Release the Wonder of Learning with Monarch!

CAROLYN H 03/11/2010 14:22:31

I would not order this - or anything I've never used - without first at least viewing a demo of it. I can't see where that is available on this website.

BROOKE B 03/11/2010 18:43:59

How does monarch differ from SOS? I have not used SOS but I know it is also computer based and offered by AOP.

LEE L 03/11/2010 23:02:17

I don't understand what the big secret is. And how does this work for multiple children?

KARLYN C 03/12/2010 06:41:06

I agree with Carolyn, it would be nice to see a demo of the program. Sounds like the biggest benefits of Monarch vs. SOS is that you're not restricted to just one computer for lessons. Really nice if you have multiple CPUs in your home, you get a new computer, or one dies like mine did. It also has auto updating which was fairly tricky with SOS.

JUDI G 03/12/2010 09:35:41

I don't see the benefit of pre ordering. Also have questions about multiple children. Wish there was more info.

RYAN E 03/12/2010 10:17:42

Karlyn is correct - Monarch is available anytime, anywhere a high-speed Internet connection is available. The software will update daily as opposed to periodically, and backups are done automatically as well.

Carolyn - we are in production of a demo right now. It will be available in mid-April.

Lee and Judi: You'll need to purchase an individual license for each child.

If you would like to see more detailed information, feel free to visit the Monarch features page.

http://www.aophomeschooling.com/monarch/features.php

CHRISTOPHER SC K 03/12/2010 12:23:43

Will Monarch require the use Flash?

Also, does AOP offer multiple child discounts? We would need four 6 Grade curriculums...

JANA W 03/13/2010 10:07:55

Monarch does not look like it's a very good option for large families or multiple children in the same grade. I can re-use my SOS for several years before purchasing another and from what I can see Monarch is a VERY expensive choice! I was shocked to see the price. I would think it would be less expensive than SOS and there would be options for multiple students! I'm sad that SOS doesn't appear to be upgraded this year either. Personally, I will not purchase Monarch.

MELISSA D 03/14/2010 06:44:47

Although I am interested...When you buy it, how long is it for...is it for life? I mean when you buy SOS, you have the CDs as long as you need them. And what if you do have multiple children in the same grade? How many students can you set up with it? I think I will stick with SOS myself for now...

TREVA Z 03/14/2010 10:54:38

Yes, I agree. I am disappointed as well that I cannot use this for all of my children, and thus, will not buy it either. We have used Click n Read phonics program online for each of our children. It is an online program as well, but we get to use it with all of our children without penalty or having to have a new license for everyone. We simply have one child use it at a time. The price is outrageous for something so consumable!

VIRGINIA R 03/15/2010 07:50:09

My sentiments exactly. Monarch doesn't seem to meet the needs of homeschooling families with multiple children. We'll have to stick with SOS. It would be cheaper to use SOS, and buy a laptop for each child (now that's school everywhere).

Also,after I received the new catalog, I went online to see the Monarch demos.....not available even though the catalog leads you to believe they are available.

EUNICE L 03/16/2010 06:21:25

Is the content of Monarch different from SOS - beside the multimedia content? Also, since the demo will not be available until mid-April, could you give us more time on the 20% discount? I think this program sounds wonderful, but I need to have time to review the demo, and then look at other options before I buy....

SHERISSE V 03/16/2010 16:16:26

I don't understand why you would not have a demo already up and running before asking the customers to pre-order. I read the information but I would rather SEE how it works not just read about it.

RUTH W 03/16/2010 21:46:49

I do not understand why I can't view a sample. What is the difference between this and Switched ON?

SHARI B 03/17/2010 08:54:52

I have been looking for days for a demo or more info. Now I see the response by Ryan E. that indicates I would need to buy one for each child. That fully answers all I need to know. I will not buy this as it will cost me over $2400 per year. AOP has great options for different curriculum, but it's not conducive to large families. Even SOS only goes to five kids. I had to buy a 2nd computer for my younger kids. I think this curriculum is AOPs answer to people reselling SOS. They haven't be able to police that effectively so this is their answer. My concern is will it eventually render SOS obsolete? Will AOP stop tech support for those of us that want to continue using it?

KIM S 03/17/2010 14:57:19

I will be very upset if they get rid of SOS. I agree that being able to reuse SOS is one of the major reasons I use it. My kids do like it but there are others out there like Monarch. Especially for 6-12 FL and NH have free internet classes. They may not be Christen based but if your really concerned about that your going to be there to set the facts straight anyway. I hope someone answers our concerns on these matters soon.

RYAN E 03/18/2010 06:14:02

We are definitely not getting rid of Switched-On Schoolhouse and not getting rid of any tech support whatsoever for the product.

In fact, the product will continue to be improved and increased support will be available, including beginner and advanced webinar training at the beginning of April.

If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to comment or contact customer service at 800-622-3070.

RENEE S 03/20/2010 20:47:09

Is there an expiration on the online license? Is it one year? or more?

RYAN E 03/22/2010 06:16:26

Monarch's expiration date is 18 months from the date of purchase.

L D 03/22/2010 18:42:49

Does Monarch use Flash?

DIANE T 03/23/2010 09:44:04

I guess I won't be using it either if I can't use it for multiple kids. :( To bad, I was really excited about the prospect.

SHARI B 03/23/2010 11:30:13

Good to know about SOS, Ryan, but why make Monarch so unaffordable? Especially for large families? Time4Learning is $20/month for the first child and $15 for any extra, but they only go to 8th grade. There also is no license required - it's just monthly as long as you want to go. For 18 months, that is $360 for the 1st child and $270 for extra children. The first one is not a huge difference, but at least they offer something for additional children and a monthly payment option.

A C 03/27/2010 09:14:49

I haven't seen a response from AOP explaining Monarch's usability with multiple children. For example, if I order level four and level five math would two children have access to both products during the same 18 month period?

Is the $89.95 unit price a discount price?

Is it possible to order a level six complete pack for $419.95 and switch language arts 6 for a level 7 for the same price?

HOLLY R 04/03/2010 00:26:38

I really need an exact date of when the demo will be available so I don't have to keep checking every single day. I am trying to avoid missing the sale deadline but simply cannot spend that much money without more info and a demo. Also I need a clear answer on if this is SOS or some different curriculum. The AOP phone representative told me it was the same curriculum as SOS except online . Is that true?

KIM E 04/08/2010 12:29:51

What is your customer satisfaction policy if I purchased the Monarch 5 subject curriculum and am not satisfied with it?

momof5

RYAN E 04/08/2010 12:41:29

Kim -

You can find our return policy here: http://www.aophomeschooling.com/legal-info-customer.php.

JESSICA S 04/08/2010 13:39:33

I agree...looks exciting but cost prohibitive and not conducive for the long haul. Not sure it was thought through completely.

CARL V 04/15/2010 06:30:20

A video introduction to Monarch is now available! Visit http://www.aophomeschooling.com/monarch/ and follow these short steps.

1) Select the grade of your choice

2) Pick a subject or set

3) Click View On-Demand Presentations

4) Click Introduction to Monarch

We hope you find this introduction helpful and apologize for not having it available sooner.

LES D 04/15/2010 07:33:50

While we were initially very interested in Monarch when we first heard about it, the restrictions that come along with it are a complete turn off!

Sure, it would be great to have the ability to log in anywhere there is internet access, not worry about running our own backups or having to reload sofware if the computer crashes, auto updates and so on...but the price is just too high!

$400. for a curriculum that can be used for only one child, expires in 18 months, cannot be reused if a child needs to repeat a class, a return policy that states once you assign a subject to a child no returns will be accepted, no trial period, (this tells me the AOP does not believe in their own product, if they had confidence in their product they would offer a full money back guarentee if you don't like it for any reason! Most software offers a minimum of a 7 day trial and many offer a 30 day trial) lack of information and demos when AOP rolled this out is a very poor marketing strategy.

All of these things add up to a very steep price that I am not willing to pay.

We love AOP SOS and I think we will stick with that.

Perhaps AOP was rushing to get Monarch out the door, but I am really quite surprised that a company with such a good reputation would risk damaging that reputation just to get a product out the door. I'm sorry, but for all the hype, Monarch seems to be a bitter disappointment.

CORINA D 05/25/2010 09:02:32

I ,too, wish the price was less and could be used for multiple children. On an up note, even at current price, it is MUCH cheeper than other major programs, like BJU, who are now offering online classes as well. Also, Monarch online has more electives than the other companies we've looked into.

We bought one subject to try out..Overall, we are pleaesed with the product. My child seems to like it and enjoys the instant grading.We've never tried SOS, so we can't compare..We do like the fact this program keeps updating and has safe links the child can go to and gain more info on the subject he/she is learning.

There are improvements that need to be addressed..The two we've found thus far are 1) we are limited to a certain number of words we can put in a message to our student...When my husband graded my son's work, he tried to leave him a teacher's note on the things needing improvement . In this process, my husband discovered he was limited in the amount of words he could send. This frustrated him!! Sometimes it takes several sentences to explain to a child. what is expected or how he can improve...We could and do verbally tell our child, but having it written where he can be reminded by looking at our message to him would be nice. 2) There needs to be a way the child can make the needed improvements to a short answer/essay question w/out the child having to rewrite the entire thing. I know if the child hand writes something he would have to rewrite it, but the joy of computers is you can go into the document and just change the necessary parts. This saves time . Would be VERY nice if there was a way to incorporate this into the Monarch program. As of now, we are having our child type his essay/short answers on Word document and send it to us via a folder we set up for him..This method works, but again it would be nice to be able to do this on our child's Monarch page.

ALANA P 09/22/2010 09:27:23

LOVE SOS, so wanted to use Monarch! We travel a lot, but can't always take a laptop with us. The anywhere access was certainly appealing, along with not having to download a lot of software. We use our computer for a home business and several grade levels on one machine really limits our space and usage.

However, I guess we'll stick with SOS, since the license for Monarch is for only one child, and only for 18th months for said child. It is not cost effective to use for two or more children. Unless you have a great deal of money.

We've used other online access programs like Click-N-Read/Spell and we at least got the license for two children. Facts First allows up to four children on a single license and JumpStart allows up to six. Also, the ability to use a single license for additional children, over time, is a huge bonus. At present I can use my SOS with my 5th grader, and then use it for my daughter next year when she reaches that grade level. No can do with Monarch.

We appreciate all the AOP does to accommodate homeschoolers. However, Monarch, seems very limited in it's scope with regard to ease of use compared to economic viability for more than one child.

CARMEN S 09/22/2010 14:31:52

We bought Monarch Geography and I regret the $80 I spent on it. It is just like Switched On Schoolhouse except you have to be online to use it. It has been a frustrating to use.

ANNE MARIE P 03/04/2011 19:10:56

I have had SEVERAL issues with the monarch program:

1. There's NO trial/testing period, even though it's still in the VERY EARLY stages of development.

2. There is absolutely no review of the lessons before it's quiz time.(The scheduled quizzes could be a week or two AFTER the corresponding lessons, without a review lesson).

3. On the language arts lessons, spelling lists (and vocab lists) are sooo long, and again, there are no review lessons or practice links to go to to "cement" the lessons in your mind before your quiz assignment is automatically scheduled for your child. To review, you need to go back to an ancient looking lesson plan tree, FIND the corresponding lessons, then review each one separately to prepare for your test. Oh, and FINDING the lessons is NOT user-friendly, either. It truly is a pain, especially for a child!

4. When I print out the "Daily Work Reports" the supposed lesson description listed often does not correspond to the exact lesson name your child completed in his/her actual lesson window. Extremely confusing during bookeeping & grading!

5. There is no "Highlight text" option, so you need to print out the lesson if you want to take notes, or mark it in any way to help your child learn.

6. There is also a "read text" function, but when you use it, a TINY little box with the lesson text pops up, blocking your view of the nice big lesson window. This is a huge distraction, especially for very visual learners, or those who are easily distracted.

7. All in all, the product seems incomplete, not user-friendly, rushed, and copied out of a textbook, with some videos & links sprinkled in with the lesson. If I had to do it all over, I WOULD NOT, and I urge anyone considering this program to "lighten their load" to look elsewhere.

My burning question is this: If I need to PRINT out every lesson, SUPPLEMENT the online lessons, waste my time with an extremely confusing setup, AND re-teach & supervise my child who's also having a hard time learning & retaining the material, WHY pay through the nose for a program that's supposed to work online & make your job easier? I would have been better off with workbooks- which by the way, would probably be my last choice...?

I had originally bought the 4th grade Monarch program (minus the math) because I had read WONDERFUL things about Switched on Schoolhouse (SOS). I had read different posts all over the web that claimed that it was the online version of SOS... DEFINITELY NOT! Even the customer service rep I spoke to (after the non-refundable purchase), commented that many people who were used to SOS were very unhappy with Monarch. The thing is, I had never even used SOS! I STILL can't stand Monarch, but more importantly, MY 9YR. old SON can't stand it, doesn't learn well on it, and asks to go back to our "old way" of homeschooling- With books, videos, discussions and regular writing practice. Back to the drawing board for us, and what a painfully expensive lesson this was!

Bottom line: INFORM yourself thoroughly before you purchase any non-refundable curriculum to protect your family's curriculum budget! God Bless.