or he can work through the textbook on his own and access the videos and alcumus (online study problems) for free.  My kids have used all three options at different times.  The live instruction classes go at a very rigorous pace.  Also, their classes go above and beyond the normal scope and sequence.  Their Intro to Algebra A class (and the first half of the Introduction to Algebra book) is roughly equivalent to an Honors Algebra 1 class at school.

[AMandM]

In addition to AoPS, which is great for math nerds, there are lots of homeschool curriculum providers that offer Algebra 1 online courses, live or recorded or a mixture of both. For instance:
https://www.thinkwellhomeschool.com/products/algebra-1 [secular; I haven't used their algebra but their Econ course was very good]
https://homeschoolconnections.com/course-result/?recorded=Recorded&live=Live&hs=HS&keywords=algebra&subjects=Math&instructor=&sct= [Catholic company, using secular texts]
https://www.teachingtextbooks.com/algebra1-version4.html [secular; too basic an approach for a math nerd]
https://courses.kolbe.org/ [Catholic company, using secular texts; I have used several of their courses and I taught for them for a year, so pm me if you want more details]

I'm curious why you want on online course specifically. Could your son work on his own from a textbook, if he had the solutions manual and a course plan to keep him on schedule? If so, there are even more homeschooling options available.

[waltworks]

We were thinking online because having some outside person that will keep him accountable is important. He's self motivated but easily distracted, and he *cannot* be taught by us, we've tried it and he's just not capable of behaving well in an academic setting with a parent acting as teacher (or coach, for what it's worth). He does great with non-family member teachers.

We'd be homeschoolers if it weren't for all our kids needing a lot of socialization and just throwing constant fits if we try to be their teachers. Which is to say we'd be homeschoolers when hell froze over.

-W

[AMandM]

Gotcha, that's wise. In that case, you might check out Homeschool Connections. They offer recorded courses, with a schedule of videos, readings, homework, etc. for the student to follow, for a very reasonable price ($18/month for a single course or $35/month for as many courses as you want). Then for an extra fee you can add on Instructor Access, where one of their teachers answers questions and receives and grades homework.  They have three different algebra 1 courses to choose from, using different textbooks.

[AMandM]

Another possibility would be to get an asynchronous course, or a paper one, and hire a local high schooler or college student to come weekly to answer questions and grade the homework. You'd have to accelerate the schedule, of course, if you want to do all of algebra 1 in a summer.

[waltworks]

@AMandM That is a wonderful resource! Thank you!

And yes, it would be quite accelerated obviously. He won't have much else going on academically over the summer but I do want him to help me with some carpentry and DIY projects and we'll mountain bike a lot. We'll see. At that price even if he doesn't end up finishing it it'll have been well worth it.

-W

[Cranky]

The district doesn’t offer it over the summer?

A million years ago, I took Algebra II in summer school. The majority of kids in the class were repeating it, but there were half a dozen mathaholics who wanted to take every math class offered and the only way to do that was summer school. We sat in the back of the room and worked through the book and took the chapter tests. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure the teacher started drinking at 8 am, but we rarely bothered him.

As it turned out taking that class in the summer allowed me to graduate a year early.

[waltworks]

In our new district it's normally a middle school class, and as far as I can tell it's not available. I will definitely do more research on that though.

-W

[AMandM]

@AMandM That is a wonderful resource! Thank you!

And yes, it would be quite accelerated obviously. He won't have much else going on academically over the summer but I do want him to help me with some carpentry and DIY projects and we'll mountain bike a lot. We'll see. At that price even if he doesn't end up finishing it it'll have been well worth it.

-W

Glad I could help!

What will happen in the fall? Will your son's school in smartie-ville be able to accommodate a 7th-grader who's already done algebra 1? If he doesn't finish it, will he have to take the whole course in school and be bored again?

[waltworks]

He was going to be skipping 7th grade next year at our current school, because his language abilities are actually better than his math, and he's big/strong enough that he would fit in just fine with kids a year older. He's been doing a hybrid of 6th/7th grade this year.

So yes, they'd be able to accommodate him just fine. I attended the same school system and went to college a few years early (after about half of my sophomore year of high school) but in hindsight I would have been better off skipping some grades earlier so I could have a more full HS experience, I think. So we'd rather get him moved up a bit than let him run out of stuff to do in high school.

-W

[startingsmall]

If you're sure that you don't need an accredited program that would be accepted by the school, my homeschool daughter is enjoying Thinkwell's 7th grade math. She's planning to return to public school in high school, and I think this will leave her well-prepared. It's an asynchronous online course - there are recorded videos and online exercises/quizzes/tests. There's no live teacher interaction, but the fact that the computer gives the grades is enough to keep my daughter from arguing with me about it.

Art of Problem Solving (as mentioned above) is typically considered the go-to program for math-gifted kids, but we're not to high school level courses yet so I don't have any experience with it.

[AMandM]

Looks like it will work out well! I'm happy for you and your son!