Precalculus. For many high school students, it’s an intimidating subject to learn. However, a strong foundation in precalculus—which reinforces and builds upon algebra, trigonometry, and other mathematical concepts—prepares students for college and career success.

IXL wants to help students feel comfortable with these challenging, higher-order math skills, so we’ve recently expanded our content to include precalculus. With this addition, students now have access to a full high school curriculum of over 975 advanced skills, presented in ways that make even the hardest math problems achievable. Read on to see a few examples of our new precalculus material!

New precalculus skills include:

Graphing vectors

Charting probability

Drag-and-drop polar equations

New math skills across all grade levels

We’re also giving our younger students more fun skills to practice, such as measuring items with objects (1^st grade), a new approach to multiplying fractions (4^th grade), and an interactive way to work with fraction bars (3^rd grade).

Have you tried out any of these new math skills yet? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

    

We are hosting a month-long contest to see which classrooms in the United States can answer the most English Language Arts questions on IXL. Competition will be fierce, so practice from home, at the computer lab, and on your iPads and Android tablets. On December 5, we’ll announce the winning classrooms on Facebook—each one will receive a pizza party!

And, we’d love to feature your classroom’s Grammar Geeks on our Facebook page! Just snap a photo of your students practicing language arts on IXL, and send it to us in a Facebook message, and/or tweet it to us at @IXLLearning with the hashtag #IXLGrammarGeeks.

The contest begins November 3. Enter your class now!

Contest Rules

Eligibility: All participating classrooms must register online by December 2 by clicking here. Classrooms must be part of an active IXL site, special or classroom subscription at a public or private elementary, middle or high school.

Determination of winners: IXL will select the 5 classrooms that have completed the most questions on IXL between November 3, 2014, at 12:01 am (PST) and December 3, 2014, at 11:59 pm (PST). Winners will be announced on December 5, 2014. Only questions completed in English Language Arts will be counted. Skills that are repeated after they have been mastered once will not be counted. The total number of eligible problems completed will be divided by the total number of students in each class as of their entry date. Submitting a photo will not affect your classroom’s ranking in the contest. This contest is intended to encourage students to practice their skills and gain confidence in language arts. Any practice that does not conform to the spirit of the contest will be eliminated at IXL’s discretion.

Prizes: Winners will be posted on IXL’s Facebook page on December 5, 2014. Each winning classroom will receive a pizza party ($250 gift card).

    

Great news for budding word wizards and grammar gurus – language arts for grades 2-8 is now available on the IXL iPad app! Just download the IXL app from the iTunes store, or update your existing app to the latest version, and start practicing vocabulary and grammar on-the-go.

This latest update arrives just in time for our IXL Grammar Geeks Unite! Language Arts Usage Contest, which runs November 3-December 3. Enter your classroom for a chance to win a pizza party (and bragging rights)!

    

Have you ever wondered how IXL’s math and language arts programs are able to adapt to each student’s skill level and provide accurate, continuous assessment of student performance? It’s all about the SmartScore!

Setting SmartScore goals for your students is a great way to motivate them and encourage improvement. Read on to learn how to implement SmartScore goals in the classroom!

What is the right SmartScore goal for my students?

Setting SmartScore targets of 80 or 90

A score of 100 may be too ambitious for some students, so if they are struggling to reach that target, try challenging them to reach 80 or 90 instead! A SmartScore of 100 indicates true mastery, but a score of 80 and above still demonstrates that students have a strong understanding of the skill.

Use the SmartScore as a scaffolding strategy

Another strategy is to use the SmartScore to help students focus on improvement rather than trying to hit a certain score right away. Set practice milestones along the way to mastery to continuously motivate students. For example, when introducing new concepts, have your students work towards a SmartScore of 60. By the end of the unit, set a goal of 80. Later in the month, pick an old skill to review, and challenge them to reach 90. Extra credit for mastering skills with 100!

Monitor SmartScore improvement using reports

Don’t forget to monitor your students’ progress using IXL’s reports! The Trouble Spots reports can be especially helpful in diagnosing which skills and topics students are experiencing difficulty with, and therefore might need reteaching.

FAQ: How is a student’s SmartScore adjusted as he or she practices?

We often get asked why the SmartScore is lowered in larger intervals as students approach a score of 100. We recognize that every student learns at a different pace, so the SmartScore doesn’t penalize students heavily for missed questions early in their practice sessions. Once students begin to understand the skill and consistently submit correct answers, their SmartScore goes up and IXL presents more challenging problems. Then, in order to reach a SmartScore of 100, students must answer a certain number of questions correctly and consistently, including the most difficult problems within that skill. This is to ensure that students truly understand the material (and that they aren’t just guessing correctly!). A little bit of struggle to reach mastery can be worthwhile – once the students hit 100, they’ll know their practice has paid off and that they’ve really earned that score!

Get more information on SmartScore here. Still have questions? Leave a comment below or email us at help@ixl.com!

    

Jessica Sigler with some of her Kindergarten students on Pajama Day

Research shows that the use of technology in an early childhood setting has many positive impacts – it increases student motivation, reinforces skills, encourages problem solving and collaboration, differentiates instruction, and tracks progress. Often, however, early childhood educators are unsure about how they can actually implement technology in their classroom and engage students with it in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Jessica Sigler, a former kindergarten teacher (and now an IXL educational sales consultant), was in the same boat – but came up with creative ways to use IXL in her classroom and help students succeed. Read on to learn how she did it!

Jessica learned about IXL through fellow educators, and liked IXL’s adaptive math practice, direct and differentiated instruction, motivational awards for students, and powerful reporting and assessment tools.  “The question was how I would actually implement IXL with 25 5-year-olds,” she says. “I knew I had to get creative, and that’s what I did.”

Set up workstations and recruit student helpers

Jessica only had four computers and two tablets for her classroom – not enough for everyone to work on IXL at the same time. So, she set up rotating math workstations and assigned each student a partner of a different skill level. The partners would work together to solve problems on IXL, and the more advanced student would be able to teach his or her partner how to get to the correct answer.

Jessica also identified students who had previous experience with technology and trained them to be “Computer Scientists,” who were able to help their peers with simple technology issues like recharging tablets and logging in and out of IXL. Jessica also recruited a few 5^th grade students who helped read aloud IXL’s question-specific feedback and explanations and retaught concepts when necessary.

Make use of the computer lab and provide incentives to practice

In the school computer lab, the whole class spent around 20 minutes on IXL working on a skill they had learned earlier that week.  To provide additional motivation, Jessica set goals for the class to answer a certain number of questions, and rewarded students with a fun treat, such as a bubble party, if that goal was met.

Use IXL reports to track progress and target intervention

Jessica used IXL’s reports to gather meaningful data to inform daily instruction. For example, for a special needs student, Jessica used the Report Card and Trouble Spots reports to identify areas for improvement and then translated those into goals for the year. Jessica then referred to the reports throughout the year to check his progress, and by the end of the year IXL had helped him achieve his goals and put him on the path to graduate to first grade.

Jessica’s creative and consistent use of IXL in her classroom paid off. Says Jessica, “IXL helped me build a classroom full of confident, capable, and courageous mathematicians, ready to tackle first grade math with an intrinsic love of learning.”

Have questions about how to use IXL with your young learners? Email info@ixl.com or leave a comment below!

    

Teachers: Why wait until the next report card to let parents know how their students are performing in math and language arts? IXL’s reports provide a wealth of information that parents will find incredibly useful. Keep reading to learn how to share the power of IXL reporting with parents!

Updating parents on their child’s performance is easy – simply have them sign into their student’s account and click on the Reports tab. There, they’ll find over a dozen in-depth and up-to-date reports that will allow them to track their child’s progress. Here are a few reports we recommend pointing out to parents:

Report Card

Similar to a traditional report card, this data provides an overview of the student’s performance across all categories – perfect for parents who want a quick look at how their child is doing.

Improvement over time

This report is a great way for parents to keep up with their child’s progress over time. The data can also be motivating for their student to see how practice leads to improvement and mastery of skills! 

Trouble Spots

Parents interested in pinpointing areas where their child may necessitate additional practice time or support should check out the Trouble Spots report, which lists the specific micro skills that need more attention.

Have questions about IXL reports? Leave a comment below!

    

It’s just about the halfway point in our Grammar Geeks Unite! Language Arts Usage Contest, and we know you’re eager to see how your class is ranked  – so we’ve got the leaderboard right here!

Here are the top 10 classrooms so far, based on the average number of problems practiced per student:

1. J. Smith’s class, St. Mary School, Charlevoix, MI – 2,326
2. R. Martin’s class, The Oakwood School, Greenville, NC – 1,365
3. A. Capone’s class, Point Road School, Little Silver, NJ – 1,323
4. Molly Peterson, Town & Country Lutheran School, Sacramento, CA – 1,070
5. T. Bomar’s class, Paris Elementary, Paris, TN – 1,006
6. M. Ramas’ class, Frobel School, Cebu City, Philippines – 995
7. R. Barboza’s class, Eldridge Rice Elementary, Rosemead, CA – 974
8. K. Reeve’s class, Lowell Elementary, Indianapolis, IN – 862
9. I. del Carmen Lopez Martinez’s class, Resurrection Catholic School, Los Angeles, CA – 853
10. A. King’s class, Indian Creek Intermediate, Trafalgar, IN – 817

Remember, you have until December 3 to practice as many grammar, vocabulary and other language arts skills as you can! The top three classrooms will be announced on December 5 and will get to celebrate with a pizza party courtesy of IXL.

If you haven’t registered yet, please do so here by December 2. For more information on contest rules and eligibility, click here. Good luck, and happy practicing, fellow Grammar Geeks!

    

The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday is great for inspiring kids to say what they’re thankful for – but once December hits, some children may switch into a “gimme” or “I want” mode, focusing on what gifts they want for the holidays and forgetting to appreciate what they already have. So how can we teach kids to express gratitude during the holidays and all 12 months of the year? Read on for some ideas!

There are many long-term benefits to practicing gratitude – studies of kids and teens have found that being grateful leads to a better outlook on school, greater life satisfaction, stronger GPAs, less depression and fewer feelings of envy. So, there’s no time like now to instill this good habit in your child! Here are some ways to get started:

1. Lead by example

Kids model their behavior after their parents, so the easiest way to teach gratitude is to practice it yourself. This is as simple as saying “thank you” often, and finding ways to express appreciation daily – for example, “We’re so lucky to have a good dog like Fido!” The next time your child receives a gift, sit down with him or her and write a thank you note together. “Just the act of saying out loud why he loved the gift will make him feel more grateful,” says parenting writer Barbara Lewis.

2. Find fun ways for kids to express gratitude

Encourage your children to be thankful on a regular basis by creating a family gratitude journal and using it to write down things that you and your kids are grateful for. If you’re feeling crafty, work with your kids to make a gratitude board or a thankful jar where they can save their thankful thoughts!

It’s natural for kids to write down the material things they’re grateful for, so use this as an opportunity to talk to them about the importance of appreciating intangibles. For example, says parenting blogger Jenny Witte, “If they are thankful for their Xbox that day, have them take it a step further and appreciate that whoever gave it to them wanted them to have it so they could have fun and smile.”

3. Volunteer with your kids

Providing your children with opportunities to give back is another great way to instill gratitude, whether it’s volunteering at a senior home or donating to a food drive. Talk to them about how donating your time and materials will make others happy. The one thing you don’t want to do is compare your child to someone less fortunate. “We always want to tell kids, ‘Other children would be grateful for what you have,’ but this really isn’t teaching them to be thankful, it’s more of a comparison,” says Witte. “Sometimes, it can make kids feel guilty, instead of grateful.”

The holidays are a popular time for people to volunteer, but charities need help year-round. Look for opportunities in your area at www.volunteermatch.org.

What are some other ways you can teach your kids gratitude? Let us know by leaving a comment below – we’d love to hear your ideas!

    

On November 15, a group of IXL employees traded in our laptops for hard hats to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. Armed with hammers, nails, and even jackhammers, we spent our day learning new skills, bonding with our colleagues and making a difference in the community.

The work that we IXLers did that day was to help build Habitat Terrace, a development in the Oceanview neighborhood of San Francisco. Expected to open to residents in 2016, the project will provide safe and affordable housing to 28 families. Many of us had never even held a hammer before, but volunteered to give back to the community – while others, like senior software engineer Dave Bemiller, wanted to apply their construction skills to a good cause. “I’ve done a bit of construction in third-world countries,” said Dave, “and I really enjoy building things.”

After checking in and listening carefully to a safety briefing, we broke out into smaller crews. Each team had a leader who explained and demonstrated the task at hand and stepped in to help when necessary. The IXL crews worked on various parts of the building site, from moving piles of gravel to make way for a foundation; measuring, cutting and installing siding; adjusting and straightening walls; and carpentry work such as building frames for heating and cooling vents.

The work was tough, and could even be frustrating at times, but the IXL team kept at it and supported each other – and by the end of the day, we were able to leave with a huge sense of accomplishment.

“Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity was so much fun! It was hard work, but it was rewarding,” said operations assistant Sarah Aguilera. “I am so excited to see the final product and for the families that get to move in!” 

To learn more about Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco and their volunteer opportunities, visit www.habitatgsf.org!

    

We’re excited to announce the launch of the IXL Community today! Located under the new Community tab on IXL, we’ve designed this professional learning community to be a space where teachers can get support, resources, and ideas for IXL.

Here are some of the helpful features you’ll find on the IXL Community:

Video tutorials and webinars

Missed one of IXL’s webinars? No problem! Watch our archived webinars and get tips, tricks, and insights from our speakers about how to use IXL to improve student achievement.

If you’re new to IXL, check out our new how-to videos, which include step-by-step guides for learn how to set up your classroom roster, evaluate students using SmartScore, and prep for standardized testing. 

IXL user stories

Get inspired by real-life stories of teachers who have used IXL in their classrooms – learn how fellow educators incorporate IXL into their core curriculum, use it for differentiated instruction, motivate students to study, and more!

Printable resources

From customizable certificates to class progress charts, IXL now offers free printable resources to use in the classroom!   

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for the IXL Community, leave a comment below – we’d love to hear from you!

    

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for…we’re revealing the winners of the Grammar Geeks Unite! Language Arts Usage Contest!

Here are the top 10 classrooms, based on the average number of problems practiced per student. The top five are our winners, and will get to celebrate with a pizza party courtesy of IXL!

1. J. Solomon’s class, St. Mary School, Charlevoix, MI – 3,468
2. A. Capone’s class, Point Road School, Little Silver, NJ – 3,405
3. S. Stebbins’s class, Concord Christian Academy, Concord, NH – 2,967
4. S. Newsome’s class, Venice Elementary, Venice, IL – 2,900
5. R. Martin’s class, The Oakwood School, Greenville, NC – 1,981
6. K. Reeve’s class, Lowell Elementary, Indianapolis, IN – 1,949
7. J. Sanders’s class, Barfield Elementary, Murfreesboro, TN – 1,793
8. T. Lambert’s class, Heber Elementary, Heber, CA – 1,774
9. T. Dunaway’s class, Eloy Intermediate, Eloy, AZ – 1,769
10. S. Streigle’s class, Sigourney Elementary, Sigourney, IA – 1,768

Thank you to all of our Grammar Geeks who participated! For more information on this contest, check out our original blog post here.

    

In a new series of blog posts, we’ll be introducing you to members of the IXL team. Through fun Q&As, you’ll learn how our employees bring IXL to life, and how we spend our time away from the office.

We’re kicking off this series with an interview with Kate Mattison, Director of Products. Read on to learn about how she helped launch IXL and the best present she’s ever gotten!

The Basics

Name and title: Kate Mattison, Director of Products

Has been at IXL for: 7.5 years

Hometown and current city: Born and raised in Portland, Ore. Currently lives in San Carlos, Calif.

Life at IXL

What did you do prior to coming to IXL?

I got a Ph.D in math from Stanford University. I was studying algebraic topology–it’s really abstract math. My work was related to string theory in physics.

What do you do at IXL? Give us a taste of what a typical day at work is like for you.

I started off at IXL as a product analyst and designer. I created math problems for the launch of IXL, and worked on the other features like reports, standards, and awards. I now oversee all of the content development at IXL – the people on my team design the math and language arts problems on IXL. I spend a lot of my time helping those designers figure out how to solve problems. For example, if they’re working on a skill and they don’t know the best way to ask the question or how to have students interact with the problem, I help come up with solutions.

What do you like about working at IXL?

I love that we get to teach millions of students every day! I also love the people who work here – they’re such a fun and enthusiastic group of people to work with. They’re all very talented and dedicated to what we’re doing, and that makes coming to work every day a really good experience.

Life beyond IXL

What do you like to do in your free time?

I really like to hang out with my 2-year-old son. He loves trains, so we go watch the Caltrain [commuter train] a lot, and find reasons to ride it! I like to hike, and try to go once or twice a week at the great open space preserves in the area. I also cook with my husband. We like to make pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables, especially in the fall.

How would your best friend describe you?

I’d like to think she would say I’m trustworthy, funny, and hardworking.

Lightning round! Answer as quickly as you can:

• Coffee or tea? Coffee! My husband and I are pretty into coffee – we really love Philz Coffee.
• Cupcakes or regular cake? Cupcakes
• PC or Mac? Mac
• Phone call or text? Text

Just for Fun

This question tests your problem-solving skills: How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

The best strategy I’ve heard is to get all your supplies on the second floor of your house, and then destroy the stairs so the zombies can’t get upstairs – but unfortunately, I live in a one-story house! I think assembling a team with people who have different roles would be great. I’d like to think I’d be the planner, and my husband would be the guy who could take any broken-down machine and make it work again. We’d also need a medic, and someone who’s a good shot.

It’s the holiday season, so let’s talk presents! What’s the best gift you have gotten?

This is cheesy, but my son was born on New Year’s Day, so he was a pretty good holiday present!

    

For teachers implementing differentiated instruction strategies, IXL can be an effective tool.  With IXL, your entire class can practice the same skills at varying difficulty levels – and the program automatically adjusts for each individual student.  Here’s how it works!

• Continuous assessment with SmartScore: When students practice on IXL, our unique SmartScore algorithm evaluates their performance, taking into account the number of problems completed, problem difficulty, and consistency of correct answers.

• Adaptive practice: Based on the student’s SmartScore, which is adjusted with each problem attempted, IXL generates questions appropriate for his or her skill level. Questions get more challenging as students approach a score of 100, and drop down in difficulty when students are having trouble, to allow more time to understand the concept and raise their SmartScore. This allows students to work at their own pace, while giving everyone the opportunity to reach mastery regardless of their initial performance.

• Personalized instruction: IXL also gives students direct instruction at the moment they need it – they receive specific step-by-step guidance immediately after a missed question, insuring they learn from their mistakes.

• Unlimited questions = unlimited learning: And, because we computer-generate all questions instead of pulling from a fixed question bank, students at every ability level have an almost infinite number of unique questions with which to practice!

For more information about using IXL for differentiated instruction, read about how teachers are implementing IXL in their classrooms, and send questions our way using the comments section below!

    

Get to know Michael Bell, an IXL sales consultant and former educator. He tells us all about the joy of working with IXL customers and his passion for education, the arts…and rocks!

The Basics

Name and title: Michael Bell, Educational Sales Consultant

Has been at IXL for: 6 months

Hometown and current city: Grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz. Currently lives in San Francisco.

 

Life at IXL

What did you do prior to coming to IXL?

I helped found a charter school in San Francisco, Gateway Middle School. I developed a 7^th grade humanities curriculum, including English language arts and social studies, and helped set the school culture. Before that, I did Teach for America at Ocala Middle School in San Jose.

Why did you join IXL?

I had heard of IXL because it’s one of the big edtech firms in the Bay Area, and it was a product we used at my school. I’ve also always believed in technology as a solution for education inequalities. I was initially interested in a content development position, but got called in for a sales interview. I liked the fact that I would be able to work with districts and schools and move them toward blended learning models. I didn’t think I wanted to do sales at first, but sales is only “sales-y” if you sell something you don’t believe in. Luckily, IXL has a great product that I think is really helping our students and schools!

What do you like about working at IXL?

I love how customer-facing my position is. I get to hear the success stories from teachers, principals, and superintendents about how IXL has brought about change in their school or classrooms. As somebody who got into education to help bring about reform and move us toward a new era of education, that’s the type of stuff that fuels me.

 

Photo by Michael Bell

Life beyond IXL

What do you like to do in your free time?

One of my big passions outside education is the arts. I’m actively engaged in art creation and collection in San Francisco. When I was teaching, I would spend my summers running artists-in-residencies where I worked with groups of 10-15 people to do community-based collaborative art. I love all things art related – going to museums and galleries, taking my camera and going for a walk, or doing studio visits.

What is your ideal vacation?

Some sort of backpacking outside the country, or a road trip through a part of the U.S. that I’ve never been to. I really like being out and about and not having a clear schedule, and getting to bounce around from city to city and meet people, with just the clothes on my back.   

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I keep a rock collection that I started over 10 years ago, and everyone makes fun of me! It’s a big bowl of rocks [see photo, right]. The collection has come out of travelling – they’re my cheap souvenir from everywhere I go. From Arizona, it’s a rock off the trail, and when I used to go to Cape Cod with my family it was a rock off the beach. 

Just for Fun

If you could have any superhero power, what would it be, and would you use it for good or evil?

I would have the ability to never have to sleep again, and I would use it for good. I would use all that extra time to make art, solve the world’s problems, and do all the things I don’t have time to do in my normal day!

Let’s play a winter-themed word association game! Say the first thing that comes to mind:

If you could pick two celebrities to be your parents, who would they be?

Nicholas Cage and Nicholas Cage.

Credit: ChinellatoPhoto / Shutterstock

    

As December comes to a close, we took a look back at the year in IXL, and what a great year it was! Our users achieved remarkable milestones, and our team added a ton of new content and features to IXL to help students learn and teachers teach. Here’s what we accomplished together in 2014!

IXL user achievements

• 80.9 million IXL skills mastered
• 27.6 million hours of practice completed by signed-in users
• 5.41 billion problems answered by signed-in users

New IXL features

• 1,023 new math and language arts skills added
• New grade levels added for math (precalculus) and language arts (5-8)
• Launched an Android app and updated the iPad app with new math grades (7-12), language arts (2-8); added the Scratchpad feature
• Extended audio support for math, grades 2-5
• Launched the Community tab, with resources for educators

Thank you to all of our users and employees who made 2014 amazing. Happy holidays, and see you in 2015!

    

Welcome back from winter break! To help you kick off 2015, we found some time between opening presents and spending time with family to release 45 brand-new math skills! Here are some of our favorites.

Pre-K (H.5) and Kindergarten (N.5): Classify and sort

A fun way to help young students practice classifying and sorting by color and shape, by dragging and dropping buttons into the correct box.

3^rd Grade (S.15): Graph smaller or larger fractions on a number line

A visual model teaches students are to compare two fractions.

4^th Grade (U.2):  Model decimals and fractions

This skill reinforces understanding of the relationship between decimals and fractions through a visual, interactive question format.

There are new skills for older students as well, including multiplying fractions using models (6^th grade), graphing lines using slope (8^th grade), and writing equations for translations and reflections of functions (Algebra 2)!

What do you think of these new skills? We’d love to hear your feedback!

    

If you’ve made it a goal for yourself to start integrating technology into your classroom this year, but aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. Read on for tips and resources that will help you on your way to becoming a tech-savvy teacher in 2015!

Supplement lessons with videos

One of the easiest ways to bring tech into your classroom is by showing students video clips to help your lessons come to life and offer a new way for students to engage with the material. Search free video-sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo for clips related to the topic you’re teaching.

Resources:
Teaching With YouTube: 197 Digital Channels For Learning
10 YouTube Channels That Will Make You Smarter

 
Incorporate websites and apps into small-group activities

There are tons of great educational games and programs available online (including IXL, of course!), and these can be a fun way to let students practice the skills they’ve learned in class. Try splitting your class into groups and having them rotate between stations to work with a different program at each.

Resources:
Graphite.org (Reviews and ratings of educational websites, games and apps, by Common Sense Media)
MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning (published by KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate)

 
Set up a classroom website to stay connected with students and parents

Free tools like Edmodo and Schoology allow you to easily set up a Facebook-like website for your classroom. Use these sites to manage your class – give out and grade assignments, post updates and start discussions, and create small groups for projects. You can also use your site to keep parents up-to-date on their child’s activities and performance.

Resources:
8 learning management system options for K-12 classrooms
The Best LMS iPad Solutions for K12 Students and Teachers

 
Use social media to gather ideas and advice

Pinterest is a fun way to find lesson plans and activity ideas, or even share some of your own! Try browsing the education category to get started. Use your Twitter account to connect with other educators – a great way to do so is by participating in education focused Twitter chats.

Resources:
The Teacher’s Guide To Pinterest
A Refreshingly Simple Guide To Twitter For Teachers

    

Winter’s chilly temperatures mean potential snow days for students. Instead of plopping down in front of the TV and letting those days go to waste, use snow days as an opportunity to keep kids learning with fun, hands-on activities! Here’s your productive snow day itinerary:

Morning: Turn snow day into e-learning day

A day off from school is the perfect time for kids to catch up on assignments, do some extra studying, or challenge themselves by working ahead. Make at-home learning fun by setting aside textbooks and having your kids do some interactive practice on websites and apps like IXL and Khan Academy. Or, go online together and research a topic they’re learning about in school to see what interesting information you can dig up. For some productive screen time, turn the TV to an educational show (try channels like National Geographic Channel, History, and PBS), or browse Netflix for appropriate documentaries.

Midday: Learn through hands-on activities

Reward your students for working hard in the morning with some hands-on activities (that will secretly help them learn)! For example, make lunch or prepare food for dinner, which – in addition to teaching them how to cook – helps them see fractions, measurement and chemistry in action. Pick up a newspaper, browse through it together, and discuss current events and social issues. You could even have your kids sit with you as you pay bills or clip coupons and use it as a way to teach them about counting money, percentages, and personal finance.

Afternoon: Play!

Take the afternoon to have some fun and bond with your kids. If the weather allows, get outside and play in the snow – if not, bring in a few buckets of snow and make snow sculptures in the tub, or do some indoor snow day activities!

Parents, how do you keep your kids occupied during snow days? Share your ideas by leaving a comment below!

    

If you have an IXL family membership and have contacted our support team, you’ve probably spoken with Caitlin Fitzpatrick! Read on to hear how she helps customers, and how she spends her free time.

The Basics

Name and title: Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Membership Specialist

Has been at IXL for: 2.5 years

Hometown and current city: Grew up in Redding, Calif. Currently lives in San Francisco [see photo, below]. 

Life at IXL

What do you do at IXL?

I’m a membership specialist, so I’m the first point of contact for families who have questions about IXL features or pricing, or want to make changes to their account. I talk to customers over phone, email and chat. I speak to a lot of different people – homeschooling parents, parents of students in traditional schools, grandparents, and even adults who use IXL to study for exams.

What skills does it take to do your job well?

The number one thing is empathy. We try to have meaningful conversations with every customer that calls in and show friendliness and kindness toward them. Another thing is that our team will work until the issue is solved – it doesn’t matter how many calls or emails it takes, we will not rest! For example, one of my colleagues showed up at work at 5 am for a call to accommodate a customer’s schedule.

What do you like about working at IXL?

One thing I really like about my position is that I get to hear a lot of feedback about IXL, which is helpful to communicate to other departments, like product development and engineering, that are very interested in hearing that information. I also love that our team is really collaborative and silly and fun.

Life beyond IXL

What do you like to do in your free time?

I am currently training for my first 10k, so running is absorbing a lot of my free time. I also just love to walk around San Francisco – I do what I call urban hikes, where I walk and eat! I pick a neighborhood and explore. I’ve also been really into baking bread recently. I made a huge loaf of challah bread for Christmas! [see photo, left]

What’s your favorite…

• TV Show? I’m somewhat extreme in my tastes. I’m currently watching “The Wire,” but I’m also really in to “The Real Housewives” (of any city). So it’s a mix of high-brow and Bravo-brow!
• Book? I was a literature major so that’s like asking me to pick a favorite child, but recently I read “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt and it blew my mind! I read it in three days.
• Candy? I am very religious about Whoppers. When I go to the movies I have to get Whoppers and I can’t start eating them until after the previews!

Tell us about someone you admire.

Meryl Streep. She is wonderful in every film I’ve seen her in, and when you watch her in interviews she has such poise and confidence, and has a great sense of humor. She’s my ideal self, and my spirit animal. 

Just for Fun

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

I would be an elephant. I went to Thailand recently, and we spent a whole day at an elephant rescue farm and I was in heaven [see photo, right]. I just think they’re the coolest animals and I will often fall into a pit of watching YouTube videos about elephants, especially elephants rescuing their babies!

Tell us your favorite joke!

These are the jokes I tell my 10-year-old stepsister: What do you call a cow with three legs? Tri-tip. What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef. What do you call a cow with one leg? Stake!

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year?   

My goal is to be able to do a handstand by my next birthday. Right now I’m doing them against the wall, but I fall a lot!

    

Whether you’re a teacher, working parent, or stay-at-home parent, you’ve probably felt that you have a lot to do, and not enough time to do it in. Juggling multiple tasks is a challenge, but luckily there are free apps that can make it easier to get things done efficiently in the time you do have. Here are some of our favorites.

Take control of your to-do list

Traditional pen-and-paper lists are great, but to-do list apps like Wunderlist and Any.do put more task-managing power in your hands. Both apps are easy to use and allow you to categorize your lists (e.g. Work, Personal, Groceries), mark important tasks, input subtasks for larger projects, set reminders and recurring tasks, and add notes or documents to help you accomplish your tasks. You can also share your to-dos with others if you’re collaborating on a project.

Other to-do list apps: Remember The Milk, Todoist, Google Keep

Manage notes, documents, and everything else

Ever have a great idea while you’re running errands, see an article that you want to save to read after work, or want a place to store ideas for a home renovation project? A note-taking app might be what you need. Evernote is one of the most popular and versatile. It lets you create notebooks where you can save simple text notes, photos, audio clips, snapshots of documents, Web clips, lists and reminders, and much more. Evernote’s many features can seem overwhelming at first, so start by reading these articles on Lifehacker and Mashable for practical ideas about how to use the app.

Other note-taking apps: Microsoft OneNote, SimpleNote, Papyrus

Track where you’re spending your time

At some point, you’ve probably ended the day wondering, “Where did the time go?” You can find out, by using an app like Toggl to track the amount of time you’re spending on tasks. Using the app’s stopwatch and reports, you can monitor how productive you’ve actually been and look for ways to make better use of your time. It’s also great for freelancers or those that need to track billable hours. If you suffer from digital distractions, install RescueTime, a Web app that monitors how you spend your time on the computer and produces reports on how much time you spent in different categories (e.g. Email, Business, Social Networks).

Other time-tracking apps: ATracker, Time Recording, Timesheet

What are some of your favorite time management and productivity apps? We’d love to know – leave us a comment below!