klmama Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) Has anyone here used ALEKS for Intermediate Algebra or College Algebra, not just as a supplement? Did you find it effective? Does the program let the student keep working at it to raise the grade on assessments, or is it a once and done sort of thing? Thanks for any experience you can share. ETA: This might or might not be for actual college credit, depending on if the college dc enrolls in accepts the ACE certification. All have placement tests, though, and college algebra or waiver is the minimum requirement for coursework. Edited March 9, 2016 by klmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VANURSEPRAC Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I have heard it is a great program. But I have never seen it. My friend who kid got NMF in high stat state, used this on her kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Well, my experience with it is very limited. I tried it out for myself. I wanted to get myself up to speed with pre-calc instead of taking pre-calc at the CC to save money. What I didn't like about it is that there didn't seem to be much instruction. Or at least it didn't explain something until after I got it wrong. I don't like that approach. Then there were several instances where I'd get a problem or two correct and it said I could move on from the concept. It did give the option to have more practice with the concept instead, but I wonder how many younger people would have the discipline to be honest and think no I know I got these problems correct, but I still don't feel like I'm ready to move on. I don't need a zillion practice problems, but more than 2 usually. Plus, there is nothing that forces you to write the problems out and that is a huge part of being able to do the math. The buttons that show up for a given problem to be used to answer it (special characters, etc.) sometimes gave me a clue in terms of how to solve a problem. In a class situation on a test one might not be given that sort of clue so I felt like I might rely too much on those clues. I think it is ok for extra practice (except the part about not forcing you to write stuff out). Beyond that, meh I didn't end up using it for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks for the review, SparklyUnicorn. It doesn't sound like this would be a good fit for us, at least at that level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 My dd used it for pre-algebra. I didn't like it at all, and neither did she. She is a mathy kid, and loves using AOPS (in fact, after she completed preA with ALEKS in 2 months time she chose to do the AOPS preA) for discovery method, but that isn't how ALEKS works. There's not instruction, unless you miss a question, at which point there is only a small amount. It's slightly more than a question bank, at least at that level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) Well, my experience with it is very limited. I tried it out for myself. I wanted to get myself up to speed with pre-calc instead of taking pre-calc at the CC to save money. What I didn't like about it is that there didn't seem to be much instruction. Or at least it didn't explain something until after I got it wrong. I don't like that approach. Then there were several instances where I'd get a problem or two correct and it said I could move on from the concept. It did give the option to have more practice with the concept instead, but I wonder how many younger people would have the discipline to be honest and think no I know I got these problems correct, but I still don't feel like I'm ready to move on. I don't need a zillion practice problems, but more than 2 usually. Plus, there is nothing that forces you to write the problems out and that is a huge part of being able to do the math. The buttons that show up for a given problem to be used to answer it (special characters, etc.) sometimes gave me a clue in terms of how to solve a problem. In a class situation on a test one might not be given that sort of clue so I felt like I might rely too much on those clues. I think it is ok for extra practice (except the part about not forcing you to write stuff out). Beyond that, meh I didn't end up using it for myself. I would say that would be exactly what is expected from ALEKS. It was designed to be a supplement for learning not a primary source. It is also not really designed as "extra-practice" but rather to find your knowledge gaps to study. "Rather than being based on numerical test scores, ALEKS uses the theory of knowledge spaces to develop a combinatorial understanding of the set of topics a student does or doesn't understand from the answers to its test questions. Based on this assessment, it determines the topics that the student is ready to learn and allows the student to choose from interactive learning modules for these topics" UPDATE they have another product that may fit: "ALEKS 360 is a cost-effective, total course solution that combines the power of ALEKS with fully-integrated, interactive eBooks." https://www.aleks.com/highered/science/aleks360 I would be afraid to ask them the price! Edited March 11, 2016 by MarkT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 UPDATE they have another product that may fit: "ALEKS 360 is a cost-effective, total course solution that combines the power of ALEKS with fully-integrated, interactive eBooks." https://www.aleks.com/highered/science/aleks360 I would be afraid to ask them the price! Oh nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.