Alecks: A Hybrid Classroom

My first moments as a student at the University of Michigan: Dearborn didn't exactly start out as I planned. As many of my ancestors have before, I came face to face with the dreaded placement exam. The summer before the exam was a particularly rough one. I had just graduated from high school and I had no intention of remembering what I had learned from the past twelve years. My choice to learn and burn was going to clearly catch up with me.

When the placement exam was placed in front of me all I could see was a blank piece of paper with strange foreign symbols scribbled upon it. I did my best to translate this forgotten language, but all I had to show for my work was a poorly written five paragraph essay and a collection of bubbles filled in with a number two pencil. At least it was over.

Just as I had expected, I was placed in remedial writing and math classes. However, I was determined to be the best of the worse. Every Monday and Wednesday I showed up to my Math 080 class with a determination to learn. Initially, things went smoothly. I was able to keep up with my professor, turn in my homework on time, and get a long with my peers. But as we progressed I started to fall behind.

I struggled to keep up with the pace of the class and eventually started to not show up to class at all. By the end of the semester, my grade had fallen from an A to a low C. I barely passed.

This semester I must redeem myself in Math 090, but things are different this time. Instead of the traditional class room setting it is a hybrid classroom. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the class meets in a classroom armed with laptops and tablets. Our laptops are necessary to access Alecks. Alecks is an online text book that guides us through the curriculum at our own pace. Similar to Gradecraft, Alecks awards the user with points and constant rewards for completing problems. These points go towards the user's pie chart. The pie chart illustrates the user's progress and represents how much farther the user needs to go to complete the course. Initially, I was pretty bitter that I had to spend an extra hundred dollars on a program to teach me, but my tuition dollars did not go to waste. The class is guided by a math professor, who takes attendance and provides additional teaching for those who are struggling. As of right now, I prefer Alecks opposed to the traditional classroom, because it allows me to go at my own pace, receive extra help when needed, and continue my learning at home if I desire.

https://www.aleks.com/