“My Access” Home Edition - http://www.vantagelearning.com/home/products/mahome/

The best way to learn about writing is by doing it. Writing is one of those skills that your children will use all their life. It is one of the most important ways we communicate. The ability to write well is a valuable asset in life, in college and in the work force.  

The “My Access” writing instruction program is a great way to let your students write about many different topics and life experiences! This program teaches, and then allows them to practice Narrative, Persuasive and Informative writing skills.

Each 12-month subscription of  this web-based computer program includes a “parent” account and your choice of  up to six student accounts. It is perfect for Homeschooling Families, or any parent who wants to help their children improve their writing skills.

Whether you love to have your students write about field trips and research specific subjects they are studying on a regular basis, or you just get tired of trying to think of creative writing topics, never fear – “My Access” home edition includes 90 writing topics for three different distinct age groups (8-10, 11-14, and 15-18).

These interesting "jump starters" can encourage reluctant students to begin writing. If your student is already working on a topic in a current curriculum, or if you have a specific topic in mind for an assignment, you can enter a personalized writing topic assignment for that child. This is great for helping your students integrate their learning by allowing them to write across the curriculum and improve their ability to write an informative essay or an imaginative narrative!

The lessons are self-paced and interactive. The online tutorial guides your students in a fun and creative way through the entire writing process: planning, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The program includes graphic organizers and printables such as a Monthly writing plan to help your student improve their ability to work to a deadline.

Artificial Intelligence technology is used for scoring the student’s writing projects which frees up the time of the Homeschooling parent and can ease the parent child relationship if your child hates to have you correct their writing papers with that EVIL red pen!

The student is given specific feedback regarding their essay right away and then, most importantly, given the opportunity and the tools to improve it.

This artificial intelligence program gives your student writing tips and feedback on the key traits of focus, content development, organization, vocabulary and grammar. Editing and writing tools are all right there for the student to reference quickly, including a thesaurus, grammar-checker, spell-checker, and a word bank to help students vary and develop their vocabulary.

Parents can easily make assignments from the parent control panel and can receive and print out  a report on each student on their own timetable. I found that the settings are very flexible for the age groups and for the student accounts. Additionally the program allows you to set a deadline for the assignments which your students can see at their start up page. This is a great tool for learning how to create a schedule and fosters independence in your student’s learning experience.

My Access Home Edition’s 12 Month Subscription price is $99.95 and this price includes up to six students. You can begin it anytime and it not only can be used as a stand alone writing resource, it complements any existing curriculum. I also benefits you by freeing up your time by correcting your students work, as well as providing access to expert writing tips tailored to your student and convenient tools to them.

Vantage Learning

Right now you can receive a discount on your  http://www.vantagelearning.com/ Enter Coupon Code TOSW9 at checkout and receive 20% off the retail price.

This offer is valid through December 15, 2009.

My students have been slow to warm up to the program, but that is because my main “writer” is already working on the “One Year Adventure Novel” and doesn’t want to take time away from that project. I have figured out how the program works and how to assign her more personalized topics that will be of specific interest to her in her Economics class and her Current Events/Worldview studies so she will be working more with the program this Month!

My boys are learning a lot this year about creative writing and I have been very pleased with the program and will enjoy incorporating it into the rest of our school year.

Just to let you all know, the company let me download the program free in order to review it, and that comes with a year long membership. I do not receive compensation for reviews of any of the products I am reviewing on my blog.

Also, although I love the Old Schoolhouse Magazine and the vendors' products that I have reviewed have been wonderful, I have specifically chosen not to "affiliate" (where you receive monetary compensation for referrring readers to products) with TOS or with any of the vendors that I am reviewing this year so that I can give an impartial opinion on all of these products.

Thanks for Reading,

MeritK