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 Table of Contents
ChoosyHomeSchoolerWhy did you create this website? Who are you?ChoosyHomeSchooler was created to help homeschooling parents make important decisions about the homeschool curriculum and other programs, products and services they will use to educate their children. We understand that parents don't have unlimited time to research curriculum and other teaching tools. Therefore, we wanted to offer a collection of well-organized, reliable, easy to use reviews written by experienced homeschoolers willing to share their insights into the effectiveness, usability and relative price/value of each product. We have also tried to make it easy to find comments about the suitability of these products for children who have special needs, interests and talents. To read more about the ChoosyHomeSchooler team, please see our About Us page and Terms of use.How is ChoosyHomeSchooler different from other curriculum review websites?Each of the ChoosyHomeSchooler product reviews contains overall information about previous homeschoolers' experiences using a particular product, along with numeric product ratings for effectiveness, usability, and price/value. Product reviews are tagged with keywords, allowing users to easily find curriculum products that will best fit their particular children's needs.In addition to curriculum product reviews, we also offer reviews of software, freeware, websites, reference tools, lesson planning, and other learning management tools that can enhance the effectiveness and enjoyment of the home education experience. We hope parents will add their own perspective on the products they find listed here. Or if they have experience using products that we have not yet listed, please Contact Us. Is my information private? Will you sell my information?The information provided to Choosy Homeschooler will be used according to our Privacy Policy andback to top Searching for CurriculumHow do I browse curriculum products within a certain subject area?Click on the term "Product Reviews" in the green bar on ChoosyHomeSchooler home page. Choose the appropriate category for that particular subject area. (For instance, if you are interested in browsing Language Arts curriculum, you would click on the category Language Arts.)Once you have chosen a top level category, you must then choose a sub-category. (Within the Language Arts section, you could choose Handwriting, Phonics & Reading, or any other sub-category). Once you have chosen a sub-category, a list of curriculum will display in a table format. The table provides information on the current average rating for that product (see Reading and Understanding Product Reviews below for more information on how these scores are generated), and the current number of reviews for that product. For more information on a specific product or to read user reviews of that product, click on the name of the product, in red. How can I find reviews for a specific curriculum?Click on the Advanced Search link in the green box on the far right side of the website pages, located just below the Search box. The Advanced Search page displays a complete list of all products listed in the ChoosyHomeSchooler database. The table also displays the current average rating for that product (see Reading and Understanding Product Reviews, below, for more information on how these scores are generated), and the current number of reviews for that product.The Advanced Search list of products displays in alphabetical order. Use the drop down box, (Sort A-Z) located above the curriculum list, to sort the list in reverse alphabetical order (Z-A), by average rating, or by number of reviews. Locate the name of the specific product you are searching for and click on the name of the product to read product information and user reviews. (Helpful Hint: Products are listed in our database according to the product name given by the manufacturer. If you are unable to find a particular product, be sure to check the products beginning with "A" or "The".) If you are unable to find a listing for a particular product and would like assistance, please Contact Us. What are tags and how can they help me find curriculum reviews?Tags are one-two word descriptors, similar to keywords, that are associated with a specific product or a user's review of a product. The ChoosyHomeSchooler team creates tags for each product, based on the description and uses for that product. For instance, a curriculum product that teaches phonics might have the tags "phonics", "letter sounds", "blends", "digraphs", etc.Tags for a user's review of a product are created by the reviewer when writing the review. These tags generally tell about the user's experience with the product. For example, a user that found a particular product to be useful for a child who is primarily a visual learner, might include a tag such as "VisualLearner". The "Top Tags" box on the bottom right of the ChoosyHomeSchooler home page contains a listing of the products and reviews with the most commonly used tags. Click on a tag of interest to you to read reviews of products that are associated with that tag. The Top Tags section will continually change as ChoosyHomeSchoolers create product reviews and tag products. For a complete list of all tags associated with products and product reviews, see our Tags Page or click on the link "View all Tags", located above the Top Tags box on the home page. If you would like to read definitions of some of the commonly used tags and educational terms, see our Glossary of Terms, below. back to top Reading and Understanding Product ReviewsWho wrote all of the reviews? How were the ratings assigned?We offer several kinds of product and service reviews. Reviews created by the username "Archive" were designed to provide information and reviews on homeschool curriculum products. These reviews contain overview information about the product, along with reviews and quotes from people who have experience using these products. Reviews created by the username "Digest" offer abridged versions of product reviews found elsewhere on the Internet. ChoosyHomeSchooler editors assigned products ratings for usability, effectiveness, and price/value based on the salient aspects of each review. If one or more of the criteria are not mentioned in the original review, no score was assigned for that rating criteria.Reviews attributed to other usernames were written by homeschoolers who have experience using the products and services. These reviews offer first-hand information about the usability, effectiveness, and price/value of the product, along with other pertinent information provided by that review writer. The ratings for usability, effectiveness, and price/value were assigned by the author directly. What is instructional effectiveness?Instructional effectiveness is determined by how positively the product or website impacts the learning of the student or aids the teaching parent. A high rating for effectiveness means the students who use this product or website benefit greatly from what it offers, and, perhaps, that the parents find it helps them in being better homeschool teachers.What is usability?Usability is defined by how easy to use or enjoyable the website or product is for the student and teacher. A product or service's usability is determined by such factors as the clarity of instructions, ease of navigation or application, visual appeal, customer support, time required for pre-planning, the completeness and accuracy of the materials provided, and if it is engaging or fun to use.What is price/value?Rating the value of a product or service relative to its price is based on what the website or product offers when comparing other similar products or websites. In other words, what's included in the price and how affordable is it for a homeschooling family relative to similar substitutes.What are the ratings listed next to each review (light green boxes)? The scores for instructional effectiveness, usability, and price/value located to the right of the review title, shows the rating assignments determined by that individual reviewer. Each of these individual sets of ratings is then used to tabulate the overall rating scores for that product. How is the information in the Overall Ratings Summary calculated? The Overall Ratings Summary is based on the ratings assigned by each individual reviewer. With multiple numerically scored reviews, we calculate averages both for each criterion, and then an overall average using an equal rating of all ratings represented in all categories (rather than an "average of the averages" method). back to top Writing Product ReviewsI would like to write a product review. Where do I start?In order to write reviews for products and services on the ChoosyHomeSchooler website, you must first complete our free registration process.Next, choose a product or service you have gained experience using and would like to review. See our for additional information. Find the name of the product you would like to review by browsing through the subject categories or by searching for the product name on the Advanced Search page. If you are unable to find a particular product, be sure to check the products beginning with "A" or "The" first. If you are still unable to find the name of a product you would like to review, please fill out our Contact Us form and we will add the product to our database and let you know when it is ready for your review. If the product is already included in our database, click on the name of the product in order to see a description of that product and any existing reviews. Then click on the Add A Review button at the top or bottom of the page. Follow the brief instructions to fill out the review form and click the SAVE button to submit your review. How should I assign ratings for effectiveness, usability, and price/value?Use the drop down boxes at the top of the product review page to assign the product ratings for instructional effectiveness, usability, and price/value. Ratings are based on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest score (poor) and 5 being the highest score (excellent). Use the following definitions as a general guideline:Instructional effectiveness - determined by how positively the product or website impacts the learning of the student or aids the teaching parent. A high rating for effectiveness means the students who use this product or website benefit greatly from what it offers, and, perhaps, that the parents find it helps them to be a better homeschool teacher. Usability - defined by how easy to use or engaging the website or product is for the student and teacher. A product or service's usability is determined by such factors as the clarity of instructions, ease of navigation or application, visual appeal, customer support, preparation time required , the completeness and accuracy of the materials provided, and whether it is engaging or fun to use. Price/value - based on what the website or product offers when comparing other similar products or websites. In other words, what's included in the price and how affordable is it for a homeschooling family relative to similar substitutes. Also, value for the money spent - some products can seem expensive when compared to similar products, but may be worth the additional cost due to added features. Should I enter the name of the product I am reviewing in the Review Title field?No, we prefer that you create a title for your review that gives an overview of your experiences with the product or service, or calls out a key point in your review. Here are some examples of good titles for reviews: "Very thorough Math curriculum", "My daughter couldn't read enough of this book!" or "Customer Service was a nightmare!"What information should I include in the body of my review?Your review should contain an overview of your experiences using the product. Be sure to answer some or all of the following questions:
What tags should I add to my review?Enter keywords that describe the product and your experience using it. Separate each tag with a comma. Here are some examples of good tags for reviews: "GiftedandTalented, KinestheticLearner, PrintableCurriculum, SpiralLearning".back to top My ProfileHow do I update my email address? How do I update my profile?Click on the MY PROFILE link in the top left of the green bar on the home page, and then click on Edit your Profile. Change your information, as necessary, and then scroll down the page and click on SAVE PROFILE in order to save your changes.*Please note that first name and email address fields are required fields. How can I let other ChoosyHomeSchooler website users see my profile information?All of the profile information that you provide during the registration process is saved in your profile. This information automatically defaults to hidden/private status, so other users cannot access this information.If you would like to allow other users to learn more about you, click on the MY PROFILE link in the top left of the green bar on the home page and then click on Edit your Profile. At the bottom of this page you have the ability to choose which elements of your profile you would like other users to see. If you would like other homeschoolers to see ALL of your profile information, then click on the last checkbox, Profile Private, to remove the checkbox. If you want other homeschoolers to only see parts of your profile information (for instance, you do not want other users to see your email address), then click on the appropriate checkboxes for First Name Private, Last Name Private, Email Private, and Description Private to designate the items you would like to remain private/hidden. How can I add my photo to my profile?Click on the MY PROFILE link in the top left of the green bar on the home page and then click on Edit your Profile. In the Profile Image section, click on the Browse button to locate the image, stored on your computer. Double click on the image you would like to use, and then click on the Save Profile button to save your changes.If you have uploaded a photo, but are unable to see it, be sure to refresh your browser. If you need further assistance, please Contact Us. back to top My FavoritesHow can I mark a product so that I can easily find it again later?When reading a review of a product, you can save the product in your My Favorites section by clicking on the Add to my Favorites button in the top section of that product review.How do I update My Favorites list?Click on the MY FAVORITES link in the top left of the green bar on the home page. Here you will see a list of the products that you have added to your favorites list. Click on the name of the product to access product information and read reviews of that product.If you would like to remove products from your My Favorites list, click on the REMOVE button beside the name of the product you would like to remove from the list. back to top Questions and FeedbackWho do I contact for technical questions?For answers to technical questions, and any other questions, please fill out the form on our Contact Us page.I have some suggestions on how to make your website better. Should I send them to you?Please do! We welcome your comments and suggestions. Fill out the form on our Contact Us.back to top |
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