McGraw-Hill offers ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces), an assessment software platform providing a range of testing tools and standard or best-practice tests for subjects in primary and secondary education, as well as higher ed and homeschooling.
$19.95
per term
WileyPLUS
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
WileyPLUS is a learning and assesment platform which can be added to many popular LMS, from Wiley.
Among the specific scenarios where ALEKS is well suited would be independent work time during which each student could work on improving foundational math skills or on practicing topics recently learned in class. ALEKS is less appropriate when instructing more involved topics (i.e., Algebra 2 material), which would require whole-class instruction by the teacher first.
It's a good platform that has some very good content. We use Canvas as our learning management platform. It is nice to be able to integrate some of the pre-build WileyPLUS course modules into our Canvas course. Other publishers are good too and they sync with Canvas, but I find Wiley's Canvas modules easy to use and customize.
We did not need much support because installing and running ALEKS on Schoology was relatively easy; the department followed the steps outlined in the user manual on how to install ALEKS and were able to do so quickly. ALEKS help team has been helpful, but overall we did not need their help.
24-7 support is available by phone, chat, or email. They also hold annual events which I have been blessed to attend twice. The staff is excellent. They are knowledgeable and genuinely care about you and your students. There are online forums for instructors to collaborate, learn, and have fun. Instructors receive gift cards for their participation too!
I was not able to find any other products on your list, that I feel are really like ALEKS. I think of ALEKS as more of a teaching platform whereas other platforms I have used--MyMathLab, WebAssign, Knewton--are more of a homework platform.
I like the mechanistic approach and taught that way for several years. Klein makes a nice meeting point between the traditional, by-the-functional-group way of approaching the material and the mechanistic approach with common patterns pointed out and grouped along the way. It is one of the best, clearly written texts on Organic Chemistry on the market!! It isn't overly dry and intimidating, but more conversational - like a tutor guiding you through the foundational topic or thought process. The graphics are clear and understandable with good use of color. The canvas integration is wonderful! The adaptive practice is growing on me - I started a skeptic, but students really like the by-learning-objective feedback. From term to term, you can easily turn your homework assignments over for the next term if you like to assign specific questions.
Before Wiley Plus, my students didn't do homework, because it was not possible for me to grade all their work. Now they do it to earn points needed to pass the class.
Before Adaptive Assignment, my students really struggled with the multiple-choice part of the exam. Now my students have the opportunity to practice a plethora of questions provided to them in Adaptive Assignment. Now the exam grades are much better!
