Website Confuses Newbies

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mothermayi?
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:17 pm

Website Confuses Newbies

Post by mothermayi? » Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:27 pm

Several homeschool moms ask about the curriculum we chose for our kiddos this year and we recommend HOD, hands-down! :D The parents always come back the next week and say the website is confusing :shock: . I have to agree, it confused me when we first began looking into HOD. I always recommend they order the catalog or I give them one of my copies (I have a few because I like to keep one in my bag :D ). Sometimes they say they are still confused by the catalog so I suggest they call HOD and take advantage of the superb customer service. I also pack up one of our four levels, including DITHOR and book packs, take them to our next meeting and explain the program to them. Then they are sold! My reason for sharing this is it has happened 3 times since we began school in September, and a few times last spring. Is there a way to make the website more user friendly so parents aren't deterred? HOD is too good to miss out on because of newbies' inability to understand the website and all that is concisely required for each level. :D :D
~Began HOD Oct. 28, 2013
DS13 (7th) HOD RTR, MUS, DITHR 6/7/8
DS11 (5th) HOD CTC, Singapore & LOF, DITHR 4/5
DD6.5 (1st) MFW 1, Miquon Math, LOF
DD4.5 (PreK4) MFW K

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by Nealewill » Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:49 am

I just wanted to say you are not alone in hearing this. I have also turned several moms over to looking at HOD as well. A couple of my friends switched this year to HOD and I know of a few moms who are interested in switching next year. I also give out the catalogs like hot cakes. And if someone asks, I am more than happy to pack up any levels they want to see in person and go over the program with them.

One thing I have found is that most of these moms like to follow the pictures and don't read the catalog. That to me is huge! You must read the catalog! I think the verbage within the catalog is what drives the understanding and most homeschool moms I know like to read the pictures only, KWIM? And I am not knocking them either. When I first started homeschooling, I went very traditional and was eclectic for the first 3 years of my homeschool career. Then in year 4, I knew my year would be better with a boxed curriculum. I found most companies catalogs that were not for a specific grade (like Sonlight and MFW) to be confusing because you had to read the whole catalog to understand what you were looking at and how it is set up. Something like Bob Jones or Abeka is very straight forward because everything thing is listed by grade. So with HOD, it is listed by ages and abilities. Some of the things I have heard that confuse at first is why to choose the level you are choosing based on abilities and not the time period you want to cover (but across the board, this is still the same set up for most companies that have a similar type of curriculum). I have heard confusion about why do they have to pick so many areas (boxes) to complete their package, but again, this is standard for most companies. People ask me if it is a complete program (clearly, yes :lol: :lol: ). Because they aren't reading the catalog, many people are confused about extensions and storytime. I will admit, and I did get confused with the Preparing level about the independent history box, which then led me to contacting HOD over the phone. :wink: :lol: I was so glad I did call because Preparing was the first level my oldest did and it was such a wonderful year and lead us to find our forever curriculum home :D . The only other thing I have heard moms say about the catalog being confusing is about DITHOR and how that is set up. But again, I think it is because they don't read the catalog. JMHO.

Now, if we are talking about improvements, there are a few I would love to see :-) I would love to have a drop down menu somewhere in the top that listed things by subject. So if someone was looking for a grammar or math, right now you have to jump into each level to figure out where the math is. I would love it if I could click on "math" in a drop down box and it would take me directly a page with all the different math levels on it. Same for grammar. Those two things seem like they could vary easily among levels.

One other thing that might help people is if HOD had a few videos on their website. Some people don't do well with reading and following instructions. If they use HOD, their kids will become great at it! But as individuals, you would be amazed at the sheer number of people who lack this ability. If HOD had a few 5-10 minutes videos they put on here showing people how to use the program, how to choose your level, and few other things like that, it may break the ice for people to be more comfortable with the catalog. I personally think very logically and love charts and graphs. When I organize information, I would have definitely come up with something very similar in presentation to what HOD has done. However, I do know that other people don't necessarily think like I do. So I guess it could seem confusing. Some people may want to see ALL the books on one page for the history, science, bible and CD, writing, and storytime. Then below that you would show a price for each part of the package. Then below that, you could talk about the extension. But then after that, it would refer to another section of the curriculum for the grammar, math and DITHOR since those things are not done by level nearly as much or those are the areas that family adjust the most. One other thing that HOD does that most there companies don't do is they give a description of each book. That is nice! Most other companies list the books but they don't describe what they are about. All in all, I think I prefer the way it is set up now with videos but agree that I would hate for someone to miss out on this fantastic curriculum because of confusion.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

MomtoJGJE
Posts: 1534
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:20 pm
Location: Gastonia, NC

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by MomtoJGJE » Wed Nov 12, 2014 7:29 am

I think the biggest confusion I had and hear from people I refer (and see mentioned on here all the time) is how everything is labeled in general terms and as "packages"... economy package, basic package, etc. That leads you to believe that you only need one of those, when in reality you need all of them. If it was even changed to History package, Science package, etc it would be easier to see that you need all of it.

StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by StephanieU » Wed Nov 12, 2014 8:45 am

Another spot that I think is often confusing is reading. HOD's definition of emerging and independent readers is often higher than many people's. When they see independent reader, they think their child is able to read alone, and that an emerging reader is one that is reading very simple books mostly on their own. But, really their definition of independent reader is HOD's definition of an emerging reader. I think it would be nice to have the Emerging Readers and DITHOR on one page, possibly with the phonics curriculums as well, so that families can see the differences easier. And maybe there could be a little more discussion there about how to chose the right level for reading.

It is similar to Danealle's suggection about grammar (Rod and Staff) and math. Since all of HOD's choices are on the "advanced" side, I think families often put their kids in higher levels than they should unless they get advice from another HOD family or from HOD directly.

Something that would be really cool (but I don't know how realistic) is that instead of a placement chart (or with the chart), there was a questionnaire that you answered multiple choice questions. Then once the questions are completed, it spits out what guide or guides would be recommended.

Finally, I think the use of economy AND basic does cause confusion. For many, they see basic as including economy. I don't have any suggestions on how to rename the packages though unfortunately....
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

raindrops
Posts: 303
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:51 am

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by raindrops » Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:24 am

MomtoJGJE wrote:I think the biggest confusion I had and hear from people I refer (and see mentioned on here all the time) is how everything is labeled in general terms and as "packages"... economy package, basic package, etc. That leads you to believe that you only need one of those, when in reality you need all of them. If it was even changed to History package, Science package, etc it would be easier to see that you need all of it.
I was going to say the same thing. This seems to confuse a lot of people.
9 yr old boy in Preparing
6 yr old girl loving all things LHFHG

psreit
Posts: 1034
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Pennsyvania

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by psreit » Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:42 am

I'm not sure what is confusing people. The history and science are separated, in case someone uses a different science. There is explanation by each package as to how it fits. Personally, I find the catalog more overwhelming :) I've never used it to decide what I'm ordering.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. III John 4
Pam
dh 33 yrs
ds29 church planter in MA
dd27 SAH mom
dd26
dd 12
3 dgs(5,2, & born 6/15) & 2 dgd(3 & born 2/15)

MomtoJGJE
Posts: 1534
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:20 pm
Location: Gastonia, NC

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by MomtoJGJE » Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:53 am

I think the labeling is confusing because economy package/basic package/etc leads people to think that they just are adding things and are different prices. Like basic package is just the bare minimum, economy package is the next level, or something like that. What I was saying is keep it separate but just label it what it is, like history or science or 3 Rs or whatever.

I also agree that once you know HOD it's easy to see things like how the reading is leveled and what math goes with what level.

Another thing that would have been helpful to me at the beginning was if they had a separate "guide" for the Emerging Readers schedule sold with the package. Instead of having to look in the Beyond guide to get the schedule. And I know that there have been a lot of questions about what to do with the ERs, and most of those are from people who are doing ERs with LHFHG. Or I suppose just have the schedule in the back of LHFHG too, but I think that would make them have to rewrite the whole guide to add that into the reading box. I think it scares people away to have to buy the whole next guide. Even though HOD still will give you the package price with Beyond if you buy the guide to use with LHFHG it's still a bit disconcerting to think that I have to pay $60 and not even know if that's what I'd use next year. I'd be much more likely to be good with it if I could just have 10 dollars added on to the cost of the ERs set for use with that guide.

daybreaking
Posts: 312
Joined: Thu May 20, 2010 12:21 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by daybreaking » Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:54 pm

I don't mean to discount anyone's perspective, but my experience has been much different. I've always found the HOD website to be very clear, much more so than many other homeschooling sites I've visited. As with any new homeschooling product, there will be a learning curve, but I've found the website to be extremely easy to navigate and understand. Perhaps it's that I'm a very methodical, organized person, and the website seems to fit my way of thinking. Whenever I've been unsure, Carrie's notes under the different packages clear up any confusion I've had. Speaking gently here ... I know Carrie has put tremendous time and thought into the website, and I'd feel badly if she felt discouraged by reading the comments in this post.

Wife to one amazing husband and mother to two precious blessings from above:
ds21 & dd16

8arrows
Posts: 965
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by 8arrows » Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:57 pm

I had to smile too, because I ALWAYS go to the website and rarely use my catalogue.
Melissa, wife to Jim for 28 years
3 graduated, 2 using US 2, 8th grade dd using Missions to Marvels
Isaiah 40:11 ...He gently leads those that have young.

Jennymommy
Posts: 298
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:19 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by Jennymommy » Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:02 pm

I also would not want our very hardworking and precious Carrie to be discouraged:-) I agree that many people will understand the catalog and the website much better if they diligently read and study them. I love the accessibility of the Austin family and their willingness to work with anyone who needs more assistance. The one thing that would probably help me though;-) would be a reminder, as I place items in my cart, to check if I will need extra consumables or other components.

StephanieU
Posts: 1652
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:10 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by StephanieU » Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:27 pm

Yes, I hope Carrie and the rest of the HOD staff don't take these as huge issues or anything. They are just suggestions for future changes. It is just like with most other text items - what is perfectly clear to one person may not be as clear to another. So getting feedback can be very helpful. I have I have to reword things in my courses (I teach online math classes for a local community college) because what I thought was perfectly clear turns out to be confusing to some of my students. I like when they ask questions and point out where things aren't perfectly clear so I can make improvements. And I think those of use commenting here with ideas are just trying to give suggestions for very minor changes that might make it easier for new families to HOD.
Mom to
DD15 US1 (completed LHFHG-WH)
DS13 MtMM (completed LHFHG-Rev2Rev plus some of LHTH)
DD12 Rev2Rev (completed LHTH-RtR)
DS7 Beyond (completed LHTH-LHFHG)

MomtoJGJE
Posts: 1534
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:20 pm
Location: Gastonia, NC

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by MomtoJGJE » Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:13 pm

Oh no! I don't mean for it to be a huge issue!! I don't think anyone has THAT much trouble with it that a conversation (online or in person) or a phone call doesn't clear up quickly. And once you understand how it works, it's no longer an issue. I have absolutely no trouble going to exactly what I need now!

Mumkins
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:45 pm
Location: Ontario
Contact:

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by Mumkins » Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:49 pm

I'm very comfortable with the site. I'm a long time user. I don't remember any issues though.

I only have a few suggestions. As someone said, help reordering consumables would be good. Any easy one click to reorder consumables on each guides ordering page. Perhaps it could also have the option of buying boy or girl resources there too. For example, I'm doing WG next year with my daughter. 2 years later, I'll be doing it with my son. So I can just go onto the WG page, check consumables, check boy resources and I'm ready to go for him. No scrolling through to search for consumables or gender specific resources.

I am intrigued by what another poster said. I do know of one site that walks you through all your options based on age. I think something that would work with HOD would be to make the selection charts be able to highlight each square you click on. So if you had an 8yo and you clicked the majority in Bigger, a couple in Beyond and a few in Preparing, it'd be an easy visual to see that Bigger would be the right guide.

The only other thing I could think of is maybe one intro to ordering page explaining basic, economy, extensions, add-ons, etc.
7 awesome kids!

2 graduated
2 at highschool
3 coming home to homeschool in the fall💕
DD5 LHFHG
DS9 Preparing
DS12 RTR

We’ve enjoyed LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Preparing, CTC, WG

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by Nealewill » Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:25 pm

I also hope my comments weren't received poorly. They were only meant in love and to convey things I had heard. I think with anything, there are some people who struggle no matter what you do. I was only mentioning the things I heard in hopes they might help if at some point any changes are thought of. My guess is, that with how busy the Carrie and Julie are with producing future levels that this is something that won't necessarily be thought about until everything is produced. At that point, if they wanted to make changes, they may consider them then. I can't even imagine the amount of work they have to complete in a week let alone worrying about tweaking anything at this point.

I really do thank you for the hard work you have poured into this company as it has blessed my family immensely. My kids would not have nearly as interesting of an education as you are providing them and I appreciate both of you exponentially.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

mothermayi?
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:17 pm

Re: Website Confuses Newbies

Post by mothermayi? » Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:51 pm

Hi Ladies,

It was nice to read through all of the comments :) . It is fascinating how beautifully different we all are! I would hope no one is seriously considering the comments on here to be hateful, rude, disrespectful, etc. In fact, it is quite the contrary. The comments were kind, gentle, and polite. No one is "dogging" anyone so please don't assume that is the case. As the previous posters stated, these are just observations we have experienced either personally or heard from others interested in HOD. If someday in the distant future HOD decides to make changes to the website, these are simply suggestions given out of love :D . Please, please...let's not make this post into something it is not. :D :D

PS. In the meantime, I will continue sharing HOD with others and going over the books with future HOD users. I am proud to be a HODian (or whatever we are called 8) )! I get so much enjoyment from sharing with others and it revitalizes my enthusiasm to teach each time I load up materials to discuss with other parents. I have the honor of doing so again on Tuesday at my son's robotics meeting and I can't wait to pull out the wonderful books from CTC, RTR, and DITHOR 5/6 and 6/7 books! :D It does this book worm good :lol: .

Peace be unto you my sisters,

RR
~Began HOD Oct. 28, 2013
DS13 (7th) HOD RTR, MUS, DITHR 6/7/8
DS11 (5th) HOD CTC, Singapore & LOF, DITHR 4/5
DD6.5 (1st) MFW 1, Miquon Math, LOF
DD4.5 (PreK4) MFW K

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