IXL for Personalized Learning

I use IXL.com regularly for my students.  The Special Class does English and Math on it while all of the 7th-8th graders in the building do Math on it.  Science and Social Studies are also available at an additional cost.  

The skills can be easily searched through to find the same topic at different ability levels.  I can then personalize learning based on the individual student.  Here's a snapshot of inequalities with the bottom of 2nd grade through Algebra 2: 

One of my favorite parts is you can check on students progress on the skill they are working on, even if it's K-8th grade range.  It allows me to quickly assess if they're making adequate progress once I know how long a student should take on each question.  On this Saturday afternoon two of my middle school students are working on these skills.  It shows the grade level and topic area (8th and 3rd) plus the last five questions the students have answered with fast updating.  I know the first student needs assistance and can walk over to provide it.  (In the case, I shot him an email with some help, when he emailed back his frustration I let him know we could do it together on Tuesday. Instead I encouraged him to work on some of the other overdue assignments.)  

The students work from 0 to 100 with harder questions as they progress.  It can take a few minutes to do or over an hour if they don't know the content.  Some are also fast question sets that the students can reach a 100% quickly and achieve a victory.  Others (like the 2nd one) I know take a few minutes per answer even if the student is listening to the questions.  While initially only questions through grade 5 content could be read aloud, but they increased the level in March so the students could hit grade level content.  Thankfully at least in Math the directions are often the same with the important part highlighted (ex more or less).  This allows students with low reading levels to complete the math texts at a higher level.  

 

I often use study lab time with my Special Class to work on additional skills.  We have 1-2 adults for the 7-9 students and can do little mini lessons, assist as needed, and monitor that all are making progress.  Students are sometimes given specific ones to work on, while other times they can pick any topic at an appropriate grade level.  This allows them to become empowered learners: picking their own learning goals (skills), customizing their own learning environments (when/where to do it), and see instant feedback as they work towards 100 (or stop at 70). 

It also helps me to see what skills students know, what they need to know, how much time they use the program, and even their progress towards 100.  I can see each question they answer and the total number of questions per time.  This helps me determine if they were really trying or just guessing. The data is very helpful and available in a variety of formats.  Since I decide on a weekly basis what the students need to work on and at what level I use the data to pick the next week's lessons.  I also use their I-ready diagnostic tests which are done four times a year to determine if there are areas that the students are lower than others in.  These are often assigned in the weekly math or English IXL lessons to supplement the class lessons. 

I recommend IXL to encourage students to personalize their own learning.  They can work at their own pace, to their own goal level, and sometimes even pick their own grade level/topic to work on.  Teachers can easily keep track of the progress of the class through real-time data and other reports.