IXL
IXL Learning
Floyd Brooks
IXL is one of the most popular online learning technology tools for elementary, middle and high school students. IXL Math fully covers the Common Core Standards for grades K-12, and IXL has now incorporated language arts skills as a part of the portfolio of standards-based activities. This coverage allows students to practice math questions that are correlated to the standards adapted across the United States and in many countries across the world such as India, Australia, Singapore and others. The key to IXL’s math program is that students will not see repeated questions. Instead, the questions are generated using IXL’s own algorithm that allows questions to be uniquely generated based on the standards or skills being covered.
Pros
Performance Monitoring and Progress Monitoring:
IXL has a great progress monitoring backend that is available to teachers, administrators, and even parents, that makes it possible to keep track of the ways that students are interacting with the software. This performance monitoring will provide whole-class or individual student data to keep track of progress. Therefore, you will be able to see the students that are most active on the platform, as well as the standards that they have covered and the level of content and standards mastery. If a student enters the incorrect answer for a question while practicing, IXL will provide a solution for the students and a brief lesson to refresh their memory. It is pretty impressive that IXL is able to explain the correct answer to students. This makes the program a great supplemental tool for mastering the curriculum. Additionally, with the utilization of the data provided, enhanced blended learning can be incorporated into the learning process by teachers and administrators, as you will be able to see the skills that students are having a hard time covering. This makes it possible to create effective cooperative groups in the classroom.
Built in Motivation:
IXL has embedded gamification tools making learning fun and rewarding for students. The more learning activities that they participate in, the more points and rewards they will unlock.
Adaptive Learning:
IXL learning allows students to keep practicing until they have mastered specific skills. When the students receive a "Smart Score" of 100%, or whatever score was set by the administrator, the program predicts that the student has mastered that particular skill indicating that the student is ready to move on.
Competitive Pricing:
IXL covers math and English language arts (ELA) standards for $15 per month. That is less than what the average person pays for a meal. This is a worthwhile investment any parent could make in their child’s education.
Backed by a Well Established Company:
IXL Learning is the same company behind Quia.
Cons
Online Worksheet:
IXl is not much different from a regular math worksheet or reading worksheet. The main difference is that the questions are on a screen. It would be very beneficial for some students to be able to have more questions with manipulatives available at their disposal when solving problems.
Pre-assessment:
The program would really benefit from a pre-asessment that could be administered to students to determine their current developmental level before lessons are assigned by the teacher or parent.
Adding Students:
It would be very beneficial to be able to bulk upload students. Adding students one-by-one takes up a lot of time.
Overall:
I feel confident that IXL is a great tool for all students to expose and provide adequate content-based skill mastery. However, there are many enhancements that need to be made to the IXL learning platform to make it truly remarkable and invaluable. I think that with the level of rigor that is expected to truly master the Common Core Standards, IXL Learning, particularly the math section, falls a little short. However, if the main objective is to master specific skills, then IXL is perfect for that. Therefore, a teacher could effectively assign a standard to a student, or the entire class, and watch as they master the standard, while also providing classroom instruction targeting that particular skill. As a result of this, IXL can act as great online support to the instruction that is taking place in the classroom.
From the Publisher-IXL Learning:
PRACTICE THAT FEELS LIKE PLAY
Practice makes perfect, and IXL makes math and language arts practice fun! IXL sets a new standard for online learning, offering unlimited, algorithmically generated questions; real-time analytical reports; and dynamic scoring to encourage mastery. Released in 2007, it has since become the world's most popular subscription-based learning site for K–12. With more than 4,000 unique and challenging skills to master, IXL offers a dynamic and enjoyable environment suitable for any learning style. Students who use IXL are succeeding like never before.
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