Tony Silva
The Old Schoolhouse Digital Edition
$16.95 available at The Schoolhouse Store


Many years ago, in an effort to de-clutter our house, my wife suggested that we could let the store hold on to our stuff until we need it. For a bookaholic with little space to store her treasures, I know what a sacrifice she was willing to make. No place to store back issues of The Old Schoolhouse? That’s not a problem for future issues if you subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Digital Edition. You can let the computer hold your TOS stuff until you need it.

The Digital Edition includes all of the great articles and resources you find in your paper edition and the benefits go far beyond any shelf space you can save. Unlike the cumbersome interfaces found in most E-Book software or in the PDF format, the Digital Edition is intuitive, user friendly and packed with features designed to make it both accessible and useful.

The screen can be set to display full-width or full-height the way Adobe Reader does. It goes a step further allowing you to “magnify” the page by double clicking anywhere in the article. When viewing the magazine in two page view, the program simulates the turning of the pages for those who might miss the sense of achievement turning pages in a “real” magazine provides. One of the most useful features for me is the active linking of articles within the magazine and the active linking of Websites referred to within articles and ads. Click on the “Links” menu item and you can get a list of active links on the current page or you can choose to view all of the active links in the magazine. There is even an active link to send an email to the publisher.

When you buy The Old Schoolhouse Digital Edition, you’re not only getteing a user-friendly electronic interface to the magazine, you’re getting all of the content that comes with it. Indeed, the best homeschooling magazine on the market just got better. The only caveat I can find is that the Digital Edition is neither a suitable “curl up with a good book” companion nor is it a good choice of reading for your next long bubblebath. Best advice: If you have the shelf space, keep your hard copy for leisure reading and get the Digital Edition as a serious homeschool “professional development” tool.
Discuss this in our forums Prev entry: Finally... a kitchen gadget that works!
Next entry: The Schoolhouse Planner: A Great Buy but Not as a Planner