Using Technology for Learning: IXL
Last year we started to use IXL in mathematics classrooms in my building. Our students have a love/hate relationship with it. They like that they get immediate feedback on whether the problems are right or wrong. If they will take the time to look, they also get excellent instruction when they miss a problem. Part of the feedback given is in the graphic below.
As a classroom teacher, I like that it gives them any rules they should be following. Then, it shows them exactly how to do the problem and what the correct answer would be. They have the opportunity to copy down the correct work and then try a similar problem. The students who take advantage of this feedback learn a lot more about the concept while doing their assignment.
This year, we have added the English portion to our site license. The English department feels like the concepts addressed will strengthen the writing skills of their students and help the students when they take the ACT.
IXL gives a Smart Score for each activity that will go to 100 if you get enough problems correct. We use IXL for various types of assignments in class. Sometimes it is the daily warmup and we just want the students to complete 10 problems to find out what they know about a topic. Other times, it will be their homework assignment and we will establish the guidelines for full credit. In my class, I have done anything from telling them they have to get a 100 Smart Score for full credit or an 85 Smart Score for full credit to having them keep a tally and they have to get 15 problems correct to get full credit on the assignment. The goal of practicing the material is for the students to learn the process. IXL is a great tool because, unlike our summer school software, it does not repeat questions no matter how long a student chooses to practice a topic. A student may go back and practice a concept again even after mastery has been achieved.
I am the site administrator for IXL in my district. I have been impressed with the helpful nature of the staff at IXL. Since we have two content areas on our license, our students can be enrolled in the one or both of them. At the beginning of this year, the button that changes that setting was not working. I called the company and within an hour, they had made the proper adjustments so it would work again. Last year, we needed a few more licenses so I contacted our representative to find out how much it would cost to get them added to our subscription and was informed that they would give us a 25 license buffer for free. They are friendly and willing to help whenever we have reached out to them. The backend of the site is user friendly. I am able to add teachers and add/edit student information easily as well. The only drawback we have found is that when a student needs to retake a course, you must delete them from the system and add them back. There is no way to reset their data.
IXL isn't perfect, no tool that I have found is, but it provides valuable, immediate feedback for my students. They are motivated to see their score moving up as they get questions correct.
We will keep watching to see if they add Science and Social Studies for high school students. I noticed they added spanish this year. So, I'm going to talk to my colleague across the hall to see if she wants to try it out with a 30 day trial they offer!
As a classroom teacher, I like that it gives them any rules they should be following. Then, it shows them exactly how to do the problem and what the correct answer would be. They have the opportunity to copy down the correct work and then try a similar problem. The students who take advantage of this feedback learn a lot more about the concept while doing their assignment.
This year, we have added the English portion to our site license. The English department feels like the concepts addressed will strengthen the writing skills of their students and help the students when they take the ACT.
IXL gives a Smart Score for each activity that will go to 100 if you get enough problems correct. We use IXL for various types of assignments in class. Sometimes it is the daily warmup and we just want the students to complete 10 problems to find out what they know about a topic. Other times, it will be their homework assignment and we will establish the guidelines for full credit. In my class, I have done anything from telling them they have to get a 100 Smart Score for full credit or an 85 Smart Score for full credit to having them keep a tally and they have to get 15 problems correct to get full credit on the assignment. The goal of practicing the material is for the students to learn the process. IXL is a great tool because, unlike our summer school software, it does not repeat questions no matter how long a student chooses to practice a topic. A student may go back and practice a concept again even after mastery has been achieved.
I am the site administrator for IXL in my district. I have been impressed with the helpful nature of the staff at IXL. Since we have two content areas on our license, our students can be enrolled in the one or both of them. At the beginning of this year, the button that changes that setting was not working. I called the company and within an hour, they had made the proper adjustments so it would work again. Last year, we needed a few more licenses so I contacted our representative to find out how much it would cost to get them added to our subscription and was informed that they would give us a 25 license buffer for free. They are friendly and willing to help whenever we have reached out to them. The backend of the site is user friendly. I am able to add teachers and add/edit student information easily as well. The only drawback we have found is that when a student needs to retake a course, you must delete them from the system and add them back. There is no way to reset their data.
IXL isn't perfect, no tool that I have found is, but it provides valuable, immediate feedback for my students. They are motivated to see their score moving up as they get questions correct.
We will keep watching to see if they add Science and Social Studies for high school students. I noticed they added spanish this year. So, I'm going to talk to my colleague across the hall to see if she wants to try it out with a 30 day trial they offer!
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