There are a number of Driver’s Ed courses listed online. I have done significant searching to find the courses that can be done from home, making them ideal for your homeschool setting.

With the exception of one, I don’t have personal experience with any of these. I looked at pricing, state info availability, awards, testimonials, etc. I have listed them in no particular order. So without further ado, here they are!

Rules of the Road: A Complete Driver’s Ed Course on DVD (not CD ROM)
Price: 34.95
Money-back Guarantee: 15 day money-back guarantee
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes, comes on the DVD
Certification of Completion: Unable to locate this information

Seven Interactive Lessons

1. Driving Basics
2. City and Residential Driving
3. The Driver’s Exam
4. Highway Driving
5. Safety Tips for Normal Conditions
6. Hazardous Conditions
7. Drug and Alcohol Awareness

Special Features include:

• 3D Illustrations
• Basic Maintenance
• In Case of Emergency
• Printable Learning Guide
• Spanish & English Subtitles
• Practice Tests
• Multiple Choice questions
• Road Sign Test
• Virtual Driver

Comments: Has received many rewards and recognition

Teen Driving Course
Price: Varies according to state & products chosen
Money-back Guarantee: Couldn’t find one
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes
Certification of Completion: Yes

Product(s):

• Homestudy Drivers Ed -150.00
  • Comprehensive Textbook or CD ROM course
  • Parent Companion with clear, step-by-step instructions
  • 17 Videos integrated into the classroom program
  • Audio CDs Guide
  • Student Workbook to measure student’s understanding and progress, Comprehensive, Easy-To-Use Tests
  • Special Mirrors that provide parents with a view to the rear & the student’s eyes.
• Driver Ed To Go DVD – 29.95
  • Supplements your driver education course by presenting the rules of the road in a fun and easy to understand DVD.
• Virtual Drive of American CD ROM or Online version- 95.00
  • Virtual classroom instruction for Teen Driver Ed teaching:
  • Newest industry driving safety techniques
  • State specific rules and laws preparing the student for risk reduced driving.
• DMV Practice Tests – 10.00

Comments: I found the site difficult to navigate for information

Driver’s Ed
Price: Varies by state
Money-back Guarantee: 20% of the course may be taken for free
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes
Certification of Completion: Yes for approved states

Complete online Drivers Education course. Book course is available for some states.

Several interactive games are offered. Once completed, you will receive a 15% discount off the cost of the course.

Comments: I was unable to find detailed information as to what the course specifically covers. Several supplemental materials are offered.

Driver Ed in a Box
Price: Regularly 249.00, now 229.00
Money-back Guarantee: Unable to locate this information
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes
Certification of Completion: Yes

Course Includes:

• Textbook & Interactive CD ROM
• Student Workbook & Interactive CD ROM
• Parent Companion for use while in the car with your teen, includes driving log
• 17 Videos
• 6 part Audio Series
• Training Mirrors – Instructor’s Rear View Mirror and Instructor’s Eye Check Mirror

Driver-ZED
Price: 24.95
Money-back Guarantee: Yes within 21 days from the date received
State Requirements: Unable to locate
State Approval Information: Unable to locate
Certification of Completion: Unable to locate

The Driver-ZED DVD puts you into 100 live-action situations – facing everything from a child chasing a ball into the street to dangerous two-lane passing. You’ll learn how to see danger by actually experiencing it on your computer instead of behind the wheel.

Four kinds of challenges across multiple venues of highway driving, in-town driving, driving in the country, and driving through work zones are offered. They include:

• SCAN! presents a short video clip and asks you what you’ve seen. Score given for correct answers.
• SPOT! shows a longer clip, then stops the action and asks you to click on the driving risks. Points earned for spotting real risks – but clicking on harmless stuff will get you nowhere.
• ACT! scenarios challenge you to spot the risks and choose the right action. You’ll “drive” through the scene until it stops and asks you what to do. Make the right choice and you’re safe. Choose wrong and you’re toast.
• DRIVE! takes you to the most realistic level, almost like being in a real car. You’ll be driving down the road when suddenly there’s a traffic problem. You choose when to act and what to do — you better give ZED your full attention, or you’ll crash!

Comments: Driver-ZED is produced by the 2007 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. I was unable to determine if this is a full driver’s ed program or supplemental material. Because of its low price and approach, I thought it worth including.

US Drivers Training
Price: 72.00 – 152.00 depending upon package purchased
Guarantee: Yes within 21 days from the date received
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes
Certification of Completion: Yes

There are seven levels that must be completed for certification for this drivers ed course. Each level requires the passing of a test before continuing to the next level.

30 hours of class time are required for completion.

The course includes:

• Hardcopy textbook with supplemental CD ROM
• Exams
• Numerous videos, one video is required for each of the seven levels. These can be viewed online or ordered on a DVD for an additional cost.
• Detailed driving logbook with things to watch for and things to emphasize per driving sessions with questions to help evaluate if your teen is ready to move on to more difficult challenges.

Comments: Offers a specific homeschool edition. This is the program my granddaughter used. The edition we used was purchased, probably in 2005. The course was thorough, but “clunky” and tedious at times. Some of the questions were difficult to find the answers to and response time to my questions was often slow. The website used to be difficult to navigate, but has been redone & is now easy to navigate. The workbook also has a new look, so perhaps the course itself has been reworked to get some of the bugs out.

Hope this review of Drivers Education courses for the homeschool setting has been helpful! Let me know.

Next time, we’ll do a quick (I know – is anything I do ever quick? )wrap-up of what this, “What About Drivers Ed” series has looked at.

Pressing on,

Sue

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 10:54 am and is filed under Home Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.