TOS REVIEW: My Access Home Edition, Vantage Learning

With the demand of testing in this day and age so focused on writing it is important to be able to teach this to our students. Even if there weren't the testing to consider, it is simply a very good thing to learn. If a person cannot write on a theme/topic in a narrative, a persuasive or an informative format, it is difficult to communicate effectively. Writing is something that will be experienced throughout all stages of our life. Do you struggle with how to teach your kids how to write? It should be easy, right?? Why would we need a program to help us teach our children writing? Simply stated: Because writing matters.


Through the TOS Crew I have been privileged to try out and review My Access Home Edition from Vantage Learning. I had heard of My Access through a few of my college classes (not just writing but primarily) so I have been to their website. I had never purchased a subscription however for those classes.

I will be upfront with my readers, this program is not cheap- it is $129.95 for a 12-month subscription for up to 6 students or $99.95 for a 12-month subscription for up to 3 students. However, with the inclusion of 6 students for $129.95 for 12 months, the cost of this program, per child would be less than $2 a month. Even for someone that only has 2 children (such as myself) the break-down is still under $6 a month. The Vantage Learning My Access Home Edition for up to 3 children drops to under $4 a month. It really is a good deal for the price when you look at it in the long run!
So now that we have gotten the ever-important question of cost out of the way, let's get down to the nitty gritty! Just what is My Access Home Edition and how can it be used?

From Vantage Learning's My Access Home Edition page:

Why is it so important to teach writing across the curriculum?
While writing is an important skill by itself, it is also closely linked to all other subject areas. As you combine writing instruction with other areas of study, you'll quickly discover how well your students are learning and where they need more instruction.

First, students learn to write...
When students first learn to write, they begin by focusing on the writing process itself: planning, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. This process enables them to generate ideas, link them together in meaningful ways, and express them creatively—all while obeying the "rules" or conventions of writing and grammar.

...then, they write to learn.
As students grow academically, the writing process quickly becomes a tool used to reach higher educational goals. Effective writing at this level enables them to organize, clarify, and communicate their thoughts across subjects, such as social studies, science, and math. Successful writing skills thus open the door to many new learning opportunities.

Here is my break-down of the Home Edition from Vantage Learning:

All photos link to the Vantage Learning website

Pros:

Setting up accounts is very simple.

• I was able to go in and set up accounts for both of my kids in a matter of minutes. They also didn't require a lot of information (a name is required but not a last name, nor is the City or State) which I like for online safety.

There are a lot of topics/themes to choose from

• In fact there are 96 preloaded writing topics for three distinct age groups (8–10, 11–14, and 15–18). I did not assign specific topics/themes for my kids to choose from. Each age group has a list to choose from. Here is a list from the 11-14 age range.

My Topics

• This feature allows the Parent/Tutor to set a theme or topic that they have chosen. This could be something that comes from the Topic Wheel. The Topic Wheel is neat but more of nonsensical topics. The screenshot shows what I mean. I had my kids work on a biography of a pencil with no eraser that always feels guilty. They thought it was 'fun' to do their writing.

Writer's Guide.

Use this online writing textbook to familiarize yourself with the writing process and the key writing traits: Focus, Content Development, Organization, Language Use, and Mechanics. From the site.

Writing Course or Just Start Writing

This feature allows the student to complete activities that are pertinent to the specific type of writing they are doing. It is interactive and for the most part fun. If they choose to simply start writing they skip all of the activities and are free to write. Some styles of writing, depending on the topic/theme, are easier to just begin writing without going through the activities. However, it seemed to us that the activities were helpful in the long run with their writing.

Goal Setting

Goals can be set together with the student or by the Parent/Tutor. Also when a certain point goal has been met a 'reward' can be given. On the homepage for the student they see how many points they have and how far to go until the next point goal as well as what the 'reward' is. The points are actually displayed on every page to the right of the Home, Assignments, etc. bar.

Writer's Toolbox

• The Writer's Toolbox isn't formatting such as you would find on a Word Processing; that's already built into the writing window. The Toolbox includes rubrics, writer's models, a writer's guide, the word bank, and more.
  
  

And some more Pros from the program:

1. Checklist
2. Kids can have their work 'graded' instantly when they submit their work.
3. Student and Teacher/Tutor User Guide in pdf form so that it can be printed and not just accessed online
4. Set up for 3 or up to 6 students
5. 12-month subscription not just a school 'year'

Cons:

A little difficult to navigate.

• Even after watching the tutorials, some aspects or resources are not that easy to find. Something that counters this, however, is the (?) at the top fo the page. Whatever page you are on has a (?) that you can click that will answer questions you might have while on that page.

It doesn't understand 'silly' language.

• Sometimes the language used is not really understood by the computer and it suggests revisions that really would make the writing confusing!

Online only

• I think that downloadable software or on CD would be nice to be able to use as well as online only.

Points awarded are not based on proficiency.

• My daughter, who is a fairly decent writer in my opinion, cannot seem to get to advanced proficiency even after following the given models in the Writers Toolbox. My son, who does need some help with writing, cannot get to proficient. Although both have completed numerous writing activities and submitted their work, they both fall below what they are striving for. The points awarded for the submissions (and activities) is simply based on doing something, not doing it correctly. While not the programs fault, my son now is more fixated on the points he earns rather than his proficiency. I think the points should be more directly, and indirectly as they are now, related to the level of writing the student has achieved.

And for the 'Undecided' because I haven't decided if this is a Pro or Con; it could be either.

Student really cannot work through this independently unless they are upper grades, in my opinion.

• When I say that it is based on my experience with my two kids. Dd is 13, in 8th grade and is not really having much trouble becoming 'proficient' at writing the way that the program wants her to be, she falls short of 'advanced' and that is where she wants to be. Ds who is 11, in 6th grade, is having a bit more trouble. Because of this, it is necessary often to work side-by-side with the kids. However,Vantage Learning does say "the Home Edition is not a stand-alone writing curriculum in itself. It doesn't present the writing process in an old-fashioned, linear way like most textbooks. It doesn't focus exclusively on the mechanics of writing like other electronic tools. And it certainly wasn't designed to replace teachers altogether!"

My Conclusion:

It would be easy to say that the 'Pros' far outweigh the 'Cons' for this product. There are a couple things that make me unsure if this program would be something that we would use on a regular basis. The inability to detect sarcasm and metaphors in writing puts a damper on creativity somewhat. Also, if a child is used to flexibility when writing, the programs detection of grammar errors can be downright annoying. I must say, however, that although one child is doing very well with the program and the other is not liking it much, they both have a renewed interest to write.

Perhaps for those who like 'rules' when writing and a definite structure, this program would work. It definitely has adequate features and the price, in the long run, is reasonable.

Click on the picture to find more reviews for this product.


**Disclosure: I received this product free from The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this review. The view expressed are my own. See my Disclosure/Policies for more information.**