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Chyna Young, a first-grade teacher, discusses the benefits of using IXL, an educational website for K-12 students. She emphasizes the importance of using it intentionally to reinforce learned skills. IXL covers various subjects, provides stress-free lesson plans, and allows easy access for students through assigned codes. It also offers diagnostic tests, progress tracking, suggested lessons, and related videos and games. Chyna highly recommends using IXL in the classroom, especially for younger students. Hi, my name is Chyna Young. I'm a first grade teacher and today on my podcast episode, I'm going to be talking about the pros of IXL. So, IXL is an educational website for teachers and students K through 12 to use in order to enhance their learning. The purpose of it is for students to practice skills that have already been taught and for it to kind of reinforce what they have learned already. One important thing about IXL is that when a teacher is using it, they have to be very intentional with it and not just use it for busy work when students are finished with working and they have nothing else to do. IXL can be super helpful in guiding students learning and getting them to where they need to be as long as the teacher uses it correctly. So, IXL can be used for math, reading, social studies, and science, which I think is a huge pro because students aren't having to learn all these different websites for different subjects like I've had to do with some students before. IXL is also the most stress-free website that I've used as a teacher because it is just, it gives teachers lesson plans. It's very easy to search up the standard that students are working on and find a lesson that relates to it. And then in order for students to get to it, the teacher can either assign it to them and they can see it when they log into IXL or also gives a three, a letter or number code. And all students have to do is type that code in when they get on IXL. And I found that to be the easiest working with first graders because they know all I have to do is write the code down or put it in my slides. And all they have to do is search, is tap the search icon on IXL and it takes them right to the lesson that they need to be at. All students need for it will be like a laptop, a tablet, or an iPad. And then teachers just have to get students signed up at the beginning of the year or whenever they start using it. And it'll be simple from there. One thing that I do like about IXL is that it gives students frequent diagnostic tests to see where they're at and what they need more work on. And it will send the teacher all of the information on students who are improving and making progress and students who are not improving and not making the progress that they should. And when students aren't improving, then it also gives teachers suggested lessons. And it also starts suggesting lessons to students as well if they need more help with something. It is very important that it is used correctly because it can be such a big help in students' learning. Another thing that I also like about IXL is that it provides videos and games for students to play when they are on it as well. And all of the videos and all of the games can relate to a lesson too. So students aren't just playing this game when they're done working and the game is doing nothing to reinforce what has been taught or what they're learning. The game relates to what they've been taught. So I use the game, for instance, in math class. When my students were learning coins and the values of coins and how to count coins and things like that, there was a game on IXL where students had to identify the coins and be able to count the coins and click the right amount of it. And it was a fun game for them, but they were also still doing what was being taught in the classroom as well. And I really like that about it. I think that IXL can be used really well in the classroom and I'm a huge advocate for using IXL in the classroom. I don't know how well it will work for older grade levels, but I know that when teaching younger grade levels, it has been such a help for me in the classroom. And so hopefully you guys will think about using IXL as well. And that's it for today. I'll see you guys next time. Bye.