ALEKS
ALEKS
I found ALEKS in the paragraph right next to the RQ2 Technologies Software. ALEKS was the twelfth item that was on the list. ALEKS is a program that is adaptive for students to use. ALEKS offers more than just math instruction, it offers chemistry, statistics, business, and even behavioral programs (ALEKS, 2022). ALEKS has students start by taking a pretest of a certain subject. Then, ALEKS uses the information that is given from the pretest to create a pie chart for kids. The goal of ALEKS is to completely fill in a pie chart because that means that all of the topics have been mastered. The pie chart will start with the topics that the pretest has already identified as mastered colored in. After students temporarily master some of the topics in their pie chart, ALEKS will have them take a knowledge check. If the students correctly answer the topics that were only temporarily mastered, they will permanently become part of the pie chart and students will not have to keep getting tested on these topics. They will become permanently mastered. ALEKS is a very adaptive tool that helps students learn new content.
Here is a video about ALEKS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAZsiZIEeLA
Ease of Use
ALEKS is a very easy tool for both teachers and students to use. The website is very user friendly and allows the teachers to monitor the students progress. Teachers even have curriculum resources and guides to look at that are very easy to access (McQuillen, 2016). For students, ALEKS is easy to navigate. After the ALEKS pre assessment, there is a tutorial that students will follow that will show them how to navigate the website. There is even a tutorial for ALEKS for teachers that explains the uses and features of the site. Overall, it is very user friendly and easy to access.
Versatility
ALEKS is very versatile. This is because there are multiple different programs for teachers to choose from. For example, teachers can choose topics in the fields of mathematics, business, science, and behavioral instruction (ALEKS, 2022). Within these fields, there are multiple subjects to choose from. For example, for math there is intermediate algebra, math literacy, developmental math, and even liberal arts mathematics (ALEKS, 2022). Within one of the math programs, there are many different subjects that the students will learn. For example, if students are learning about geometry, they may learn about circles, triangles, or even circumference. ALEKS covers a wide variety of topics in each different subject. ALEKS is incredibly versatile in the amount of programs and topics within each program that it has to choose from.
Likelihood of Using
I am very likely to use ALEKS in the future. This is because it is a website that I am very familiar with since I used ALEKS while I was in school. I know the benefits of it firsthand. It really improved my math skills so I think it definitely would be beneficial to my future students.
Connections to Course
ALEKS connects to the “7 Events of Instruction” through “Eliciting the Desired Behavior” (checking for understanding). This is because teachers are able to see how well students are doing on each topic of ALEKS. They are able to track their progress and even receive alerts when the students are learning too many topics too quickly, if they are falling behind, or if they are having a really hard time with a certain topic (ALEKS, 2022). This helps teachers guide their instruction. If most of the students have already learned a certain topic on ALEKS and have mastered it, the teacher will not have to spend as much time on this topic. However, if there are students who are struggling with a topic and cannot seem to pass it, the teacher may need to teach it to the students and spend more time on it. It also shows the teacher how effective their instruction was about the content that the students have previously learned or are learning. If students receive problems on ALEKS they currently or previously learned, teachers will be able to tell how well students are understanding that information. Overall, it really helps teachers see how well students are understanding the content that is being taught in the classroom.
ALEKS connects to the “TLC Framework” for “T2 Instructing.” This is because ALEKS helps teach students grade appropriate content. The ALEKS program will first show students how to do content they have not learned yet. It will give them a short tutorial. ALEKS will then have students do some practice problems. Here, ALEKS is acting as a second teacher by showing students how to do the problems. ALEKS shows the students how to do problems in a very similar way as a textbook does.
Websites Used
https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/aleks
Hi Haley!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this technology before. While reading your post, it helped me understand what the program was. From how you described it, it seems like a very helpful tool for teachers to help keep track of students progress. I think that this is super important so you can see the struggles that your student may be having and the students strong areas. As a future teacher, this is a great tool to have to keep track of my students progress. The program can be used in different subjects, such as math, reading, writing, science and more! Great post!
Hey Haley, this is a very new tool to me but I thought it was super interesting how you can track student growth. I though the versatility was very neat because teachers could have access to couple different categories and I thought this would be great in the classroom. Sharing this with other teachers would make this tool very efficient. Say I was a students kindergarten teacher and I could highlight what worked for behavior, math lessons, and reading and how the student improved off those ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi Haley,
ReplyDeleteI have never used Aleks before but with this information about the ways to use it, I can see myself taking advantage of this tool. I like how it contains all sorts of topics that students can work on or concepts they can practice. I also really like how the teacher can track what they are doing. In my placement, some students are fiddling on their computer but with certain sites, my mentor teacher can see exactly what they are doing and send notes to remind them to get back to work. Great Post!