We have used both....

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From: Julie in NY (74.74.220.65)
Subject: We have used both....
Date: April 23, 2009 at 6:16 am PST

In Reply to: Could anyone compare Teaching Textbooks Algebra posted by Joyce in PA on April 20, 2009 at 8:51 pm:

Our family is not strong in math. The subject does not come easily to any of us, so this has been a tough area for my boys.

My older son tried a couple of other algebra programs before he finally "got it" with VideoText. At the time and for him, we really loved it. And yes, we did have to start back at the beginning and then move quickly through the material until we hit spots that he didn't understand. It finally seemed to make sense for him. However, as we got into the later modules, we found that the examples given on the video were easier than the exercise problems in the workbook. Thus, a number of the problems were so complicated, my son became frustrated that he couldn't understand them. Another friend experienced the same difficulty. We didn't quite finish module F, but the author informed us that gets into precalc anyway.

My younger son started with VideoText since we already had the materials. He did all right with A, but became bored with B and had a harder time picking it up than my older one did (maybe because the older one had already tasted some other algebra materials). So we switched to Teaching Textbooks. Again, we did have to start further back than we had expected, but it was so nice to have every problem worked out on the CD's. We finished TT 1 quite sucessfully and have done part of TT 2. Unfortunately we have had some interruptions, so we are moving slower than we would like, but it is soooo helpful having the accompanying CD's. We have taken a break from Alg. 2 and are working on Geometry now. We are on Chapter 7 and he really loves the format.

I guess it really depends on your child which program would work best. It would be difficult going from TT to VT, but I think going from VT to TT2 would be doable since there is some review in the the first few chapters of Alg. 2 TT. VT is probably a more demanding program than TT, but for us with non-math major boys, it is a good fit. If you are able to help with the problems, either one is very good. If not, the CD's in TT are a lifesaver.