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.
We had the chance to review the NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from online education provider NatureGlo's eScience. While it did take us some time to become familiar with all of the options (and there were many!), we were quite happy with what the site offered and how it added some fun and whimsy to traditional "hard" core courses like math and science.
NatureGlo's eScience Review
First, to understand what's offered, you have to know about MathArt. What a term! First, you may not even realize that math and art are so interconnected, but within a few days of using this online resource, it will become quite apparent to you and your kids that they are. Some of the topics covered in these courses include:
- Leonardo Davinci
- Polygons in nature
- The Fibonacci sequence
- The geometry of snowflakes
How the courses work
- How to start a virtual class or pre-recorded session
- How to access slideshows and external videos
- How to save your progress and earn digital rewards
- How to submit a project or comment on the class
What the lessons are like
Additional details about these courses
I've already shared that these classes can be as structured or as casual as you want, depending on your family's needs. While some of the one-lesson courses may require you to assign a grade based on your child's understanding or enthusiasm, the higher-level classes, such as the Marine Biology course showed above, do allow for some formal grading. This class, for example, takes kids through several video lessons and review exercises before giving them access to some premade Quizlets. These Quizlet windows are embedded right into the course content, so you don't have to leave the site to access them. (If' you're not familiar with Quizlets, they are a neat app that tests for comprehension, and it's thoughtful of the course creator to be using this tool within the course program.)
You can, of course, not count your child's Quizlet scores, but if you're using this for high school science, it's a great way to gauge what your kid is learning.
There are also quite a few videos, resources, and activities that are not created by NatureGlo's eScience but that are necessary to complete the courses. These are provided in a way that kids can either view the content as an embedded window or file on the course page, or will be told when they will navigate away from the site. Parents should allow new browser windows or files to be opened while the kids are working on their courses so that they can get to the information they need. If you have browser monitoring software on your computer, this may need to be tweaked during the course use.
NatureGlo's eScience Review Summary
If you're looking for something different for science this year, you may have one of the best options out there with NatureGlo's eScience. It takes a bit to get used to at first, but once you figure out how to navigate within the site -- as well as access external documents and videos -- you can get your pacing and really learn some cool things in a short period of time.
I like that they include both traditional core "science' courses such as marine biology and Herps, but there are some just-for-fun things like an M.C. Escher course that's fun and enlightening and still ties into math and science. If you're looking for a neat way to break up the monotony of science, this collection of courses may be for you. Membership gets you access for an entire year for the courses in the bundle.
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