Switched On Schoolhouse Saves Time and Money

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Switched On Schoolhouse Saves Time and Money

by Kimberly
(Lewisville, TX, USA)

Save money and time; eliminate lesson planning and grading hassles with Alpha Omega's Switched on Schoolhouse computer-based home school curriculum.

This is my first year of homeschooling, and we went with Alpha Omega's Switched on Schoolhouse 3rd Grade.

Not only are the lessons computer-based, saving paper waste, but they are already planned out, saving me the time and hassle of lesson planning. The program also automatically grades all objective questions/problems, so all I have to grade is about 5% of my daughter's work. This saves me time because the software keeps track of what needs to be graded, and alerts me.

The entire year's curriculum is less than $400 brand new, but I saved 50% by purchasing a used copy. Since the program can be downloaded and reused, it is perfect for families with multiple homeschoolers.

I would recommend this curriculum to any homeschooling family!

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Switched On Schoolhouse Saves Time and Money

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Aug 24, 2009
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How do you put a used SOS on your computer?
by: Lorri

I bought a used SOS science curriculum, and it wanted me to register in 30 days or have the product disable. How did you bypass this with the used SOS you bought? The screen tells me it will shut down the program in 24 days now.

Aug 24, 2009
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Used SOS Curriculum Question
by: Heather

Lorri,
This is a very good question!

Here is the registration info from AOP's website:
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/switched-on-schoolhouse/support-search.php?topic_id=171

I also contacted AOP and this is the reply I received:

SOS can be registered on a new computer but unfortunately, we cannot provide technical support for software that was not purchased from a licensed retailer. If you contact Customer Service at 1-800-622-3070, they can help you register the software.

Thank You,
Technical Support

So, I would contact AOP SOS curriculum support and they will help you with registering your software.

If you discover that you can not register your used copy, please post that info to our website so others will know.

Blessings,
Heather :)

Sep 08, 2009
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Illegal to resell SOS
by: Anonymous

It depends on the year of your software. SOS 2007 & later CANNOT be registered twice and MUST be registered. They did this to prevent people reselling the curriculum. This is from Alpha Omega's own eBay account (that they don't use):

Switched-On Schoolhouse Re-Sale Information
SOS is a Licensed Product
If your SOS auction has been ended early by eBay, please understand it is because Switched-On Schoolhouse is a licensed software product. This means that when you installed the program you agreed to the terms of the SOS End Users License Agreement (EULA), which includes our no-resale policy. The EULA is legally binding upon the purchaser of the software.
SOS EULA Re-Sale Policy:
As is common with most software products, the sale of Switched-On Schoolhouse constitutes a non-exclusive, non-transferable license agreement between Alpha Omega Publications, Inc. and the purchaser. This license means that the purchaser has the right to access and use the software but not to rent, sell, assign, transfer, re-license, sub-license or convey for any monetary consideration. Simply put, Switched-On is not to be resold. The license agreement is not a new policy, and has not changed from previous years. The user is provided the opportunity to review these terms and conditions during the installation process, in the manual or on our website. It is important to note that Alpha Omega Publications, in conjunction with eBay, is attempting to stop all unauthorized sales of Switched-On Schoolhouse on eBay, and we are not selectively choosing one unauthorized auction over another to end. Finally, the entire AOP family feels a great responsibility to the future of Christian Education. We remain steadfast in our goal to provide users with the best products, service and support possible.

All that said, if you can get used copies of 2006 or earlier, you can use it without registering.

Sep 08, 2009
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SOS Resale Info
by: Heather

Thanks so much for posting this information. It's very helpful and much appreciated.

Blessings,
Heather :)

Dec 01, 2009
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used SOS
by: Anonymous

Thank you for this post! I was about to buy a set for 100. dollars on ebay. I was not aware that it could not be transfered. I hate that people try to take advantage of you on ebay. Your post saved me some money I can not afford to lose.
Thank you and God Bless,
Casey

Feb 01, 2010
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Can you give it away?
by: Peacefulmom

I'm irritated with the no selling thing with SOS. If I paid for the program, I should be able to recoup a little of my money when I finish with it. Does anyone know their policy on giving the item away to another family to use? Has anyone tried it? I have a 2009 version that I bought new from an "unauthorized" dealer. I registered the program and installed everything. It ended up being a disaster for my son. He hated every minute of it and was unbelievably frustrated. He isn't a good speller, and the constant "wrong" answers to the questions were spelling errors, not actual wrong answers. He used the program for a week before we went back to our old curriculum. Now, I'm stuck with this thing? Any ideas. At least someone else should be able to use it if it works for their child.

Feb 27, 2010
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around it
by: Anonymous

a couple of ways around this. buy one subject new and the rest of the subjects used (even if you buy a full 5 subject set used and one subject new you still usually save money). That gets you the current application disk.

loan it to a friend/ family member and let them use your information to register it. also, I think I read in the fine print you can transfer it 2 times just not for resale. So I think it can be registered 3x total.

Mar 16, 2010
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You can give it away
by: Anonymous

I think you can give it away and it can be registered one other time by a new user.

Mar 20, 2010
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change the settings
by: Rthling

Peacefulmom,
You can change the settings from the teacher page, so that incorrect spelling of a correct answer does not count against your student.
As fas as buying a used version, I am sad that AOP licenses their software, but it isn't unheard of. Annoying, yes.

Jun 23, 2010
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Switched on school house cd
by: Tree

I just read that Switched on schoolhouse Cd's cannot be resold. Well I purchased some and I didn't know that. I would like to know if they will work for me? I also read here that if I were to purchase a new one than the used ones would work. How will that work? Will I use the number of the new registered one for the others? I'm new to this and would be so happy to receive any inside on this.

Thanks,
Tree

Aug 30, 2010
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Switched on Schoolhouse Install disc.
by: Anonymous

I also just purchased SOS discs off of amazon from three different sellers (different subjects). The first one arrived (langauge arts) and it says on it's sleeve that you need the 2009 installation disc to install the program. I have the 2010 Language arts. It didn't come with an installation disc. I don't know if any of the other subjects will arrive with an install disc. I also didn't know about this before buying used. Am I going to be stuck with a bunch of expensive software I can't use?

Oct 20, 2010
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DO NOT BUY!
by: Anonymous

This software was an abject failure from the word "go". First of all you need to basically have a master's degree in something called SQL Server if you want to run it on two computers in your house (we did, since we have more than one home schooled child). I spent several hours on the SOS FAQ to no avail, it simply would not install and the error options did not lead anywhere. I am highly computer literate and can get just about anything to work, normally. It just flat would not install properly on the second machine with Windows 7. The curriculum layout itself was an abomination and caused my son much unnecessary stress. Now I find out that we can't even re-sell it to someone who might like to have it, although I can't imagine who would. This company should be ashamed of pumping out such overpriced bloatware and implementing this "licensing" scam, which is nothing more than insurance against having to pay back what is surely a large number of extremely unsatisfied customers. Shame on this company, they'll never have another dime of my money ever again.

Jan 06, 2011
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I called SOS direct...
by: Anonymous

I just called SOS beacues i have 2004 cd's from my older daughter and asked if i could buy the instalation cd. Cause we lost ours. The lady was very nice and said i could but it would be $50. Then she informed me that i could by another single course, she suggested the one about the Constution for 29.99$
I haven't tied it yet but i'm going to. I don't want it to go to waste.
So call and ask them directly if you have and questions.

Feb 21, 2011
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I bought 2008 and 2009 used and it worked
by: Anonymous

SOS may say that you can't sell software after 2007, but I bought some off of ebay and registered them and they have worked the whole year so far. So take it with a grain of salt.

Jul 24, 2011
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SOS on two different computers?
by: Margie

I was wondering if anyone could tell me... We are going to purchase the SOS program for our daughter and will be installing it on our desktop for her. This fall we are going to South Africa for a couple of months for a missionary trip and would like to install the programs on our laptop to take with us.. Is this possible to put this on two different computers? Thanks for your help!
Margie

Aug 17, 2011
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REINSTALL
by: Anonymous

You can simply reinstall it then go to Teachers settings and mark all that is completed as complete!

Oct 26, 2011
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Buying used SOS
by: Anonymous

You can use a "used" copy of SOS as long as you already have the application disc installed on your computer from previous versions. Just install another subject disc under administration functions, curriculum setup, then at the bottom of the window is the install button. It does not need another installation disc if the software is already on your computer. I'm not sure after what year it is that this applies to. I know some people have gotten new subjects each year and continue to used the old installation and might have a new application disc that has not been used. That may be the case for some of the used subject copies being sold (it might have an unused application disc). You would have to contact the seller prior to purchase to make sure of this.

Hope this info helps.

Oct 26, 2011
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SOS on two different computers
by: Anonymous

Make sure you keep a back-up of your sons work. This is on the home tab of teacher mode or student mode. I think but don't quote me (I have done this with my son - on two computers, but not for a while) on the home tab of Teacher mode there is also (in the applicaiton box) an import/export option. You can use a memory stick or jump drive to save this file on. You will then open SOS Teacher on the other computer and import the file and it will put the current work in the other computer. You will have to do this every time you switch computers. You will become an expert at this after doing it a few times. It is a fairly quick process.

If you have any questions, I will try to keep an eye on this thread.

I hope it helps.

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Switched On Schoolhouse Saves Time and Money

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Switched On Schoolhouse Saves Time and Money