Simplify Your Saxon Lessons with DIVE Math CDs.
What is DIVE? It stands for Digital Interactive Video Education, and it utilizes technology to create math lectures on a computer whiteboard that look and sound as though you are witnessing lectures in a real classroom. The course is taught using Saxon Homeschool materials (which must be purchased separately).
Our family has used the DIVE CDs for years, and we cant say enough good things about them! Dr. Shormann does a great job of explaining the concepts and demonstrating how to work through them. He teaches every lesson in the corresponding Saxon text, but he does not just read the teaching script. He has been teaching math to Houston area homeschoolers since 1997, and he has a tremendous ability to convey information in an understandable manner. There are times when the printed lesson seems to give excessive explanation (in my opinion), and Dr. Shormann just cuts to the chase. On other occasions, he elaborates on the printed lesson for additional clarification perhaps presenting an alternate way of working the problem. At the end of each lecture, the student is to pause the CD and work the practice problems. When he is finished, he starts the CD again and watches Dr. Shormann work a similar set of practice problems.
The DIVE CDs utilize a video whiteboard, which serves the same purpose as a classroom blackboard. They are so much more convenient than video courses. Rewinding and fast forwarding are instantaneous--just a click of the mouse can take you to any point in the lesson. (We joke that, unlike Mom, Dr. Shormann is eternally patient and he never becomes exasperated, no matter how many times he has to repeat the same thing!) And because the track numbers for the lectures are the same as the lesson numbers, listening to a lecture from a previous lesson is a piece of cake. For instance, if your child gets stuck on a problem that references lesson 27, he would only need to click on track 27 to listen to that lecture again. And there is a lot of information packed on those little CDs! For instance, the DIVE Algebra 2 CD has 26 hours of teaching time. That would take up 13 videos! And yet, the cost is only $50 per course. No wonder these have become so popular, so quickly!
Do the math and decide for yourself: When you divide the cost of DIVE Math CDs ($50) by the number of lessons in a Saxon course (around 130), the cost is just 38 cents per lesson! PLUS when you're finished with the course, you STILL own the unconsumed product. That's what we call a bargain!
All DIVE CDs are dual platform (Windows/Mac compatible). System Requirements: Windows 98 or better (including XP) or any Mac OS.