When the link to the Summer 2008 digital edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine arrived in my inbox, I was so excited! I am somewhat of a magazine junkie, and if I can get a subscription for something I am even just mildly interested in, at a good rate, you will usually find it in my mailbox!
I have never subscribed to a digital magazine before, and when I was offered the chance to review The Old Schoolhouse Magazine I jumped on the chance.
The digital issues of their magazine are identical to the print issues, except on how you access it. You receive a link in your e-mail inbox, and voila are taken to that issue of the magazine. If you retain that e-mail, you can always access it from that link, or an additional link that is included will allow you to go straight to the currently published issue.
The digital issues have some nice features. You can get to any article in the issue by going to the Content tab; viewing the pages via thumbnails or by searching for a particular key word. Any article or advertisement that has a website attached to it has an embedded link as well. Click the link, and you are taken to the website. You can adjust the settings on how you view the magazine to your preference, by making the pages larger or smaller, viewing a page a time or a full spread of two pages, zooming in and out as well as setting the page turning speed. You are able to share pages with your friends and family via e-mail, and there is a function that allows you to add a particular page or article as a widget on your website or blog. Is there an article you would like to have at the touch of a button? The bookmark feature would come in handy in that case, or you could download it, in order to have access, for when you are not online. You can print the articles as well if you want to a hard copy to have on hand.
The articles are wide and varied. There really is something for everyone. When I first perused the contents I was a bit skeptical on whether I would find any that would pertain to me. Not only did I find one article that I embraced whole heartedly, but three!! I was elated to read about situations that I was steeped in myself, and to know that there are others out there with the same struggles, and some suggestions too. There were many more articles that I found myself bookmarking, so I can go back to them at a later date. The magazine like most, is peppered with advertisements. I admit however, that I looked at most all of them, and they did what all good marketing is intended to do, made me interested in finding out more about their product. Now I have a few more curriculum options to research, and websites to visit!
The subscription to the digital version of the magazine is $16.95 for a year (4 quarterly issues at about 200 pages a piece) – and The Old Schoolhouse often adds extra treats to download that is included in that price.I found the server a little slow to access the first time I visited. Subsequent visits downloaded quicker, since it was already cached. I also had my browser session crash once while using it, although that seems to have been an isolated incident. I had a hard time finding a size that I liked to view it at on my screen. To view it to fit the screen vertically, I found the typeface too small to read, but to get it so I was satisfied the pages were larger than the screen size and I had to scroll.
Quite honestly I did not care for the digital version. We don’t own a laptop computer, so I am tied to my desktop to view and read it. I know that I could print out the articles, but that would sort of defeat the purpose. The content is top quality, and the articles engaging and helpful, but despite how technical and geeky I am, I prefer my magazines in print. I like to carry them with me when I go to the pool, and park. To curl up on the couch with and enjoy the reader letters with a cup of coffee. Print magazines are my favorite reading material for when we travel. For the small price difference (a print subscription costs $39.00 for two years), I would choose that over the digital version.All in all, the price is well worth the information contained within either the digital issue or the paper version. So when my digital subscription is expired next year, I’ll most likely have a new magazine to look forward to in my mailbox every 3 months!
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You can hang out with Tammy at Three Different Directions where when she is not reviewing products or entering contests, she just might be posting poetry about spiders.
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I just bought my first digital issue, because of reading that it was an option from your post. I really had wanted to read it, particularly as a mom of kids with special needs, and I thought I would save myself the trouble of driving across town to the Christian bookstore that sells it. In retrospect, I would have probably rather had gone to buy it. Although it was cheaper, I ended up printing it all out, and it was huge. I probably should have looked through and printed just what I wanted, but I was too lazy. ;)
I also much prefer print magazines. It’s just not the same effect when it’s digitalized!
Great review, I’d like to get a printed copy to read through…you’ve definitely peaked my interest!