Computer education has been a part of learning for many years and, as technology has improved, it has become a more widely used and effective educational tool. Computer-based platforms can be used in a variety of educational areas, including curriculum planning, skill testing, and reviewing student performance. What is i-Ready? i-Ready is what is commonly referred to as an assessment platform. These types of platforms assess student skill levels through testing and identify areas of need. After the initial testing i-Ready then provides students with targeting learning plans and activities to assist them in acquiring needed skills in the areas of reading and math. As a teacher, you receive real-time updates of students’ progress and can make changes to the lesson plan as needed. This allows you to use i-Ready alongside your existing education plan to improve student results and knowledge retention.
The History of i-Ready
When you ask who invented i-Ready? the answer goes back several decades. The i-Ready platform was created by Curriculum Associates, which was founded in 1969. Starting with print materials in the 1970s, Curriculum Associates has kept up as education has changed, to ensure they are providing students and teachers with tools to do the best work possible. In 2011, the company developed i-Ready with a focus on tracking students’ educational needs and providing instruction in areas where they truly need it.
The Benefits of Assessment Software in Learning
- Proper Data: making decisions on how to modify your teaching plans and what to focus on with your students is quite a challenge. Assessment software gives you a solid foundation of exact data points on which to base your decisions. Having proper data is key for making choices that best benefit your students.
- Keep Students Focused: an advantage of these platforms is that they set goals for your students to work towards through assignments and games. In addition, by keeping a close key on their progress you can be kept current on where they are at in terms of their lesson plan and assist (or make changes) when needed.
- Greater Awareness of Student Needs: the progress tracking assessment software provides you have a clearer picture of student strengths and areas of need. This information allows you to adjust and focus on your learning plans in areas of need, ensuring students are challenged, overcome difficulties, and continue to grow in their education.
- Increase Individual Work Ethic: with learning software, students are given goals and assignments to work at their own pace. This degree of self-regulation teaches students a good work ethic and how to work towards their goals without the need for an outside regulator. This helps your students learn how to better educate themselves and makes them more self-confident.
- Goal-Driven Feedback: the feedback provided by assessment programs allows students to focus on what to learn instead of what they got wrong. This is a goal-oriented method that tells students what areas to work on and provides them with the solution to learn and improve upon.
- You Can Make Changes As Needed: when reviewing a student’s progress and goals, you can make corrections or changes to their curriculum to fit specific needs. This allows you to correct methods that are not working or provide the best results possible. This kind of flexibility is important as every student is different and sometimes changes have to be made to align to their specific learning style.
Final Thoughts
Platforms such as i-Ready are a valuable addition to your classroom and teaching tools. They work alongside your curriculum to teach and empower students in areas of learning where they may not be as skilled as they could be. This flexible and self-guided method of learning provides helps your students to become better equipped for their future education and learning in general.