Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Science and math are not my favorite subjects to teach. I much prefer to devote my time to lit and history and let someone else plan those subjects. That’s why I was interested to learn what the NatureGlo’s eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from NatureGlo’s eScience included.
I love creative lessons and hands-on projects. That was the part about this company that most interested me. My Little Man chose to start with the Exploring the Giant Redwoods Trees Workshop, and we jumped right in.
This class starts with a series of videos. One is made by Gloria, the class creator. This video is 33 minutes long and is bookended by information for teachers. The middle part, the majority, is Gloria walking students through the printable study guide and discussing the artwork and related tree trivia. The video goes into great detail about what makes the three types of Redwoods different with lots of facts and figures, and as a trivia nut, My Little Man was enthralled for that part. Non-factual me was less interested. The other videos, which were linked up from around the internet, were easier to follow and much shorter.
Gloria’s video could have been made more professional by separating the parts, I think. By putting all of the teacher information into one document or one video, it would be easier for students to watch the videos and stay focused on just the information they need without getting bogged down by extra stuff. Since the whole point for me of a program like this is to allow my students to be independent, I’d much prefer that approach. I think making a separate presentation, whether a Prezi or a PowerPoint, to use with the video instead of the pdf would make for a smoother lesson. It would eliminate the need to scroll and move around the screen as much; as a very visual learner, I found that to be very distracting.
After watching the videos, there were questions to answer in the comments. We did so, and we were also instructed to leave kind feedback on another student’s answers. I like this attempt to make the class feel more interactive.
The next page took us to projects and additional resources. I thought this would be a place where the students would extend the lesson in other ways, but it turned out to be a list of links where students could go for more information. Some of it was extension information, but in the form of additional videos, poems on websites, etc. Several of the links recommended were from WikiPedia, which is a big no-no for academic research in our school. As evaluating sources is a big deal for us, this poses a big problem. Essentially, this page attempts to turn this lesson into a vague unit study by offering a round-up of resources from around the web.
NatureGlo eScience classes are for relaxed homeschoolers and unschoolers. While we don’t always follow formal, big-box curriculum for all subjects, this lesson was much too casual for my college-prep high school students. I expect more rigor and preparation out of their lessons, and I was surprised that this lesson would be considered appropriate for high school.
We chose to work our way through the Leonardo da Vinci class next. These two classes mix art and math. The videos for this class are recorded from live classes and are, for the most part, more professional and easier to follow. Round robin reading has never been my favorite, though, and watching it on a video does leave something to be desired. I like the discussion aspects and think that the question-and-answer format definitely adds to the class structure. While my kids don’t like live classes, I think they would be more fun.
The resources that accompany this class are more advanced and interactive than those that go with the Redwoods class. There are STEM projects, interactive timelines, sites with additional videos, and more. All in all, this NatureGlo eScience class feels much more complete.
My Little Man is looking forward to NatureGlo’s eScience Marine Biology and the MC Escher classes next.
While NatureGlo’s eScience classes are intended for high school, I think they’d be great for middle school students who want to explore a variety of math and science areas. With high school students, I think they’d definitely be geared more for students who don’t want to pursue these areas in college, and as the author points out, supplementing with other materials would be recommended.
Don’t take my word for it, though – click on the graphic below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.
