Skip to main content

IXL - TOS Review

We are approaching the end of our crew run and one of our last two review products is truly a gem in the homeschool community.
IXL is an online interactive program for kids in grade PreK - 12 offering Math and Language Arts practice.

We were blessed to received both programs to use and review. We used both programs with both the boys, grade 3 and 5. 

IXL is basically a practice program that allows for the student to practice and review concepts. IXL lets you practice concepts in each grades according to the standards of each different States in the USA, and in over 8 other countries. It is important to note that the Language Arts portion of the program is only available in the USA at the moment and only goes up to grade 4 so far. More grades are to come.
As can be assumed the amount of skills practiced increases with each grade going from about 41 in Pre-K to 280 in grade 10. You can see all the topics covered here.

IXL is mainly a practice and drill program, so is best used as a supplement or for practicing skills.

Our opinion:

The boys had a love and hate relationship with IXL. Some of the practices were easy, some were challenging. The practices have a feel of drills but without the dryness. It really consists in a successions of questions (one at a time) which gives you points until you reach a level of mastery which the parent sets. I set the boys' to 100. For some of the concepts I allowed them to stop once they reached 80 but that meant they were not getting any medal or prize for their work and it will not be marked completed. When you made a mistake your points you would lose points. To see what the rewards look like you can check it here.

I loved that the questions challenged their understanding of key concepts, and the repetition allowed for making sure they really understood what they were doing and not just being mechanical. 

When a mistake is made a written explanation is offered and then you were expected to press on.
IXL also offers a report for the parent, which comes in your e-mail, telling you what your child has done, how long was spent practicing, as well as their score. You even receive colourful certificates to print for your child.
Other aspects I like about IXL:
  • You have access to all the grades.
  • It is independent, assuming the child can read from grade 1 and up, and unless the child is having difficulty with the conceps itself.
  • It is colourful.
  • It is easy to set up and use.
  • It is straightforward.
  • The questions adapt to the child abilities and increases in difficult as he keeps answering.
  • Both programs (Math and LA) have a wide breadth and covers a lot of topics.
  • It is not game-like but yet keeps the child engaged.
We used IXL Math and LA daily and exclusively for the time of the review. Using this was perfect for our homeschool right now as it allowed for me to see and correct, or hammed down those things that were not so clear or properly mastered yet. We will certainly continue with this daily for a while, then as a supplement when we start again on new concepts.

Lastly, something else to note, which I also like, is that it demands attention to details. My kids branded the program as being "picky". Let me explain. Let's say for example you are working on possessives and you have to correct a word at the beginning of a sentence, if you do not write that word with a capital letter, it will mark it as wrong. Same goes with a proper noun, always demanding a capital letter even if the practice in question is about subjects.

All in all I think IXL is a great supplement and practice program. It will help your kids excel in every topics in Math and Language Arts. Make sure to check it out.
For more information you can go here and here. For a visual idea of how the whole thing works you can click here.

Price:

$9.95 or $15.95 for  both per monthly
$79 or $129 for both per year

Photobucket

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reformation Day Giveaway

We are approaching October 31, which is an important date for all protestants. This date commemorates Martin Luther’s nailing of his ninety-five theses to a church door on October 31, 1517 in Wittenburg, Germany, which in turn provoked a debate that resulted in what we now call the Protestant Reformation. As the “Father of the Reformation”, Martin Luther is a vital figure in Church History. His sacrifice and willingness to wage battle against the spiritual, religious, and political powers of his medieval world allowed Christians throughout time to embrace the following truths: salvation by grace alone , through faith alone,  and in Christ alone, along with the supremacy of Scripture, referred to as  Scripture alone, and all of it for God's Glory Alone. These being commonly called the Five Solas of the Reformation.  Danika Cooley, author and creator of the Bible curriculum Bible Road Trip ,  has recently written a book for young people recounting Luther's sto...
4 comments
Read more

Our Current Homeschool Routine - Virtual Homeschool Fair - Week 2

For week 2 of the Virtual Homeschool Fair, which is hosted by Homeschooling Hearts and Minds , we are talking method of homeschooling. When it comes to the how of homeschooling, and the method that we all follow, with the 20 plus blogger participating I can guarantee you, no method will be the same. Homeschooling is a lifestyle and a path unto a goal or toward a direction that each family sets for itself. For us, this encompasses academic rigor, as well as Christian values and depth of understanding of how to live in this world as Christians. To that end, earlier on we had settled on a classical education. 10 years into it, I cannot say we have been very good classical homeshooler. We did not follow the method and philosophy to a T but instead adapted it to our family's routine and rhythm. We became more relaxed classical homeschooler. I had good intentions with the Latin and Greek, but not enough discipline and it did not appeal to the boys; my oldest son did two years, the...
5 comments
Read more

When Lightning Struck - A Book review

Are you studying the Reformation? Do you love Historical Fictions? Do you love reading about the heros of the faith? Then read on... As a homeschooler I always encourage my fellow homeschoolers to include Historical fictions in their study of History as it helps students really enter the time period that they are studying and get a better picture of how people lived and what they felt. I recently had the privilege of reading a historical fiction titled When Lightning Struck: The Story of Martin Luther . If you have never heard of Martin Luther or read anything about him, you are missing out and here is your chance to learn who he was and what he did in an enjoyable way. When Lightning Struck is written for Middle and High schooler, but I could not put it down. If you love reading you will devourer this book. It would also work really well as a read-aloud for upper-elementary kids. It contains 23 chapters of average length that will keep you wanting to know more. When Lightni...
1 comment
Read more