Our Family

Our Family

Monday, December 13, 2010

TOS Review: ALEKS




You may be wondering, "What exactly is ALEKS?" Before this review, I had seen it advertised in different homeschool magazines but I never knew exactly what ALEKS was.

From the website: "Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system that uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS offers truly individualized instruction that meets the student at her learning level and instructs her on the exact topics that she is most ready to learn. As a result, no two students will experience the same learning path while working in ALEKS."

ALEKS is a comprehensive Math program for grades 3-12 with a complete course library ranging from elementary Math all the way through to complex subjects such as PreCalculus. No textbook is required for this program. ALEKS is web based so you have unlimited usage from any internet capable computer and is PC and MAC compatible (JAVA does have to be downloaded.) It offers indiviualized instruction and students can learn at their own pace. The program starts with an assessment to find out what topics the student has already mastered and what they have yet to learn. Students receive immediate feedback and step by step explanations are provided for each problem. Worksheets and quizzes can also be generated and printed out. Parents receive in depth reports for each student so you can see exactly what your child has been working on and for how long. Also included are Quick Tables a complimentary Math Facts program for Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. Interactive games help reinforce what is being learned. During your subscription period, your student will have access to the full course library so if they finish one of the courses they can move on to the next one without having to purchase another subscription. A subscription starts at $19.95 a month, $99.95 for 6 months, or $179.95 for 12 months for one student. They also offer a family discount program in order to use the program with more than one student.

Through the link below, Homeschoolers who have never tried ALEKS before are eligible for a one month free trial!

Visit ALEKS for 1-Month Trial


Here are a few screen shots of ALEKS


My Pie
Quick Tables Student Explanation
Worksheet

I have 2 students in the 3-12 grade range, so Chelsea and Nick both had an opportunity to use a 30 day trial with ALEKS and we set aside our regular Math program during the trial period. Chelsea (9th grade) was working with the Algebra 1 program and Nicholas (3rd grade) was using the LV 3 with Quick Tables. Chelsea really enjoyed using the program. She prefers to work independently and at her own pace. The teacher explanations made it very easy for her to understand how to work out the problems step by step. She also liked that it didn't make her keep going over and over stuff she already knew. I liked not having to teach Algebra for a whole month (she didn't come to me with one single question!) I also liked the reports so that I could see exactly what she was spending her time on and for how long, and how many areas she had mastered.

Nicholas is not a kid who adapts to change very well although he is willing to give it a shot. He did pretty well on the assessment, but got a little frustrated with the program. It is very different from his regular Math and he had never done Math on the computer before. Although he enjoys using the computer it was harder for him to solve Math problems on it than doing them in a book. He wants to know how to do eveything the first time he does it and did not want to have to click on the explnations to learn how to do a new topic (stubborn boy.) He liked the Quick Tables much better than the full program. If it was something we were going to do for the long term I think he would have gotten used to the way the program worked and done just fine.

If you are looking for a computer based Math program , I would highly recommend you sign up for the 30 day free trial for ALEKS.



I received a complimentary 30 day free trial of ALEKS in order to write a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation.



To see what other crew members are saying about this program click here.



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