What is IXL? How IXL Boosts Math Comprehension

 

IXL Learning

Benefits of IXL

• IXL is an extraordinary resource to our children.  It immerses students in a particular subject – the depth of learning opportunities is amazing – over 5,000 skills are offered
• It aligns with the Common Core standards with each grade level
• IXL bookmarks are even printed in some textbooks so students can get additional practice than just what the textbook offers
• Predictive software generates questions at the level it assesses the student is at (based on answered questions)
• Can be used anywhere – on the PC, phone, or tablet – adding a gamify-type of experience
• Virtual rewards given based on milestones reached
• Scoring system where more intense questions are served up to ensure each student understands subject matter before completing unit
• Real-time standards reporting – parents and teachers find out exactly how your child is progressing and performing on each standard

1.  Immersive Learning

IXL offers an interactivity you don’t find with most online learning tools.  Although many times you can simply just click on what you think the answer is, IXL also has sections where you drag and drop fractions to put them in the proper order or even put lines on a graph.  It’s very interactive. 

IXL was designed for both the computer or tablet touchscreens.  Its mobile app for both iPads and Android tablets can even recognize handwritten numbers in the math section.  Tablet learning works best for littler kids and allows you to take IXL on the go with you.

  

2.  Ways to Increase Learning Comprehension

A Mom’s Perspective 

Most parents, like my husband and I, didn’t realize the treasure chest that was right under our nose in helping our kids practice and understand the concepts in language and math.  Yes, they are both using IXL and have been assigned IXL assignments for years.

Understanding IXL’s potential from a bigger picture, we are now using IXL to help my daughter understand her math concepts better.  But here’s the thing…and read carefully…just asking our daughter to do extra IXL math work to prepare herself for the test is not enough, as math is not her thing and she is not self-motivated.

Instead, my husband has been sitting down with her at the computer to do IXL together.  There is much more motivation to complete extra IXL sections with your parent sitting right next to you.  

My daughter still struggles but this has made a world of difference and my husband commiserates with her when her SmartScore goes down.  But they are both learning together from their wrong answers to better understand the math concepts she’s trying to learn.

Not sure if your student’s school is using IXL?  Just ask your child, s/he’ll tell you.  If so, find out your child’s login and password and check out the Analytics section to see how well your child is mastering certain skills.  Knowing this information will help you assist your child in the areas s/he needs the help the most.

If your student does not have access to IXL through his/her school, you can purchase IXL directly for $19.95/mo., giving you access to all subject areas or $9.99/mo. for just one subject area.  

I’d certainly say that $20/mo. is a lot cheaper than a tutor and with IXL’s progressive learning and database of thousands of questions, it could be an excellent learning resource for your student or even homeschooling student.

Try IXL for a couple of months and see how it’s working for your student and let us know your thoughts.