My opinion on IXL, so far:
+ Reporting capabilities are detailed enough
+ The activities are tied to standards state-by-state (not sure about this for non-US users)
+ Adaptivity. In my opinion it is not just like doing a worksheet, because if you miss a problem in a particular type of sub-skill, the site will present another similar one later on until you get it.
+ Motivation. The difficulty of questions on some/most/all? of the tasks progresses-- the early ones are much easier, generally, which I think is based on motivational principles (you want the child to feel confident enough to keep going). The incentive structure (awards, prizes, certificates) seems to be well designed enough to appeal to many
- Still in early growth stage. They only have up to grade 6 coverage right now, and some of the tasks need tweaking. For instance, when my son was doing the "Flip, Turn or Slide" task in the first grade grouping, the ones where "slide" was the answer were the only ones to display a grid pattern, which he of course instantly noticed (not that that one was tough for him anyway).
- Some of the skills in each level seem to be extremely easy, out of proportion to the other ones. I have to make my son skip them because he would be bored doing them, and I want him to stay enthusiastic about the site for now.
I agree that it is good for checking a child's progress against a curriculum. My son had a lot of the first-grade skills (and some up to fourth) already down, but still hadn't learned how to read a clock, for instance. Sites like ixl.com are one way to organize learning everything that's considered by the system to be required at a grade level.
I'm on the fence about the repetition. Except for the "skill builder" types of things that are like basic flashcards, a great many of the tasks do have a mix of different types of skills requested, and it is shaken up. The minimum number of questions to complete a task is IIRC 28, which means my son can blow through the easier stuff in 2-3 minutes per task. Also, if he wants to go on to something else without finishing a task, I let him; if he went on from boredom, I don't ask that he finish, and otherwise just let it be until he wants to revisit it. I think it's valuable to think about the site in terms of whether or not it presents something that will help your child learn and keep their interest, not just whether your child is ticking off everything on a list.
I've used it to also begin to teach skills that would help him in school: no fear of failing, no fear of giving a wrong answer, complete self-confidence, etc. From that perspective, I think that the "Report Card" link, which the child can also check, is useful. The fact that the answers are visibly scored, and to 100, is useful, even though of course it's not just like taking a written test in school. There are consequences for a wrong answer, but they're not too severe (just dropping the score a fair amount).
I've sat with him and intentionally mixed up my telegraphed messages, so that he learns to trust his own feelings as to which answer is right; I've taught him that a wrong answer isn't bad, but just indicates he either needs to learn something or needs more attention to detail; etc. I love the times he gets an answer wrong-- it's a chance to make him more resilient. He shows a some tendencies to be too hard on himself, even in the absence of any pressure from us.
Last edited by Iucounu; 07/01/10 06:19 AM.
