CrossWired Science: Learning Online for Homeschoolers
This homeschool mom recently spent time looking at the new science program (Sound, and Fluid Dynamics) for learning online from CrossWired Science for review as part of the Homeschool Review Crew. As always, all opinions are our own.
Science is something my husband and I adore. We both have college degrees in science (biology for him and chemistry for me.) We are science geeks at times.
However, I know that not all homeschool parents share our love of science. So it becomes a challenging subject to teach.
Sharing my love of science with other homeschool families has happened in person. I find joy in helping teach science to homeschool students. But, I am always looking for resources to point people towards. That is why I was willing to take time to dig around CrossWired Science to share my thoughts.
About CrossWired Science for Learning Online
With an eye on the Lord, CrossWired Science seeks to help homeschool families learn science. In the course of the program, students begin to more fully appreciate God’s hand in creation.
On their Ed Why’s Page CrossWired Science clarifies that “We are studying true Science, the very carefully thought-out handiwork of the Almighty God.” Through proper training, students will eventually be trained to see God in the beauty of creation.
The program can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or to supplement what you are already using. Currently, there are two levels for the materials. This allows students from elementary through high school to study the same subject matter at appropriate levels. You purchase a subscription by the global topic and receive one year of access.
At the moment, CrossWired Science offers two different global topics: Sound and Fluid Dynamics. Each global topic has a variety of lessons focused on a particular global topic. They are also segregated into First Timers and Second Timers which is tied to the depth of study.
12 Types of Lessons
Core Videos (8 per global topic)
CWS Experiments
General Links
Unit Links
U-Choose
Field Trips
Reinforcement
Research
Reading
Gold Digs
Digging Deepers
Devotions
It is in the Gold Digs, Digging Deepers and Devotions that the student makes the connection between the study of science and the full appreciated of God’s hand in Creation.
Guidance for the Homeschool Parent/ Teacher
When logged into your account, you can access all the information just like your student. There are additional pages for assisting you as a guide.
There is a calendar page which shows how you can have your student approach learning. This includes information about stretching the topic to a full 8 weeks. Several different calendars can be downloaded (based on length of study and age of the student.)
A quiz management page allows you to see the results of each quiz taken by your student(s). Another page allows you to see the overall progress of your student.
Unit Worksheet Answers are given to the teacher. (These are for the printable worksheets associated with each video found in the student sections.)
Finally, teachers can see all general and unit links grouped together.
My Thoughts on CrossWired Science for Learning Online
This new platform is in its infancy and growing all the time. As part of this review, we have seen in a few short weeks addition of materials to the currently available sections.
Things I like:
1. Families can study the same subject matter at the same time. With 2 levels, they can complete assessments and other activities that fit their current abilities. So, my elementary student works on First Timers Curriculum while my high school student is in Second Timers Curriculum.
2. The program blends learning styles with the use of short video, online quizzes, printable worksheets, and activities. Inclusion of field trips is something I particularly like seeing.
3. Children can cycle back through the materials to ‘dig deeper’ in their learning. This is done by going from Phase 1 to Phase 2 learning.
4. Crosswired Science is priced to be affordable for homeschool families. Their aim is to keep it around the retail cost of a single Disney movie. Adding additional students is a lower cost than the base subscription and allows them to be tracked on the online assessments.
5. Material is not just ‘given’ to the child to consume, but rather they become an active participant in their learning.
6. All links to outside websites are vetted by Crosswired Science. It is easy to find ‘junk’ on the internet. After seeing quality information, the student can then learn how to discern the good from the bad during the research stage.
Room for Improvement
There is always room for improvement and CrossWired Science is continually doing so. Remember, this is ‘early days’ for the program. They are continually adding to the material.
I found it interesting that they used the same video for both levels with just the depth of questions changing. This is intentional by the developers as the material presented often includes tidbits an older student might not know or recall.
My high school student found some of the videos a bit ‘young’ for him. The material in other areas of the project does ask the older student to go deeper. This helps, but I know that the struggle can be real when a child feels the material ‘too easy’ for them.
From a time-saving basis, I like that my elementary and high school sons can watch the video together and then work on the other areas at their level. We can plan a family field trip to the same location, yet they will glean different things from the experience. It truly is a time saver for me!
Final Takeaway on CrossWired Science for Online Learning
CrossWired Science is poised to be a robust online learning platform for homeschool families. It allows the busy homeschool parent to guide their entire family through a specific topic with each student learning at their own level. And, the science is sound while always pointing to God as Creator.
Personally, I am eager to continue working through the currently available topics with my boys this summer. And, I can’t wait to see what global topics come out next.
Do you and your family enjoy science?
Would this particular program be appealing to your family?
Don’t just take my word for how we found this to be. Visit the CrossWired Science review post on the Homeschool Review Crew website to see what other homeschooling parents thought about this book.
