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There are a lot of choices for virtual education, but not all of them are created equal. Some are definitely better than others. Homeschool Buyers Co-op has a new option, Virtua, that we were excited to try. My son loves to read and he enjoys learning online, especially when he can move at his own pace, so I felt like Virtua would be a good fit for him. It offers a lot of great features that suit his learning style.
Considering Virtual Education?
Many families have decided to homeschool this year due to the pandemic. There has been a considerable spike in homeschoolers. Many of these families did not intend to homeschool and are looking to virtual learning to guide them through this difficult time.
There are quite a few options for virtual learning, with new ones cropping up all the time. If you’re trying to choose the best program for your child, it can get confusing. You are likely worried that your child may not get everything he or she needs.
Our family tried Virtua, from Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op. This is a new, cutting edge online virtual education program that uses the latest technology and AI to make adjustments to the learning plan based on your child’s abilities and progress. Virtua is designed for grades K-12 and covers English, math, and science.
3 Benefits of Using Virtua for Your Child’s Virtual Education
1. Adjusts to Your Child’s Ability Level Using Artificial Intelligence
Your child is an individual and has an individualized set of learning needs. Whether you plan to homeschool indefinitely or you plan to return to a classroom setting once the pandemic is over, you can look at this year as a chance to fill in any gaps in your child’s learning.
Of course, you could buy a program designed for your child’s current grade, but is that what’s best? What if your child works faster and finds the program too easy or boring? Or, what if your child needs some remediation and isn’t ready for what the program has to offer?
That’s where Virtua comes in. The platform begins with a diagnostic test, so you know that your child is starting in the right place. If your child is behind and needs review, Virtua will fill in the gaps. If your child is ahead, Virtua won’t force them to go through lessons full of already-learned information.
After the diagnostic, Virtua will recommend a learning path that you can oversee and adjust as your kids’ progress through the program. The AI also adapts to your children’s progress as they move through the program, speeding up when necessary and slowing down when your child needs more review.
Your child will always be at the right level. Virtua ensures that the lessons are never too hard and never too easy. The work is difficult enough to be challenging, but not so much as to frustrate.
2. Courses Are Delivered by Mini-Lessons Called “Nuggets”
Nuggets are video lessons and questions that can be completed in 10-15 minutes. These are fun and engaging for your children, while also providing the AI with some valuable information.
Some nuggets are designed to discover your kids’ strengths and weaknesses to plan and adjust their personalized learning paths. Other nuggets teach a quick topic. After answering questions, your child will get a score and decide whether to do the nugget again or move forward. I like that it is giving my son some autonomy over his own learning.
These nuggets are great for keeping up the pace and keeping my son interested and moving forward. Many virtual education programs have video lessons, but some tend to be long and tedious. This can get exceedingly boring if your child is already familiar with the topic.
Longer videos are also a problem if your child is struggling with a topic. Nuggets are short and allow a quick check to ensure your child is grasping concepts before moving forward. If a video is too long, your child may be wasting time watching something that just gets more and more confusing. Not with Virtua.
3. Access to Thousands of Resources Including an Online Digital Library
In addition to the lessons, activities, and videos Virtua offers, there is also a digital library packed with extra content. Your children will get access to a library of tens of thousands of ebooks and audiobooks intentionally chosen and designed to keep kids learning.
There’s content for every reader and interest level, including comic books, video books, bestselling and classic children’s books, and magazines, too! The digital library is especially great for this because of limited access to libraries, which are the backbone of many homeschooling programs. Access to the library also means you won’t have to purchase a separate reading subscription somewhere else!
Your children will also get access to award-winning MUZZY language lessons for Spanish, French, and Mandarin. This is kind of an awesome deal because usually, you would purchase MUZZY or another language program separately, on top of your core curriculum. With Virtua, it’s all included.
Plus a few bonus reasons…
- Virtua offers curriculum to learners in grades K-12, and all of the core subjects are covered, including access to the digital library. You can have all of your kids on one program. You don’t have to figure out how to use multiple programs for each of your kids.
- One parent dashboard tracks all of your kids’ progress. You can easily check in to see how each of your kids is doing.
- Virtua offers a month-to-month subscription plan. This is perfect for those who are temporarily homeschooling and plan to return to school later in the year.
- Kids can work and learn independently. You will really appreciate this if you are trying to work from home and have more than one child homeschooling.
Plus you can try Virtua, just $1 for the first month!
Learn More
Want to learn more about Virtua for virtual education and find other excellent homeschooling materials? Find great deals on Homeschool Buyers Co-op and learn more about Virtua here.
Once you sign up, your kids can be online and learning within minutes!
Ashley helps parents who want to homeschool find the resources they need to successfully teach their children. Ashley is a former teacher, current homeschooler, published author, and designer behind Circle Time with Miss Fox printables as well as the creator of this website, The Homeschool Resource Room.