A site I use on a regular basis in my classroom is IXL.com. My county has subscribed to this site as a math practice resource for students. They select their grade level and a list of topics appear. The student then selects the topic and objective they want to work with. The computer then asks questions until the student has "mastered" the skill. This is a great resource because it differentiates for each child. As a student gets a problem wrong, the difficulty of the next problem will decrease. There is also a place for an explanation so the student can understand where he/she went wrong. The computer automatically assigns problems that are similar to the one missed until the students gets several correct. This allows students that are struggling to get extra practice, and those that are achieving at grade level have opportunities for enrichment. I would highly suggest writing a grant to have access to this wonderful resource.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
First Post!
I created with blog for a class I am taking in grad school. I am to use this blog as a portal to express 21st century learning I notice in the classroom, ideas I have, articles I find interesting, connections I make to class discussions, and even use this as a place to post questions I have about technology in education. I plan to write in this twice a week, and document any activities my class has done, and list any new sources I might have found. I hope, reader, you find use in my postings and can learn with me as I delve into the world of 21st century skills.
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I look forward to reading your blog!! I would love to hear about real experiences of things that are tried in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the school that I was teaching at before Grad school required the students to work on a program very similar to what you described. We had a student one year, that actually intentionally answered questioned incorrectly from time to time to keep him from getting harder questions. He was actually taken out of his PE class one day by another teacher and made to work on it until he moved to the next level, because she knew that he could do it. How would you recommend handling a situation like that with the program that you are using?
Thanks Rachael! This week has been a crazy one, so I am so sorry I am just getting back to you.
ReplyDeleteI have never had a child do this. I think I did not explain is once they master the topic, they get a sticker and can decorate a rocket on the site. This helps motivate a lot of students to push through so they can have a minute to decorate something of their own.
Not all strategies work for every child though. I would stress the importance of working on the computer and showing us what they are truly capable of doing. If this did not work, I would allow the student to work beside me in the morning and talk through each problem with me. The student will either quickly change his/her mind and start answering the questions correctly, or, the student will be able to figure out what he/she is doing wrong. The next step is to give the student an alternate assignment and restrict their use of computer time.
How do you think that would work and go over in that instance?