Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Virtual Nerd

Virtual Nerd is a website with a plethora of video segments. In these video segments, a person teaches a lesson on a very specific topic of your choosing.
The video’s are simple and non distracting with a person (sometimes it’s a girl and sometimes it’s a guy) and a blackboard.

These videos are organized very clearly into categories. The main categories are Pre Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Physics. You can then click on various sub topics within these larger topics. To be honest, we’ve spent all of our time in Pre Algebra and Algebra 1.

I also noticed that you can look up specific chapters in the 4 main texts most public schools use, to watch videos on these topics. This is very clever and I can imagine this would be extremely helpful if you are using one of those books.

Overall, I like Virtual Nerd. It is well laid out and the lessons are clear and concise. They cover only one topic at a time and it is not confusing to the listener.
I can see how this could be helpful to the homeschooler to have these video’s in their math arsenal. My only issue is that, unlike a real tutor, you can’t tell the lady in the video that you don’t understand what she is saying and have her try again. You can only replay the video. But then, we all know nothing replaces a real person.

In their ‘FAQ’ section Virtual Nerd themselves answers the question of Virtual Nerd taking the place of a private tutor.

No. If you can find a good tutor, if you can afford private tutoring, and if you can fit it into your schedule, it can be an extremely powerful way to learn. In that case, Virtual Nerd can be an excellent supplement. On the other hand, if private tutoring is not an option for you, or if you want to explore other alternatives first, you've come to the right place.


Overall I think Virtual Nerd is a good program. It is a little pricy, but if it helps your child understand Algebra, it’s worth it!

The Cost is as follows, and when they say 'educator' they do not mean homeschoolers.

Well, that depends. If you're an educator, it's free. If not, the standard subscription rate for the Premium Plan is $49 per month. We also offer 3-month, 6-month and 12-month packages, which result in substantial savings. Also, check with your teacher and principal, because we may have given your school a discount code.


You can go here to find out more about Virtual Nerd and you can go here to see what others on The Crew had to think about it!

2 comments:

Virtual Nerd said...

Thanks for checking out our site! We appreciate that you took the time to look us over. To give everyone even more subscription options, we're excited to announce the addition of a day and week pass! A day pass is available for $5 and the week pass is $19. There's also a 2 hour FREE trial! Take a look at www.virtualnerd.com!

Virtual Nerd said...

We are pleased to inform you that because Virtual Nerd (www.VirtualNerd.com) has received such significant interest following your review of our online tutoring service, we are offering a special discount to homeschool parents. Homeschool parents can receive 50% off the 1 and 3 month subscription plans. Just enter the discount code: homeschooldeal when you sign up for service. That is a huge discount, and hurry - the offer is valid until March 31, 2011!