online

6 Reasons I Love Online Video Lessons

July 30, 2019 by Megan

I never expected to love online video lessons. When my husband and I first started homeschooling, we used the DVD video lessons from BJU Press. We loved the video content and the high-quality textbooks that came with the program. But I found that I didn’t love managing all those DVDs. Often my daughter would forget to put the DVD back in the case when she was finished with it. Or she would return it to the wrong case. Sometimes she also put the wrong DVD into the player and ended up watching the wrong lesson. These frustrations were magnified when we started homeschooling our second child. I was so ready for an easier solution.

The online video lessons were that easier solution. It provided our family with the same video lesson content that we appreciated so much. It came with the same amazing textbooks—as well as with a lot of “extras” that have made my life as a homeschool mom so much easier. Here’s what I’ve come to love about the online program.

1. The Online Gradebook

Grading (and grade recording) has always been my least favorite part of homeschooling, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is with online lessons. All the answer keys are available digitally, so I no longer have to store (and hunt for) bulky teacher editions or parent guides. The online program also takes care of all the math involved, and it’s easy to filter the gradebook by grading period, assignment type, or date. It’s also easy to skip assignments that I don’t want my children to do. They can even see their current grades (but not make changes), which is very motivational. Starting this year, my fifth grader will also be able to take many of her assessments online (less grading for me!).

2. The Guide for Online Video Lessons

I’m not sure why, but when we were using DVDs, my children always had difficulty selecting the correct lesson. The online program has eliminated that problem by providing an online road map for every lesson. My children know exactly what they are supposed to do next. This feature has saved us a lot of frustration, and it has helped my children become more independent in regard to their schoolwork.

3. The Video Player

Have you ever wished you could speed up or slow down a lesson? The online video player lets you do just that—with very little effort, you can adjust the speed of the video so that it is just right for your child.

4. The eTextbooks

Not long ago, one of my children lost her science textbook. We searched for it everywhere but couldn’t find it for weeks (it had fallen behind one of our bookshelves). But school went on as usual. One reason it could was that that science textbook was available digitally on the online platform. I was so thankful! Not all textbooks are available in eTextbook format (only the ones that your child would not normally write in, like a science textbook). But you still get all the printed textbooks if you purchase online video lessons using the “with books” option.

5. The Online Parent Community

Homeschooling can often feel like a lonely venture, but not so with the online program. If I have a question about any of my children’s courses or about the online platform itself, there’s always someone ready to help me. I’ve been inspired to see what some other homeschool moms are doing with their children. It’s great to know that I’m not in this alone!

6. The Digital Resources for Online Video Lessons

I’ve already mentioned that the answer keys are available digitally to help with grading, but there are also tons of other digital resources right at my fingertips, such as student handouts, instructional aids, and extended activities. These resources help me better teach my child and save me a lot of time and frustration when something goes missing. I can even access the complete teacher editions through the online platform!

If you’re like me, you probably feel that the “online” aspect of the video lessons is the scariest part. A lot of horrible stuff is out there online, and even the “good” stuff can be very distracting for many students. Reading “How to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Web” was very useful for me because it helped me realize what safeguards I can put in place to make sure learning happens in a safe, controlled way.

If you and your family need an “easier” homeschool solution, check out BJU Press’s online video lessons. You’ll be glad you did!

How to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Web

August 31, 2017 by Justin

The idea of our kids using the internet on their own can be scary for many of us parents. Part of being a parent (and a big part of why we homeschool) is to protect them from harmful influences. There’s plenty of objectionable content on the web, but the internet itself isn’t inherently bad. Like many other tools it can be both constructive and destructive.

The internet is a doorway to knowledge. Inside, there are many powerful learning tools. One such tool is BJU Press Distance Learning Online, which has helped thousands of homeschool families keep their children’s education on track. But how do you use these tools without also exposing your children to the bad stuff?

It can be done—and probably more easily than you think. Here are ways to use both hardware and software to harness the power of the web in your homeschool while keeping your kids safe.

Hardware

Choosing the right device for your children to use to access the internet can go a long way toward protecting them online. Some are easier than others to manage and “lock down” for a controlled browsing experience.

My personal favorite device for this purpose is a Chromebook^™ notebook computer. These inexpensive laptops run Google’s web-centric Chrome OS^™ operating system. Though not ideal for all workloads, they’re a top choice in schools because they have built-in keyboards and can be easily managed by teachers, which also makes them perfect for homeschoolers. You can lock the laptop down to being able to display only a set of websites that you define, meaning you can limit your child’s access to only Distance Learning Online if you want to. And it can all be done with a few clicks without any special knowledge of the platform.

Here’s all you have to do:

Enable “Supervised Users” in the settings menu
Create a “Supervised User” account for your child
Visit https://chrome.google.com/manage/su and select “Allow only approved sites”
Add sites to the list

Learn more about Chromebook^™ notebook computers here and how to easily lock them down here.

Software

If you already have a device that you use or want to protect your entire family, a software solution might be the best option. Covenant Eyes^® is a special kind of software that can be installed on multiple devices to filter and monitor web access. It can be used to block out specific sites and stores a record of all sites visited (for accountability purposes). They do charge a monthly fee for a family subscription.

You can learn more about Covenant Eyes^® here.

I hope these ideas help your family have a safe web experience. If you’ve found other ways to protect your family, help others by mentioning them in the comments below!
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How Can I Use That Distance Learning Online Feature?

August 25, 2015 by BJU Press Writer

If you’ve viewed our quickstart guides, you and your child are probably navigating Distance Learning Online (DLO) pretty comfortably by now. A few more features that we’d like to share with you relate to choosing settings and connecting with other families using DLO.

Blog

The DLO blog is primarily used by the students. This feature functions like a chat room and is actively monitored by our DLO team members. They interact with students on an as-needed basis according to the guidelines listed in our DLO blog and profile policy. And every time your child publishes a new conversation thread, it can be viewed from your DLO Dashboard.

A relatively new capability you have in DLO is to adjust certain settings for your child’s student profile. This option is helpful for monitoring your child’s access to the blog or time spent on it.

We also recommend that you enter a test password so that your child is unable to view his assessments until it is time to take them.

Communities

Here you have access to discussion forums that are grouped according to your child’s grade level, technical questions, feedback, homeschooling topics, and more. Like other discussion forums, this one allows you to join current conversation threads or post new ones. You’ll find that many DLO parents are willing to share ideas and offer support. Your child doesn’t have access to these discussions.

Grades

Your child can view his letter grade and current average for each course he’s enrolled in. You can view and edit his grades. In fact, we have provided three options for recording grades. Both the Record of Grades PDF and DLO Spreadsheet Record of Grades can be downloaded. The Online Gradebook is easiest to work with since it automatically updates every time your child completes an assessment. All three options can be found when you view a course under your parent profile.

Help

If you or your children have any academic or technical questions, send us a Help Ticket. Our DLO team members are prepared to offer support.

Thank you for choosing BJU Press Distance Learning Online! As we partner together this year, we know your child is sure to receive a sound education from a biblical worldview, and we’re pretty sure his love for learning is going to grow as he gets to know his distance learning teachers.

What other questions do you have about DLO?

How Are My Distance Learning Online Materials Organized?

August 20, 2015 by BJU Press Writer

You and your child have been successful in accessing Distance Learning Online (DLO); so now let’s talk about how things are set up. We’d like to cover two aspects today.

1. Printed Materials

Each course includes a Video Lesson Guide and Student Handouts. These packets provide an overview of the course and any related handouts to save you time and money on printing.

Video Lesson Guide

The VLG is specifically for parents and allows you to see how the course is laid out. It outlines the content, materials needed, Student Text or Worktext pages, assignments, and parent responsibility for each lesson.

Student Handouts

The SH packet provides the handouts your child needs for the lessons. Each page has the related grade, subject, and lesson printed on it. (We know how things can sometimes get out of order!)

The VLG and SH packets are the more challenging pieces of DLO to keep organized—primarily because of all the paper. We have three-hole punched each sheet so that it easily fits into a notebook, folder, or tray. You might want to consider color coding different subjects if your child is enrolled in multiple courses on DLO.

Creating an organizational system requires some planning, but the packets lend themselves to easy grouping by lesson, subject, grade, or any other option you choose! Our goal is to provide your family with sound educational resources from a biblical worldview that support your goals but are flexible enough so that you can choose to do what works best for your family. And if these printed materials get lost, no worries. The materials from these packets are in PDF form on DLO.

2. Online Course Materials

Each course Homepage in DLO provides your child with access to the course’s eTextbook (available for each course that includes a Student Text as opposed to a Student Worktext). This eTextbook can be viewed online or downloaded once you’ve created a Vitalsource Bookshelf^® account. You can learn more about our eTextbooks at bjupresshomeschool.com.

Below is a summary of how the courses are set up on DLO.

Lessons

You and your child have access to the course lessons through your separate profiles. From here, you can both view the course lessons we have provided for your child to complete. (You can view sample videos of the lessons.) While DLO does allow you to customize your child’s learning experience, we recommend that you check your state guidelines to see what is required. Instructions, answer keys, and other attachments are provided as needed for you every day. Specific instructions for the parent are featured in a green box that your child is not able to see under his student profile.

As your child completes each item, he can mark it complete to record his progress in the course.

Discussion

Our high school math and science courses include discussion forums. Your child has the opportunity to ask questions related to his course and receive feedback from one of our DLO team members or other students currently enrolled in the same course. The forums don’t appear under your parent profile, but you can still view everything your child posts from your DLO Dashboard.

Our distance learning teachers have integrated different activities and materials specifically for your child into their courses. All of the educational materials we provide are designed to build up your child’s joy of learning. In the next post, we’ll share additional features in DLO, such as adjusting settings and connecting with others.

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Now That I’ve Ordered Distance Learning Online, What’s Next?

August 18, 2015 by BJU Press Writer

Welcome to the BJU Press Distance Learning Online community! We’re excited to be on the same team for your child’s educational experience. Our distance learning materials are crafted to provide your child a sound education from a biblical worldview. Starting something new can be challenging; so over the next two weeks we’ll share the how-tos of our online program.

Welcome Email

Once your Distance Learning Online (DLO) order has been processed, the first thing you receive is a welcome email directing you to create a profile. At the same time, your child should also receive a welcome email.

To create a profile each parent and student is asked to provide a unique username and password and to confirm the first and last name. The confirmation of this information allows us to provide you and your child the distance learning content and educational materials related to his enrollment. Protecting your family’s privacy is important to us, and you can read how this information is used in our Children’s Privacy Policy. If you choose not to provide a separate email address for your child, then all emails related to his enrollment in DLO will be sent directly to your email.

Printed Materials

Your printed materials should arrive soon from our distribution center. These materials may arrive all together or in separate boxes. What you receive depends on the grade and subject ordered, but each kit should include these items.

DLO grade/subject kit no textbooks:

Video Lesson Guide
Student Handouts

DLO grade/subject kit with textbooks:

Student Text(s) and/or Worktext(s)
Video Lesson Guide
Student Handouts

If you’re looking for the Teacher’s Edition, tests, or test answer keys—don’t worry. An abridged Teacher’s Edition PDF and other resources are located in DLO. We’ve also provided available eTextbooks in DLO for you and your child. Most courses in grade 5 through grade 12 also include online assessments that are graded and recorded electronically. (Courses up to grade 4 that use tests include the printed tests and test answer keys when you order the grade/subject kit with books.)

Logging In

When you and your child log in to DLO for the first time, you’ll both need to agree to the terms of Edvance360. It’s important to remember that all of our distance learning content (video presentations, assessments, and other educational materials) is hosted online by this third-party company. Their terms will appear on the screen when you set up your profile. (For children under the age of eighteen, a parent needs to agree to the terms.)

Once the terms are agreed to, you will see the Homepage, which we also refer to as the Dashboard. From here you can access informative messages (Alerts), courses, resources, and your student’s progress. Your child also has a similar Dashboard; however, he doesn’t have access to the Contacts, Communities, or Mailbox. Another feature your child will have view-only access to is the Gradebook. We’ve created a quickstart guide for parents and another guide for students for easy navigation reference. It might be helpful for you and your child to review these PDFs before starting the first course. (We update these guides periodically.)

Our distance learning teachers and textbook writers are focused on providing your child with sound educational materials that will build the joy of learning. If you’re missing some of these materials, please let us know. We want to make sure you have everything you need to make the school year a successful one. In the next post, we’ll talk about how these materials are organized. Please let us know if we forget to include information that would be beneficial for you.

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