Aleks Math - Pros and Cons

[hsmom4]

I talked to someone at a hs conference that absolutely loved Aleks. Would love to hear from everyone using it...

Did it teach well? Is it easy to access their reports? What did your student think of it?
Any comments would be appreciated.

[FloridaLisa]

id it teach well? Is it easy to access their reports? What did your student think of it?

My dc used ALEKS last year after finishing up Saxon earlier in the spring. Because we've used Saxon exclusively, I wanted them to work through ALEKS to fill in any gaps, if any. Two just used the month-long free trial. My oldest reviewed Algebra II for a couple of months. It's very easy to access the student report. The pie chart and other features helped track his progress in different areas. Honestly, I never sat through the instruction time, but it must have worked as I saw steady improvement! :001_smile:

HTH,
Lisa

[JenneinAZ]

It does not teach at all. It does show you worked out example problems but it does not teach. If your child doesn't understand the explanation there is no back up or alternative. There are a few problems with two different explanations but not very many.

Aleks is great for review of topics that have been taught. It can be great for figuring out what your child already knows. It doesn't work as well as a primary way to learn new material.

The reports are very easy to access. It can tell you exactly which topics your child worked on and how well it thinks the child knows the material. The reports are fantastic.

My students thought it was wonderful until they got to something that the explanation didn't make sense and then it caused many tears.

[susie in tx]

:iagree: with Jenne. I could have written what she said, almost word for word. My daughter loved it. I would use it to fill in gaps. I would not use it for new teaching because it does not have more than one way to introduce new topics. If the new topic is not understood by the student, then there are no alternatives. This was frustrating for my student.

[EKS]

Both my son and I have used Aleks.

My son used it to review arithmetic and I used it to er...refresh... my memory of Algebra I.

Aleks is great to fill holes in one's knowledge or to brush up on previously learned material. I thought the explanations were ok for this purpose but I would rely on them as the sole form of instruction.

[Mamabegood]

I am a big fan of ALEKS. My daughter uses it for math exclusively. I do need to fill in when she doesn't understand the explanation--maybe once a week I sit down with her and go over a problem. Until this year (fifth grade) we were Saxon users. The repetition was a real aggravation to her, and one thing we like about ALEKS is that once you master something you can move on. You will be tested on it, and if you need more work or forget how to do something, you get more practice.

I would say this program works well for a student who is used to doing work on their own, and doesn't need much "encouragement" to properly use their time. If you have a dawdler, this likely won't be a good fit. I am homeschooling 4 kids, and I would use it for 2 of the 4.

[WTMindy]

I like ALEKS, but I don't think it is a great stand alone. I use it with a group of about 30 students, have used it with my own kids, and have been through the Algebra 2 and Pre-calc as a student because I wanted to experience ALEKS from a student's position.

The reports are easy to access and do a good job of showing progress.

I will echo what others have said about the teaching. It isn't that great. But, my biggest problem with it is that it presents problems in one way only and then once you have memorized how to do that "type" of problem you can do it without necessarily understanding what you are doing, and it a slightly different variation came up, the student would likely not be able to do it.

I do think it is an excellent review/gap filler, but I do not recommend it as a stand-alone curriculum. There is very little higher level mathematical thinking built in to the curriculum. It focuses mostly on procedural type of math (which is important, but useless if you don't know when and why to use it).

[Mallory]

I got custody of my sister in Nov. and they had been sporadically using ALECKS so we continued it. She is 12 and mostly finished the 6th grade level.

Until I saw that she wasn't really learning anything, but what format the questions were in and how to answer that question. I also think that she needs to write more or else it doesn't really sink in. There is a big difference between making a coordinate graph and just clicking a dot on the screen.

For kids who seem to be able learn from the computer, it may be great for catching up, filling in gaps, ect. I don't think computer learning is going to work for my sister, so it isn't just ALECKS I would have complaints about.