There is also material of interest to homeschoolers specifically, such as the alternative (i.e. homeschool) admission policies of Ontario universities, but of course, UniversityAdmissions.ca is geared to all students so not everything will be exclusively homeschool related.

Here are a few more posts up on UniversityAdmission.ca to give you an idea of the content, and whether it’s a site you want to visit:

Ontario University programs not requiring ENG4U for admission
Dealing with procrastination
Is March Break the best time to visit prospective universities?

And I have added some of the older articles from this site, including articles such as
Is it worth going to university?
6 ways to turn your interests into extra-curricular activities for your university application

So if you subscribe to this website by RSS or email, or if you visit here every now and then, consider doing the same for UniversityAdmissions.ca!

It was a list like only a list-maker can appreciate of every math topic you can think of, in such a sequence that you could teach yourself an entire high school math curriculum by going from start to finish.  Of course, if you just needed a little extra help instead of a full program, you could easily find the topic you needed and just watch that video for a quick lesson.

Here’s what the site looked like when I discovered it (and consequently, what I always thought it still looked like):

And here’s what the site looks like now:
(My first attempt to embed a video. If it doesn’t work, just visit http://www.khanacademy.org/about)

Of course, not every program is going to work for every student, but this one was pretty good three years ago and has really done some amazing things since. It’s free, though donations are gladly accepted.  I like their vision of self-paced education and the monitoring tools allow a parent or “coach” (tutor, mentor, uncle who’s good at math) to access student data and tailor their guidance. This website can be used in conjunction with your homeschool math program, or (dare I say) even instead of it as a stand alone academic math program.

It’s absolutely worth checking out at http://www.KhanAcademy.org and as with any homeschool resource, part of the point is that you can take from it only and exactly what you need from it.

There are some great curriculum websites but because I no longer tutor I don’t need to have one-click access to them anymore. There were a few that I just couldn’t bring myself to unceremoniously delete, so I thought I’d share them here. Many of these are lesser-known sites that I stumbled upon and didn’t want to forget, so you won’t see a lot of the *famous* math sites here. Consider this to be mostly a list of hidden treasures.

Sites with free video math instruction
Khan Academy: http://www.khanacademy.org/
Patrick – Just Math Tutorials: http://patrickjmt.com/
Brightstorm: http://www.brightstorm.com/math

Algebra Lessons
Purple Math: http://www.purplemath.com/modules/index.htm
Cool Math: http://www.coolmath.com (also has sections for younger kids)
The Math Page: http://www.themathpage.com/alg/algebra.htm
SOS Math: http://www.sosmath.com/algebra/algebra.html
Algebasics: http://www.algebasics.com/index.html
Algebra Help: http://www.algebrahelp.com/
Virtual Math Lab College Algebra: http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/
HippoCampus Algebra: http://www.hippocampus.org/Algebra

Practice Questions/Worksheets
Online pre-calc (alg/trig/geo) random test generator: http://esaab.math.missouri.edu/mucgi-bin/munew.cgi?variable=trig
EdHelper Algebra: http://www.edhelper.com/algebra.htm

Statisitics
Stat Primer: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/gerstman/StatPrimer/
Stat Trek: http://stattrek.com/
HippoCampus Statistics: http://www.hippocampus.org/Statistics

Sites that are mostly Calculus (many include algebra reviews, too)
University of Houston Math Help Online: http://online.math.uh.edu/
also includes most senior high school/intro university topics including study and practice exams for AP Calc
Aid for Calculus: http://www.jtaylor1142001.net/calcjat/Contents/CalcCont.html
Paul’s Online Math Notes: http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/
Find the Error: http://www.dougshaw.com/findtheerror/ (Finding errors in solved problems)
HippoCampus Calculus: http://www.hippocampus.org/Calculus

Cool online tools:
Online Fraction Calculator: http://www.helpwithfractions.com/fraction-calculator.html
Prime Factorization Calculator: http://www.mathwarehouse.com/arithmetic/numbers/prime-number/prime-factorization-calculator.php
Equation Calculator: http://www.algebrahelp.com/calculators/equation/

Miscellany
Most Common Errors in Undergraduate Mathematics: http://www.math.vanderbilt.edu/~schectex/commerrs/
Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/index.shtml

Online biology textbook with summaries and practice questions: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/maderbio6e/

So that’s it! I am officially deleting the “Curriculum” folder in my bookmarks as we speak. Hope you find a gem or two in this list for yourself.

I’ll be adding more items, but for now you can find most of my seminar handouts as well as the “handout to end all handouts” available for download from the Downloads page.

If there’s anything you know I have that you’d like to download, or any requests for information in downloadable form, send me an email or leave a comment and I’d be happy to hunt something down or put something together.

Now go enjoy the last weekend of the summer!

My online storage system has recently allowed for the sharing of files publicly, so I’m testing it out with an electronic copy of the CD that was handed out at the KWCHEA conference earlier this year. You can now download one big zip file at the following link:
Download of KWCHEA CD package

The file will have to be unzipped or decompressed using any standard program. Then you should see 6 folders which all contain a bunch of pdf files:

- Articles Written by Sarah
- Ontario Ministry of Education High School Resources
- Ontario University Admission Policies 2010 (all were updated as of spring 2010 for admission in fall 2010)
- Open Universities (information about Canada’s open universities available to Ontario Students)
- OUAC e-info information on all universities and programs (Ontario institutions)
- Standardized Tests for University Admission (including SAT, AP, CLEP and ACT)

Let me reiterate: this is not leisure reading. It’s boring. It’s not particularly pretty. But, if you are applying to university in Ontario as a homeschooler without a traditional high school diploma, I can’t think of any information you need (before you get to the point of speaking with individual universities) that’s not included here.

I also want to be perfectly clear: everything except the articles written by me is freely available online. I’m not claiming to have authored this material; I only compiled it because frankly, some of it is pretty darn difficult to find on your own. You’d be amazed at some of the navigation paths, file names and various educational jargon that industry professionals think makes sense. There’s some information here that even I had to pull my hair out to find online, so my goal was simply to put it all in one place for those who have neither the time nor the inclination to track down the information for themselves.

As this information is available freely online, there is no copyright infringement by providing it to you. Some of what’s included are simply screen shots from websites, and in that case, it’s enough to provide you the basics of what you need to know, but also provides you with the website address and how to get there yourself to get more information if you need more than the basics. And, since this information is freely available online, I have not sold nor are you allowed to sell the contents of this file. I was not financially compensated from KWCHEA in any way for this project. (They offered to reimburse me for my time, but I insisted that any money they had should go towards creating as many CDs as possible for free distribution.)

By downloading this file, you acknowledge that this file may not be sold and agree not to sell this file. It simply hasn’t been created in such a way to make that legal, as it was never my intent to receive compensation for this work. But, I hope you’ll share it freely.

I believe the contents are extremely accurate, but of course, mistakes happen. Please do let me know either by email or in a comment below if you find an error. Also feel free to let me know how you’re using the information, or if there’s anything I haven’t included that you think would be helpful, and I can consider that for version 2.0.

Depending on your browser, the link above may initiate a download automatically, so be prepared for that. The file is safe to download, but if you experience any problems please do let me know and I’ll take immediate action.

College & University Preparation Program

Are you a blind or visually impaired student planning to attend college or university?

• Wondering how you will meet the challenges?
• Want to increase your chances of success?
• Interested in meeting other blind or visually impaired students?

CNIB’S COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PREPARATION PROGRAM IS HERE TO HELP YOU!

CUPP is an intensive 5 day program designed to provide blind and visually impaired students with the skills and knowledge they need for a successful transition to college or university.

Classes focus on three areas crucial to your success: academic skills (writing essays, notes, tests & exams); self management skills (effective communication, stress management, money management); and technological aids. Lectures are combined with tutorials and fieldtrips. All classes are taught by credentialed professionals.

Date: July 7th – July 11th.

Location: CNIB, 1929 Bayview Ave, Toronto

For information contact Joeita Gupta at 416 486-2500 ext 8284 or email at joeita.gupta@cnib.ca

But, I do still very much enjoy online communities, and I had this crazy idea: since I’m usually in email contact with a lot of universities about their policies, what if I could bring the admissions people into the discussion?

So, I did a very brave (stupid?) thing. I emailed them all. I told them about the community I was forming. I gave them carte blanche to go ahead and advertise the heck out of their schools and programs. What do I care? They should *want* to advertise to you, to attract this segment of the population. In exchange for providing first-hand answers from the schools themselves, I thought the trade-off was a no brainer.

Now of course, I had to email them with the idea — because none of you were there yet. So, admittedly, I led them to the board, but there was not much for them to do. I told them that I was going to give them first crack at the board, and they could post a welcome message from their school, links to their site . . . whatever they wanted. And, that over the coming weeks, I would then mention the site here and at the upcoming Ontario conferences.

A couple of schools wrote me back and said they thought it was a great idea. Some have indicated that welcome posts will be forthcoming. One school (and if you want to know who, you’ll just have to visit and find out for yourself!) has posted a welcome message already. I can tell by the activity log that probably about 8 universities have visited the message board, but not posted.

I’m going to assume that some universities need to see people there first before they’ll know how to get involved, so I now unleash you upon them. Visit the site and ask your questions, and see who comes! There are specific folders for each school so that information can be easily tracked. If a school is slow to respond, then I’ll gently inform them that they have questions waiting.

And, perhaps it would be a nice gesture to acknowledge the school who was first to post, even before any of you guys showed up, by posting in that area, too.

These message board things are a tricky business. I know there’s nothing sadder than a low-activity board, but not only did I want a place where people could compile their information and experiences by school, I wanted to get the schools in on it, too. I think we can do that, if you make it worth their while by posting.

Not sure what to post? Feel free to introduce yourself in the general area. But also, remember that the schools probably aren’t going to know what to post either. Why not ask them something that’s not on their website — how many homeschoolers did you admit last year? How far in advance should a homeschooler contact your university? What’s usually the most difficult part about dealing with a homeschooler’s application? What can we do to make the application process smoother?

Statistics tell us that over 90% of people only visit boards and never post. But, I’m asking you to bite the bullet and share *something.* It can be a new question or in response to something already written. (I’m putting shorter “fact sheets” up there that aren’t meant to be comprehensive, but basic starter guides for different topics.) It can be something you’ve learned, or an experience you’ve had in the university prep/admission process. If you’ve looked into university admissions at all, you have something valuable to share with others just starting out.

So there you have it. This board might suffer the same miserable fate as most out there, but I hope that, when you go looking for info about Ontario universities, you’ll go there. Either ask your question directly to one of the university reps or post what you have found in other sources. Join us here:

http://messageboard.rainsberger.ca/index/

What can I say? That would make me happy.

So, I’ll leave you with something that should keep you and your kids entertained for about a week or so.

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives has a few very cool interactive algebra tools online.

My personal favourite is the equation solver, which is done by first setting up your equation by creating a “balanced scale” (I often wonder, do kids today even know what those kinds of scales are anymore, or have they become an anachronism?) and then performing mathematical operations to both sides to discover the missing value for x. Of all the interactive websites I’ve seen to visually represent the process of solving equations, this one stands out as my favourite. (If you have others you’d like to share, simply leave a link in the comment field below.)

You can choose the option to use negatives or simply work with positive numbers (two different links) so even if your child doesn’t yet have experience with negative numbers, you can let him/her loose on the site and see whether he/she is ready for this tool.

Also, be sure to check out “Stick or Switch” which is “The Monty Hall Problem” and an excellent introduction to simulations.

One caveat: I was thoroughly unimpressed with the “Function Machine” and I hesitate to recommend it simply because at no point does it ever reveal what the function in use actually was.  And, the two times I tried it, the function machine was using (only because I know how to figure out the function myself) first a quadratic function and then secondly an exponential function — not exactly easy for your child to discover on their own.  (The patterns, yes.  The actual functions, no.) So, use this as a number pattern recognition game perhaps, but unfortunately it will not help teach “functions.”  (How can one learn about functions if you never see the function in use by the machine?)

So, be sure to visit the Algebra equation solver, either with negatives or without negatives, the “Let’s Make a Deal” simulation, and whatever other puzzles from the list you find interesting.  I’ll see you in early February!

Above and beyond the dollars provided by universities, there is substantial additional scholarship money available for student-athletes who pursue their education in Canada from other sources such as Sport Canada, Swimming Canada, Canada Basketball, the Canadian Hockey League and many other organizations who recognize the value of staying in Canada for education and athletics.

So, before assuming that the only way to fund your athletic child’s post-secondary education is to fly south of the border, check out this list of Ontario CIS schools with contact info, where you can also find a comprehensive list of all CIS schools in Canada sorted alphabetically, by region or by sport.

The College Board has compiled a collection of Canadian AP policies from universities accepting AP courses for university credit. Something to keep in mind during your university admissions planning.

So stay inside, heat up some hot chocolate, and browse the sites!