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Odysseyware: Online Learning System with Virtual Science Labs

10/3/2014

8 Comments

 
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Odysseyware is an online learning system that offers coursework for students in 3rd through 12th grade in an enormous variety of subjects.  These courses can be used for students who need to make up credits, to help teachers flip their class, for homebound students, or to simply supplement an already existing curriculum.

With that being said, this review will not focus on their online system as a whole, but rather on an exciting new addition.  The Odysseyware team has recently added a great collection of virtual science labs that are designed to fit within their curriculum before their actual science labs take place. However, these lab could also be used on their own within the classroom, as a preview to actual labs, as a supplement to labs, or as a replacement in classrooms where supplies or time are not available. They have some excellent options, so, let's check it out!

First, if you're curious about Odysseyware as a whole, and possibly using it within your classroom, you can check out their YouTube channel here, to get a better idea of their interface.  And their service is available not only on desktops/laptops but also on mobile devices.

But again, for this review, we're just checking out their new virtual labs.  For this school year, the Odysseyware team has launched 20 new virtual labs, and these cover a great variety of topics.  Here are some examples:
  • Osmosis
  • Biomes (forests, tundra, desert, etc.)
  • Circular motion
  • Newton’s Law
  • Simple Machines
  • Frog Dissection
  • Circuits
  • Doppler Effect

I had the chance to walk through the frog dissection with the team, and it was definitely better than expected!  Having been a biology teacher and taking students through many a crazy frog dissection, I've also tried out the virtual dissections, especially for those students who chose to not participate in the actual dissection.  This dissection was not only well structured, but also about as realistic as you can get for a virtual dissection.


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Let the Dissecting Begin

What I really like about Odysseyware's approach to the dissection is that they do a great job of combining a realistic dissection with relevant information.  For example, as you're proceeding through the dissection, you can also view information on the organs, muscles, and so on.  This makes the dissection process a little more practical than a teacher having to run around to all the different tables and help students figure out exactly what it is they're looking at.  

And again, it functions as a great precursor to a real dissection as well, because students can get the techniques and basic anatomy down, before the real life scenario.


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On top of that, the Odysseyware system has built in assessment that can track student performance and understanding throughout the dissection.  This can be a great way to determine if your students are ready for the actual dissection, if you're using this virtual lab as a precursor.

So, with all that being said, I have only one complaint.  The labs themselves are excellent tools; however, it is impossible to access them without enrolling a teacher (for access to one dissection) or an entire class (for access to multiple dissections) in the Odysseyware system.  If they offered these as a stand alone product, that could supplement an already existing curriculum, that would be amazingly beneficial.  

But, the fact that these labs only come bundled within the Odysseyware system can be incredibly prohibitive, especially to those classrooms/districts on limited budgets.  I think many schools would have a hard time justifying enrolling students in a virtual class, when they already have a teacher who is teaching the rest of the curriculum, just so the students can access the virtual labs.  And I realize that more and more teachers are using virtual materials, and flipping the classroom, but there are numerous free resources available to that end as well.  

In the end, the labs are great, but I wish they were available as a stand alone product.  However, if you're working in a virtual school, working with homebound students, or if you've got the money in your budget, I definitely recommend checking out Odysseyware.  At the very least, you might consider a teacher subscription, just to have access to the virtual labs which could then be shown through a projector and shared with your class.  For more information on pricing, training, and course offerings, you can email the Odysseyware team.
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The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I was not compensated for writing this review.
8 Comments
Mike Lange link
12/1/2014 12:39:22 am

Hi,
My grandson is now in his 2nd quarter using Odessyware and we are having a very difficult time with this program. We have been given labs to do that simply do not work. The lab results show up on the test as a question even though the labs themselves didn't work. I'm fairly certain the same natural laws apply at our house as they do anywhere else so my question is "how can odessyware not know that"
Additionally in other course, history for example, there are questions on tests that I am unable to find either in a learning objective, a review question or anywhere in the lesson. Unless I am missing something. That would be a problem right?

My concern is my grandson is a smart kid. His intellectual ability is part of the reason we opted to home school him this year. If he is having this much trouble with this curriculum there must be a lot of kids out there suffering through this poorly maintained curriculum.

I'm hoping someone else in the education community will be interested in helping me review this program to see just how wide spread the errors are.

Thank You.

Reply
Mike Karlin
12/1/2014 01:43:41 am

Hi Mike,

I'm very sorry to hear you're experiencing these issues. If you send me an email (mike.karlin@gmail.com) I can get you in touch with someone directly at Odysseyware to help you resolve these problems or at the very least give you a refund so you can switch to another content provider. Thanks,

Mike

Reply
Mike
12/1/2014 02:41:14 am

I'm not sure I'm ready to abandon this just yet. And even if I do I feel a moral responsibility to address the problem so other kids don't have to suffer through these unnecessary problems

Heather
4/28/2015 01:49:14 am

Hi, Mike,
My daughter is a 7th grader and we have almost completed an entire year of Odysseyware. We will not be returning to it next year. We have continually had the same issues you have been seeing. We just completed a Language Arts lesson about the Odyssey. First of all, the reading link did not give the complete reading necessary for the lesson assessment. She was able to answer all of the questions based on previous reading, but Odysseyware marked three correctly answered questions incorrect and she failed the assessment. We are enrolled in an online school, so I contacted the teacher we work with there. He confirmed that the answers she had entered were the correct answers. We have had that same issue on math lessons and science lessons. In history we have seen questions that were not addressed in the reading or that contradicted the reading. This Odysseyware needs some serious editing.

Reply
Mike
4/28/2015 02:22:54 am

Hi Heather, I greatly appreciate your feedback and I'm sorry to hear about the issues you've been having. I definitely hope Odyssseyware can get their software together, because I've heard these complaints from multiple people. Please let me know if you find a better alternative, and I hope you and your daughter have an excellent summer!

Mike

Courtenay
2/3/2017 08:07:30 pm

My son is in 8th and we have seen our fair share of irritations. One of his quizzes recently presented a question that was absolutely not covered in the previous lesson or reading. Come to find out that the same information was then addressed in the very next lesson to which is unanavailable until the quiz was completed. FRUSTRATING!

Bob
9/9/2015 10:20:17 am

This learning program sucks I waisted hundreds of dollars on this website and learned nothing from it it sucks

Reply
Mike
9/9/2015 10:29:20 am

I'm very sorry to hear that Bob, what was the issue with the software? Have you tried contacting their support team for a refund of the money you spent? Thanks for the feedback,

Mike

Reply



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