Using Time Wisely: Part 2- Tutorials and Virtual Learning

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In the second episode on this series, we're going to take a look at some ways students can use their laptops during time to improve their grades.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy was started by Salman Khan as a way he could help his cousin study math.  His cousin shared clips of these lessons with her friends.  It took off from there and is now teaching math, science, economics and finance, humanities, test prep and more.

Have students go to the Khan Academy site (www.khanacademy.org) and sign in using their school Google account.  Then they can either hit the knowledge map or you can assign them to classes.  As a "Coach" you can have parents or teachers helping to mentor the student and monitor their progress while they work independently.

Students can move up the achievement ladder by showing mastery of concepts.  This gives student positive reinforcement when they can demonstrate their understanding of the material.

The nice part about this is that students can view the material over and over again whenever they want to view something.  They can use it to reinforce what is being taught in class, or they can use it to supplant instruction.  They can also use it on their own, or with their parent/teacher "coach."  It is very versatile, and very popular.

TenMarks

A newcomer to the virtual tutoring field.  TenMarks provides math tutorials in a similar manner to Khan Academy, but this one is a for-profit company sponsored by Amazon.  Accessing the tutorials is free, but to get the assessments that test where stude
nts are at, you need to go with the paid edition.

Not only does TenMarks break down math by it's component subtopics, it also maps all of the videos and assignments with the Common Core State Standards.  If a student is having difficulty meeting a particular standard, it is a good resource for them to get the remedial help they would need.

IXL

IXL is a website that provides math and language arts reinforcement exercises for students.  Instruction is broken down by age level, and can also be further broken down by state standards.  This provides some more simplified instruction, but can be good for students who need extra practice working on specific topics.  Creating accounts on this site allows teachers to track student progress.