However, the district's technology department is concerned about adding something new to the school server and also we are still waiting for the principle and teachers' responses.
I haven't tried it (we use Linux...) but wouldn't using the
streaming plugin alleviate that concern?
Another option is for our kids to do Singapore Math workbook during math time. Pros: no technology is required and kids can pull it out anytime. Cons: material will be purely for review purposes because teachers don't have time to teach to one child; and the lack of ability to generate quizzes and homework.
For that matter, I wouldn't rely on ALEKS for teaching new stuff, TBH - it has explanations, but they're terrible. OTOH, it splits stuff up into such small bites that mathy kids will quite largely teach themselves.
We were told that at our school, kids just don�t spend that much time on math in K-2 because state math exam starts in 3rd grade.)
Scuse me a moment.... AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH. There, I feel better now.
This is a rare opportunity and we really hope to get it right this time. Any advice on which method (online math or workbook) might work better as far as independent learning in a classroom? Which method will be easier/less work for the teachers? Any pros and cons that we should consider? Also, how do/did your schools determine the grades (mainly for the second grader)? And if using ALEKS at school, do parents have access to it from home?
In reverse: once your child has an account that account will work from anywhere on the web, including home. You'll only have teacher access (e.g., the power to make it do a new assessment when you want) if you are the account holder or whatever they call it, basically if you're the one paying. We don't have grades so can't help there. Are you expecting the teacher to mark the work? If so, then online is easier since then they won't have to! An issue for us with online maths was that there were only one or two computers in the classroom and using them was a big treat; it wouldn't have worked to have DS use one every maths session, the others would have been green. OTOH online's more engaging for most kids and getting immediate feedback is very valuable. In P2 (roughly 1st grade) I used to print out ALEKS worksheets at home and sent them in (as a backstop in case his teacher didn't have anything suitable for him: once she got his measure he hardly used them and ALEKS became a home thing). I wouldn't make a plan to use ALEKS for years (although if it makes school happy to do so, let them ;-) because it does get boring after a while; I also think its structure is better suited to the elementary maths than the more advanced stuff.
Must go... I'm sure others will chime in too.
