We have been looking for ways to take our lesson more online for a while now so I was thrilled when we were able to explore the adaptive learning platform IXL Learning. I hope that my review of the IXL Full Annual Membership will help provide you with an idea of what we thought about this site. I’ll start off by telling you that IXL is an online learning platform for the core subjects. The subjects are broken up by grade level and by subject which makes it really easy to choose the things your children need to work on. This site makes it easy for kids to do work solo and for parents to check in and see how they are doing. We are particularly liking the math and language arts for both of my children but I think as we explore more we will end up using the science and social studies lessons more and more.
How The Lessons Work
You can approach lessons in two different ways. You can either select the grade level your child is at and then select the subject and lesson that you would like them to complete. The other option is to have your child complete the diagnostic questions which will narrow down your child’s skills and provide them with a list of recommendations that they can then complete lessons though there. I have one child who likes each approach. My daughter is the type of personality that wants to complete each and every question to feel like she has learned the skill. My son, on the other hand, doesn’t have the time of day for doing questions he already knows the answers to so the recommendations really work for him. He is able to see the skills that he needs to work on and choose from those, it’s been working really well for him.
After each skill is mastered the child will receive a sticker in the awards section. This is an awesome touch and really keeps my kids motivated to keep trying and working hard. I love the stickers aren’t only for skills mastered though, they are also for the time that the child spends practicing. There are even printable certificates that you can use if your child needs that extra praise for working hard and achieving something great!
There are so many features within the lessons that I find really helpful. The instructions are very easy to follow and even provide a read-to-you option for the younger grades. My kindergartener is really enjoying the read-to-you feature because it means that she is able to do everything all by herself. There is an option to use the screen as a notepad when doing difficult math questions, which is perfect for when we are doing school outside of our home because we aren’t commonly carrying a bunch of scrap paper around with us! My son is quite fond of the question tracker and smart score features, especially when using the iPad app version on IXL. He says that the tracker lets him know how many more questions he needs to answer before he becomes a “pro”, it’s awesome that he finds some drive in it. The fact that the smart score tracker moves with the child’s answers makes me even more confident that they are learning the facts fully!
We have been using the site for about 40 minutes a day with each of my children. This seems to be enough that they can spend a little time on both math and language arts without getting frustrated. My son really enjoys the fact that he can keep track of how long he has been working on it himself. I find that this amount of time allows them to practice their skills but still gives us plenty of time in the day to do other things!
Helpful Features That You Might Like
- You can view subject by grade or by topic, this can be extremely helpful for homeschoolers that don’t follow the traditional grades. For example, IXL has Ancient History as a sixth-grade topic but we are currently studying that this year in our homeschool with our third grader and kindergartener, the topic tabs allow me to quickly find what we need.
- Progression bar in the lessons that move as your child learns or struggles with a skill
- Math Grades; Pre-K – 12th grade, Language Arts; Pre-K – 12th grade, Science; 2nd grade – 8th grade, Social Studies; 2nd grade – 8th grade, Spanish; 7 units.
- Ability to line up your learning with state standards or common core outcomes
- Anylitics for usage, trouble spots, scores, and progress.
- You can take IXL where ever you go with the apps
What We Are Liking Best
When thinking about what we like best about using IXL two specific things stand out! First of all, both the kids and I really like how easy it is for them to work solo. They are able to log in and get started on their lessons by themselves and with the read-to-me feature, my kindergartener is even able to complete the lessons without any help. If you’re a homeschooling parent you’ll know how precious the times when your children are working independently can be!
I personally am really liking the analytics features provided, as a parent who has to provide proof of what my children are learning this is a life-saving feature. It allows me to simply print out the records and have all of the information handy when we have our meeting with the facilitator. Besides the ability to print out the records the analytics also allow me to see if my children have any areas that they are struggling with and may need to work on more. On top of that, the progress tab in the analytics allows me to see how long it took for a skill to be mastered. The ability to see what skills they are mastering quickly can help me decide which future skills they should be learning.
Where Can You Find IXL?
There is the desktop site, https://www.ixl.com which can be used on both Mac and Windows, as well as mobile apps. The mobile apps can be found on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle. Although, if you don’t happen to have one of those, that’s fine, you can always just access IXL through the mobile browser. They even offer an app for Chromebook users in the Chrome Web Store!
What My Children Have To Say!
Kayden’s Interview (Age 8):
Q: What do you like best about this website/app?
A: I like it because it’s easy to use and it doesn’t repeat the same questions over and over.
Q: Do you like the app or website more?
A: App
Q: Do you like the science and social studies lessons?
A: They are okay but I like projects for science better.
Q: Are the stickers motivational?
A: I think that the metals are more motivational than the stickers.
Emily’s Interview (Age 5):
Q: What do you like best about this website/app?
A: I like that it teaches you stuff and I like that I can do it myself.
Q: Do you like the app or website more?
A: I like the website on the computer because I’m more comfortable.
Q: Do you like the award stickers?
A: Yeah I love those.
You can read other Homeschool Review Crew Members reviews by clicking the picture bellow or follow this link —> http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/immersive-adaptive-learning-online-ixl-learning-reviews/
