by Dan Aalbers
I have been teaching high school mathematics at Hampton-Dumont Community Schools for sixteen years. I have witnessed a lot of fads come and go in education some good, some bad. Before I go any further let me give you a little background on our district. The Hampton-Dumont district is located in rural north central Iowa. The typical graduating class ranges between 80 and 100 students. 54.6% of our K-12 enrollment qualifies for the free or reduced lunch program. Our school district became a 1 to 1 laptop school 3 years ago. As the math department started exploring how we could use our new computers, we ran across the IXL website. We signed up for a free trial at the end of last year. We liked what we saw and took the plunge.
At HD High I teach classes ranging from AP Calculus to Algebra B. This range includes students who are the sharpest of the sharp to students who are not at all confident in their math skills. I will use the IXL site occasionally with my calculus or pre-calculus students to review a particular skill but my Algebra B class has been transformed by the site. As of January 16th my two sections of Algebra B have solved around 95,000 math problems. This is an incredible number when last year as Algebra A students many very rarely did any homework/practice. I liked the site during the free trial but even I was surprised how well it has worked so far this year. So why? Why do I think it is working so well?
Before I give you the reasons why I think this tool is working so well in my classroom, I want to preface the following statements. I am not a person who will jump on the latest technology fad (I am the only teacher in the high school, possibly the district, who uses a chalkboard still). The math department’s goal is for our students to learn math. You learn math by doing math. If technology helps make that possible, I am for it. If it is just a fancy way to give notes, Iʼll pass. No computer site or program will ever be able to match a quality teacher for direct instruction. However, IXL has become a powerful tool…
Check back next week to read Mr. Aalbers’ observations of IXL in his classroom!
