Things are feeling tight for many families at the moment, and for those using online classes it can be tempting to move to a provider that operates at rock-bottom prices. This was what I did when I first looked into online classes and workshops, but I quickly found that you really get what you pay for.
In one particularly memorable session with another provider, my 6 year old was repeatedly told to ‘answer only in full sentences’ (difficult when you’re 6 and not entirely sure what a sentence is), which made her so preoccupied with how she was answering that she missed any content that might have been valuable to her.
Outschool is now the only online platform that I use for my girls’ classes, and several other home educating families that I know say the same. Here are 7 reasons why Outschool provides incredible value when it comes to online classes and workshops.
1. Small Class Sizes
There are now online classes on other platforms that have 100 or more children watching, but of course with that class size the children can’t actually ask questions or be involved in the lesson. On Outschool you can search specifically for very small classes, and most of them are small by default. This means that each child gets 1:1 attention and the chance to interact with other kids in their class too.
2. Inclusive Classes
Neurodiverse children are very much welcomed at Outschool; many of the teachers are neurodiverse themselves and there are even classes specifically for neurodiverse children such as ‘Social chat for autistic kids who like video games’ and ‘The ADHD Toolkit’. This is absolutely huge for parents who have neurodiverse kids and my autistic daughter’s experience has been second to none over the few years she has been taking Outschool classes.
3. Interactive Classes
The best way to learn is through hands-on experience, which is why interactive classes are so important. Watching a video tutorial can be a great way to learn some things but live, interactive classes mean that kids get to hear explanations in a way that makes sense to them and ask questions as the class goes along.
4. Different Class Types
Whether you need one-off classes, weekly workshops or multi-day camps, Outschool has something to suit your child’s needs. As well as different schedule types there are also Flex classes (pre-recorded video classes) which are cheaper than Live classes and can also be taken completely at your convenience throughout the week.
5. Learner Allowance
To allow for flexibility and to give kids more freedom over their classes, parents can put credit onto their Outschool class account so that children can book classes as and when they like according to their credit limit, using the Learner Allowance feature.
6. Teacher-Parent Chat Channels
One of the things that I really appreciated about Outschool when I first booked my kids’ classes is the availability of the teachers. My eldest daughter is autistic and I was able to message each teacher to let them know before her classes- they were very understanding and it meant that my daughter’s first experience of online classes was positive and inclusive.
7. Huge Range Of Class Times
There are over 140,000 classes on Outschool which means that whenever you are looking for a class, there will be some to suit your schedule! Outschool has teachers from all around the world and all time zones which makes it incredibly convenient to find classes that fit in with your family.
It really is worth evaluating what is important to you when looking at online classes for your kids. Although it may seem like ‘cheaper is better’, in my experience it really is a case of you get what you pay for!
