Education and technology for today’s history teachers and parents
Education and technology have a prominent place in the mission and culture of the IXL Learning company. Millions of learners ranging in age from children to adults turn to this company for a wide range of educational technology products. The company culture thrives on the power of education and technology to provide creative solutions to many different problems.
Students can improve knowledge of history through IXL Learning skills and visiting historical exhibits.
IXL Learning was founded in 1998. The company’s first product was Quia Web. This was the first website that allowed teachers and learners to create and share customized study materials. A matching game, a concentration game and flash cards were offered to educators, parents and students on this early website. Eventually quizzes and other game formats were added making this one of the most popular education websites in the early days of the Internet.
The company’s mission since then has been to develop in-demand education and technology. Quia Books were released in 2001. This is a highly interactive online textbook and workbook platform created specifically for language study. These online textbooks merge computer and traditional classroom instruction. Publishers mix and match closed-ended, computer-scorable questions with open-ended questions. Teachers grade student answers to both these types of questions. Languages taught in this fashion include Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese and Latin. More than 450-secondary- and higher-education language textbooks have been published.
In 2015, IXL Learning introduced social studies. History and social studies students are challenged to think critically and evaluate primary sources. The expertly crafted content engages students and inspires them to discover important historical events, people, ideas and dates.
IXL offers a mobile app available at the Apple store or on Google Play. The IXL app is easily accessible using either a mobile phone or tablet. Your history students will love and have fun studying social studies topics. It’s an immersive experience that offers students the opportunity to explore fun and interactive questions using engaging visuals. The app shows students the personalized skills they need to have at their level. Students can use their fingers to write out the answers to questions instead of typing out the answers. Students are rewarded for all their academic accomplishments.
Education and technology social studies skills
The IXL social studies learning platform tests the historical knowledge of students in grades two through eight. Students can select a skill relating to a given topic. They will then pick the multiple-choice answer that is the best match for the skill question. After they answer all the questions, they receive a score based on the number of right responses. The higher the score, the more they know about the selected historical topic.
Some of the second-grade skills tested are identify urban, suburban and rural areas, the Statue of Liberty, Abraham Lincoln and natural resources. Third-grade skills include Harriet Tubman, Benjamin Franklin, local government, Thanksgiving and presidential elections. Fourth-grade history skills these students should know are state government, federal government, the fifty state capitals, Jamestown and the Louisiana Purchase. Fifth-grade social studies students should master the thirteen original colonies, the American Revolution, major United States cities, the Lewis and Clark expedition and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s the New Deal.
Middle-grade sixth grade students are tested about their knowledge of early Mesopotamia, ancient China, the beginnings of Rome, Renaissance origins and East Asia. Seventh-graders study South America, the Middle Ages after 1100, the origins and natural rights of the Enlightenment and life as a colonist. Eighth-graders delve into harder topics such as causes of the American Revolution, industrial and transportation revolutions, the American Constitution, laws and courts.
Education and technology work together to test student knowledge in these elementary and middle school grades. Students are also tested in the topical skills of geography, economics, culture, civics, United States history, world history and global topics. Teachers and parents can take advantage of this unique combination of education and technology to help their students excel and master in social studies and history classes. These skill tests can be incorporated in a traditional classroom setting or easily accessed through a home computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Another way for students to study history is to experience it firsthand through historical demonstrations like this one.
Education and technology guides for history teachers
History teachers can include IXL skills in daily instruction and to support the core curriculum. Find the right skill that matches the learning objectives of the lesson plan. Students who work on the assigned IXL skill will also be building their confidence level as they successfully answer the questions for each assigned skill. The skill questions are automatically adapted to each student. In this way, students develop skill confidence at their own individual pace. Students are encouraged to reach a SmartScore goal of 80 (proficiency). If your history and social studies students achieve proficiency and are ready for a challenge, set the SmartScore higher to 100 for extra credit.
IXL Learning’s unique approach to education and technology is suitable for entire class instruction, individual or small-group work. Teachers can introduce history and social studies skill concepts to the entire class by working through questions based on classwork skill as a group. IXL’s explanations can demonstrate the steps to the class. Students can work on the selected skill on their own or in small-groups. This helps to give them a better understanding of the historical concept. Each IXL skill guides students from simple tasks to more complex problems. Homework skills can be assigned through the learning management system or by clicking the star next to the selected skill.
Feedback on student understanding of the material is available in the Skill Analysis Report. History teachers can check for assignment completion and to note each student’s individual understanding of the skill lesson. This report also provides statistics on the entire class performance. Students are grouped by the level of difficulty they are working at within the skill. The Trouble Spots report provides helpful insights about which students are struggling with the lesson. This information can be used to help the teacher form small groups for reteaching the material to students having difficulty understanding the important historical concepts taught in class.
Parents can help their budding history scholars with personalized skill practice at home. Their children can go to the Recommendations wall to vies the skills selected for him or her to help grow and master each social studies skill. Students can choose skills that are the most interesting to them to study and master. Each skill that your child chooses is at the right level for his or her understanding of the social studies or history topic. IXL offers five types of skill recommendations. Parents can help their children establish individual practice goals at home.
For more information about IXL Learning please visit the company’s website.
Historical websites accessible with a mobile phone
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC
Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia
National Women's History Alliance
History Today
History News Network
Colonial Williamsburg
