IXL Reviews Homeschool and Demo - How to Use IXL Learning for Online Homeschooling
TLDRThis video offers an in-depth review of IXL Learning, an online platform for homeschooling that covers math, language arts, and more from pre-K to 12th grade. It highlights IXL's real-time diagnostics tool, personalized recommendations, and state standards alignment, while noting its focus on assessment over teaching and the lack of custom lesson plans. The review also touches on additional features like test prep and tutoring services, providing a comprehensive guide for potential homeschooling families.
Takeaways
- 📚 IXL is an online platform offering comprehensive curriculum for homeschooling in subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies from pre-K to 12th grade.
- 💰 IXL provides flexible pricing options, including full package access for $19.95 per month or individual subject access, with additional features like Spanish available for an extra cost.
- 🔄 IXL offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing users to evaluate the platform's fit for their educational needs before full commitment.
- 👩🏫 IXL is designed not only for homeschoolers but also used by teachers and school districts, offering features like skill mastery and diagnostics that can benefit various educational setups.
- 🎓 The platform features a 'learning section' where students can practice skills, take lessons, and play educational games, with a focus on earning skill points to master topics.
- 📈 IXL includes a 'recommendations' tab that suggests skills for students to practice based on their progress, offering a personalized learning experience.
- 🏆 The 'awards' tab showcases achievements and certificates earned by students, providing motivation and a sense of accomplishment.
- 📊 IXL's 'assessment' tab includes a real-time diagnostics tool that helps parents understand their child's proficiency in math and language arts, with levels indicating readiness for new skills.
- 🔍 The platform allows sorting of content by grade level, topic, or skill plans, including options to align with state standards or textbook content, which is beneficial for homeschoolers needing to meet specific educational requirements.
- 📝 IXL lacks full lesson content for subjects other than math, making it more of a practice tool for language arts, science, and social studies rather than a complete curriculum.
- 🔗 IXL connects to 'Cleary Tutoring' for additional support, offering live tutoring in various subjects which can be a valuable resource for students needing extra help.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is to provide an in-depth review of IXL Learning, an online platform used for homeschooling, and to guide viewers on how to use it effectively in their homeschool curriculum.
What does IXL offer for homeschooling families?
-IXL offers a platform for children to practice math, language arts, and more from pre-K through 12th grade. It includes additional courses in science and social studies, and provides flexibility in choosing subjects with different pricing options.
What are the different pricing options for IXL?
-IXL offers a full package for $19.95 a month, math or language arts only for $9.95 a month, or a combination of math and language arts without science and social studies for $15.95 a month. Adding Spanish is an additional $5 a month.
What is included in the full IXL package?
-The full IXL package includes access to all subjects: math, language arts, science, and social studies, and allows the addition of Spanish for an extra cost.
What is the purpose of the IXL assessment tab?
-The assessment tab in IXL is a real-time diagnostics tool that helps parents understand their child's proficiency levels in math and language arts and provides insights into their progress.
How does IXL help students understand when they get an answer wrong?
-When a student gets an answer wrong on IXL, the platform provides an explanation to help the student understand why the answer was incorrect, facilitating learning from mistakes.
What is the 'Recommendations' tab on IXL and how does it work?
-The 'Recommendations' tab on IXL suggests skills for students to practice based on their previous work and progress. It offers a personalized approach to learning and helps keep students engaged by mixing up the subjects.
What does the video reviewer like about IXL?
-The reviewer appreciates IXL's real-time diagnostics tool for personalized learning and the 'Recommendations' tab for its visual appeal and ability to prevent boredom by mixing up subjects.
What are the reviewer's concerns about using IXL as a homeschooling resource?
-The reviewer is concerned that IXL seems more focused on assessment than teaching, lacks custom lesson plans, and does not provide comprehensive lessons for subjects other than math.
What additional features does IXL offer for homeschooling families?
-IXL offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, test prep areas for various standardized tests, and a link to Clever, a tutoring service that connects students with tutors for different subjects and grade levels.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Excel for Homeschooling
The speaker introduces the topic of using Excel as a part of an online homeschool curriculum. They promise to provide an honest review, highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of Excel. The service offers a range of subjects from pre-K to 12th grade, with additional courses in science and social studies available for a monthly fee. The speaker also mentions the flexibility of choosing individual subjects and the option to add Spanish for an extra charge. A 30-day money-back guarantee is offered to ensure suitability for the family.
🔍 Exploring Excel's Features and Pricing Options
This paragraph delves into the specifics of Excel's offerings, including the ability to choose between full packages or individual subjects like math or language arts. The speaker outlines the different pricing tiers and the additional features such as the inclusion of Spanish language courses. They also mention Excel's 30-day money-back guarantee and the various setup features, including a demo of the student section and a look at the parent's perspective, emphasizing Excel's utility for teachers and school districts as well.
🏫 Excel's Learning Section for Math and Language Arts
The speaker describes the learning section of Excel, focusing on the math and language arts components. They explain the organization by grade level and topic, the availability of skills, lessons, and games, and the option to sort by topic or follow weekly plans. The paragraph also touches on the flexibility of the platform to cater to different educational needs, such as practicing specific skills like fractions, and the ability to view skill plans based on state standards or textbooks.
🔬 Science and Social Studies in Excel
The speaker moves on to discuss the science and social studies sections of Excel, noting the availability of skills for kindergarten through eighth grade. They mention the absence of lesson buttons in the language arts section, suggesting that Excel serves more as a practice tool rather than a complete curriculum. The speaker also reassures that even without lessons, explanations are provided when a child answers a question incorrectly, aiding in understanding.
🏆 Excel's Additional Features: Awards and Analytics
This section covers Excel's awards and analytics features. The speaker talks about the awards tab, where children's achievements in math and language arts are recognized, and the certificate center, which tracks progress and milestones. They also highlight the recommendations tab, which suggests skills for children to practice based on their activity, and the skill plans and state standards sections, which offer additional guidance for homeschooling parents.
📊 Excel's Assessment and Analytics Tools
The speaker introduces Excel's assessment tab, which includes a real-time diagnostics tool that differentiates Excel from other homeschooling programs. They explain how this tool provides insights into a child's progress in math and language arts, allowing parents to monitor their child's levels and trouble spots. The analytics tab is also discussed, which shows usage details, progress reports, and settings for different views.
👦 Student Perspective: Navigating Excel's Lessons and Skills
The speaker shifts to the student's perspective, guiding viewers through the process of accessing lessons and skills in Excel. They demonstrate how to navigate the recommendations tab, skill plans, and the assessment tab, where students can answer diagnostic questions to determine their skill levels. The paragraph also includes a demo of the math and language arts sections, showing how scores increase with correct answers and how explanations are provided for incorrect ones.
📝 Final Thoughts and Additional Excel Resources
In the concluding paragraph, the speaker summarizes their thoughts on Excel, highlighting the real-time diagnostics tool and the recommendations tab as favorites. They also appreciate the state standards section for its usefulness. However, they express concerns about Excel's focus on assessment over teaching and the lack of custom lesson plans. The speaker invites viewers to explore additional resources like test prep areas and the tutoring service offered by Why Is It, a division of Excel, and promises to review these features in future videos.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡IXL Learning
💡Homeschool Curriculum
💡Skills
💡Lessons
💡Real-Time Diagnostics
💡State Standards
💡Textbooks
💡Spanish
💡Test Prep
💡Tutoring
Highlights
IXL is a comprehensive online learning platform offering practice in various subjects from pre-K to 12th grade.
IXL provides flexibility with different subscription options including full package or subject-specific choices.
A 30-day money-back guarantee allows users to evaluate IXL's fit for their educational needs.
IXL's learning section is designed for children to practice skills and earn points for mastery.
The platform includes skill-based games and lessons for a well-rounded learning experience.
IXL offers weekly plans and skill plans aligned with state standards or textbooks.
The assessment tab features a real-time diagnostics tool, a standout IXL feature for tracking progress.
Trouble Spots tab identifies areas where the student is facing difficulties for targeted improvement.
IXL's recommendations tab suggests skills to practice based on the student's activity and performance.
Awards tab and Certificate Center track and celebrate student achievements and milestones.
The platform is used by teachers and school districts, offering a unique setup for homeschoolers.
IXL's language arts section focuses on practice rather than teaching, requiring a separate curriculum for instruction.
Science and social studies sections provide skills practice without full lessons, offering explanations for incorrect answers.
The platform's test prep area is valuable for preparing students for standardized tests like the S.A.T.
IXL's tutoring service connects students with tutors for additional support in various subjects.
While IXL excels in diagnostics and recommendations, it may not serve as a complete homeschooling curriculum due to its focus on assessment over teaching.
The platform's inability to set up custom lesson plans is a noted limitation for some users.