Whitney Hamm
App Reviews
The first app that I will be discussing is iReady Math. iReady is used by my school for the math curriculum. We have used it for the past five years. This app is used primarily in our k-5 elementary school, but is also used in the middle school as well. iReady allows students to work at their learning path that is personalized after taking the initial iReady diagnostic test at the beginning of the year. The Diagnostic is taken three times throughout the year to allow their individual learning to be adjusted. Teachers can assign lessons that go along with current lessons. For example, this week my students are learning about 2D and 3D shapes. I am able to assign lessons that align with the geometry unit: MA19.K.20 Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, flat“) or three-dimensional (“solid”).“ https://alex.alsde.edu/cos-mth?f%5B0%5D=cos_grades_mth%3A0
New features are being added to iReady such as Fluency Flight (2nd grade and up). Fluency Flight is an interactive way to help students learn their math facts. Facts begin with addition and subtraction and work all the way up to multiplication and division. With the new math literacy act being put into place, there are many schools who have begun piloting iReady math. This leaves me to believe this curriculum may be one that will have to be chosen just like how schools had to choose between the two reading curriculums given. I am not sure of the cost of this app because it is the chosen curriculum from my district. It is compatible with iPads and chromebooks.
https://xtramath.org/#/signin/teacher_other
The next app that I have chosen is Xtramath. This app is designed for students to practice math facts. You can create an account for free and have the basic fluency practice. There are options that you can pay for that include teacher resources or assessments that can be used. My district purchases this for the county each year, but the free version is still amazing. This app can be used for all ages k-12. The first set of fluency practice is addition within ten, so this may be only for kindergarten students who are ready to be challenged since their standard is to be fluent within 5.
MA19.1.6d Demonstrate fluency with addition and subtraction facts with sums or differences to 10 by using the relationship between addition and subtraction. https://alex.alsde.edu/cos-mth?f%5B0%5D=cos_grades_mth%3A1
This app could definitely be used starting in first grade. Xtramath is compatible with iPads and chromebooks. Xtramath allows teachers to keep up with which facts the students are struggling with such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.
The last app that I want to discuss is McGraw Hill Open Court. Most schools across Alabama have chosen this curriculum so this app has been purchased by their districts and should be readily available for use on devices such as iPads and chromebooks. McGraw Hill can be used for Pre-K through 12th grade, but is primarily used in the elementary level. This app has many features that help students with phonics, reading comprehension, and language arts. There are games that teachers can assign that allow students to practice phonics skills or grammar skills.
ELA21.K.1c Use age-appropriate irregular plurals in conversation.
https://alex.alsde.edu/cos-ela
These can be used along with the units or assigned as review games. Teachers can also assign the story for the week so that students are able to listen to the story an additional time. This helps accommodate for struggling readers or beginning readers.
Overall, I love all of the apps I have discussed above, but the best to me is iReady. I have used this app longer than the other two, but it has so many resources that teachers are able to use. The learning path for each student is meeting their needs, but teachers are able to adjust the paths if needed so students are not stuck completing tasks that are not right for them. Students can also access iReady online at home. During our few E-learning days throughout the year, we assign lessons that go along with the skill for the week to allow students extra practice. Teachers have a “toolbox” that holds powerpoint slides for each lesson, interactive tutorials, and games for each lesson. This app offers so much for students and teachers.
Whitney, I appreciate your thorough review of the apps, particularly iReady. Your insights into how the app allows for personalized learning paths based on diagnostic assessments are helpful. I can see how iReady could be a great tool to use in a secondary classroom as well, especially for students who need extra support in foundational math skills. One suggestion might be to explore how the app integrates with other online tools for formative assessments or collaborative learning platforms to enhance engagement. Have you encountered any limitations in terms of student engagement or app adaptability with varying learning styles?
ReplyDeleteI really liked your research on iReady, as we have just adopted this at our middle school. I think that the information that this program can give you on each individual student that works through it is very powerful. It can absolutely help you as an educator see which areas need to be focused on. I haven't really done a lot of work with iReady, however our English and Math department has and the feedback I am hearing is positive on most accounts. I am definitely interested to do some deeper exploration on my own now.
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