I Know It is a new math practice website to help students master the Common Core Standards. The site is interactive and has over 150 math activities, and counting, for students in grades K-5. This is a great tool for every elementary teacher to help students master the standards.
I Know It
I Know It
Floyd Brooks
The creator of SuperTeacherWorksheets, Tim Weibel, has struck again with I Know It.com. I Know It is an interactive math practice site for elementary students (students in grades K-5). The site is in public beta right now. So, that means it is free to use. However, it is a given that at this stage of development, there may be bugs and incomplete pages.
PROS
Reputation
One of the things I like about this site is that it has reputable roots. Tim has been powering SuperTeacherWorksheets for years. As a teacher, this gives me piece-of-mind. I know that he will be sticking with this project based on his work on current projects. There is nothing worse than committing to a site or product only for it to go out of business, right Google?
Design and Layout
The site is clean, uncluttered and has a modern design. It is free of ads and popups. This is a plus, especially for younger students.
Cost
The site is currently free. Tim, the owner of the site, expressed to me via email that his goal is to have the site free for at least one year. As far as future costs are concerned, Tim has assured me that it will be affordable. That means less than a glass of gourmet coffee, but more beneficial for you and your students. According to Tim, “Right now it's free while the site is in development. We haven't determined the cost yet, but we will do our best to keep it affordable for teachers and schools. (Our SuperTeachers site is 19.95/year for a teacher subscription. Our ModernChalkboard site is $30/year. So I really do mean it when we say we'll keep it affordable.)”
Alignment
The lessons align with the Common Core math standards. Since the majority of students are on this curriculum, this may be of benefit to many classrooms around the country. Also, this makes I Know It another tool that teachers may add to their virtual pockets for students on their way to standards mastery and success.
Question Complexity
The questions presented here are really good. They are rigorous and relevant to the Common Core standards’ expectations. This is an area in which I Know It distinguishes itself from the competition. There is a good infusion of story problems to help the teacher truly identify the masterly level of students.
Question Hint
Students may use question hints as a launching pad into questions.
Explanations
If a student is marked incorrect on a question, I Know It provides a brief explanation. It would be a nice addition in the future to have video lessons embedded in the software or even voice over for lesson and explanation. This would be particularly helpful for students who are struggling in math and reading.
Cons
I cannot find any cons to the site at the moment, especially since they are just taking it on a yearlong test drive.
Things they have in the immediate works.
- Tim and his team are hard at work. They are currently working on a user management system that will allow teachers to easily manage a classroom of students.
- An analytics dashboard is also in the works.
About the Team
I Know It is located in Tonawanda, NY. This is a small city between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. I Know It is from the same DNA as SuperTeacherWorksheets.com and ModernChalkboard.com.
From The Publisher: I Know It
“This online resource can be used during class or at home for independent practice, remediation, assessment, or homework. The site enables teachers and parents to differentiate assignments for students allowing them to work at their own level and pace towards mastery of concepts and skills aligned with Common Core.”
Verdict
I Know it has the potential to be a super site for elementary teachers and students. The level of rigor that the site provides makes it a perfect tool for the modern standards driven classroom. In a few years, based on the goals of Tim and him team, I can see this site giving i-Ready and MobyMax a serious challenge for the hearts and minds of elementary teachers and students everywhere. If they add detailed and compliant assessment data, teachers could use this tool to assign diagnostic assessments, and establish learning paths for students to ensure desired outcomes for students in the elementary classroom. Give I Know It a spin today.