What is Istation? & 5 Ways E-Learning Platforms Empower Educators

“It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment.” ~ Carl Friedrich Gauss

There’s nothing that makes a teacher happier than seeing a student get excited about learning. In today’s classrooms, teachers have access to an array of resources and technologies that can help them ignite a passion for learning in every student.

Alludo specializes in creating dynamic professional development environments for school districts across the United States, so it should come as no surprise that we’re enthusiastic about the potential to improve student outcomes with e-learning platforms such as Istation. Here’s an introduction to e-learning platforms, five benefits that empower educators, and a closer look at the e-learning platform iStation.

Table of Contents

1. What Are E-Learning Platforms?
2. What Are the Benefits of Using an E-Learning Platform?
   1. Flexibility to Share a Variety of Resources
   2. Easier Communication with Students and Parents
   3. New Technologies Lead to Innovation in the Classroom
   4. Boost Efficiency in Terms of Feedback, Grading, and Assessment
3. What is Istation?
4. 5 Ways Istation Empowers Educators
   1. It Supports Diverse Teacher Approaches to Education
   2. It Provides Interactive Tools
   3. Teachers Get Fully Scripted, Teacher-Directed Lessons
   4. Teachers Get Access to Supplemental Reading Materials for Students
   5. Allows Teachers to Create Assignments for the Classroom or Homework
5. Alludo's Take

What Are E-Learning Platforms?

Let’s start with a definition. An e-learning platform is a digital space on the web, an app, or a portal where students can access educational content and resources. Educational content may include the following items:

• Lectures from instructors
• Educational resources, including written material and visual aids
• Tools to annotate materials
• Communication tools to connect with teachers and fellow learners

An e-learning platform allows students to work at their own pace, either from home or another location. Students can progress through lessons and activities at a rate that suits them while instructors monitor their progress and provide guidance as needed.

Many e-learning platforms come with built-in student assessment tools that can help teachers understand which students need additional support in the form of encouragement or one-on-one tutoring. Teachers can access reports related to student progress and learning and use what they learn to better connect with their students and help them to succeed.

Another way of looking at e-learning platforms is that they are digital classrooms that come with an array of tools and educational resources built in. In a traditional classroom, students must attend lectures and complete assignments at the same time as their classmates. On an e-learning platform, there’s more flexibility.

What Are the Benefits of Using an E-Learning Platform?

E-learning platforms offer some resources that can help teachers in their work with students. Here are four specific benefits to consider:

Flexibility to Share a Variety of Resources

Teachers who use an e-learning platform get access to an array of resources that can help them better connect with their students. Some examples include quizzes, presentations, and videos. Having resources in a variety of formats is beneficial because some students may be visual learners while others learn best when they can read about a new topic or concept.

The resources from e-learning can be used to help teachers adapt their teaching methods to the individual learning styles of each student, giving them the ability to connect and ultimately, deliver the best possible learning experience for their students.

Easier Communication with Students and Parents

Another benefit of e-learning is that it provides parents with the transparency they need to stay on top of what’s happening with their children as they prepare for and attend school. On a related note, it facilitates communication between teachers and parents.

Better communication with teachers may also help parents talk to their children about what’s happening in school, including which challenges they’re facing and where they might need additional help. These things can all contribute to better student outcomes.

New Technologies Lead to Innovation in the Classroom

We’ve already mentioned that e-learning platforms provide teachers with access to new technologies and tools that they can use in the classroom. These technologies may inspire innovation in the classroom as teachers learn how to use them.

Classroom technology can do a lot to help teachers connect with students. Using an e-learning platform gives teachers the freedom they need to experiment in the classroom. They can try new things and make adjustments to anything that doesn’t work, all of which is to the benefit of their students.

Boost Efficiency in Terms of Feedback, Grading, and Assessment

In a classroom, students may not always have the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback to their teachers – and teachers may not be able to encourage feedback when they’re trying to manage a room full of students.

E-learning platforms offer students the chance to provide relevant feedback to teachers about their understanding of concepts and course materials as well as their enthusiasm and engagement with what they’re learning. Teachers benefit because feedback can help them identify students who need help and adapt their lessons to be as appealing and engaging as possible.

What is Istation?

Istation is an e-learning platform that uses animation and gamification to get kids excited about learning. Using the Istation app or portal, students can access educational content and resources from wherever they are. Istation may be integrated into the classroom and kids can also use Istation from home or a library.

One of the biggest benefits of Istation is that it can be used for education and assessment of students’ progress, giving teachers reports that they can use to monitor learning and offer additional help when it is needed.

Istation provides programs for reading and math for students in Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade, and for Spanish for students in Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. Teachers can use the time that kids spend with Istation in the classroom as an opportunity to provide individual guidance and feedback to kids who need it.

One of the things that teachers praise about Istation is that it provides monthly assessments that they can use to monitor and record progress. The assessments are used to adapt learning to students’ progress and teachers can view data from the assessments.

For each subject – reading, math, and Spanish – there are three instructional tiers, as follows:

• Tier 1 is for students performing at grade level
• Tier 2 is for students performing moderately below grade level who need intervention
• Tier 3 is for students performing seriously below their grade level who need intensive intervention

The tiers allow teachers to monitor students’ progress and help them identify those who need either moderate or intensive support.

5 Ways Istation Empowers Educators

Istation is an example of educational technology that can assist and empower educators in their work with students. Here are five  of the most important ways that Istation supports teachers:

#1: It Supports Diverse Teacher Approaches to Education

Istation provides teachers with a wide variety of lesson plans plus flexible resources. Having access to materials in a variety of formats is useful because it helps teachers provide students with the information they need in a form that works for them.

At the same time, having access to lesson plans and resources supports teachers with different teaching styles and preferences. Instead of being locked into a single approach, teachers can choose the resources that work best for them.

#2: It Provides Interactive Tools

Teachers’ jobs often require them to spend long hours outside of the classroom preparing lessons and grading assignments. With Istation, teachers get instant access to a full range of interactive tools that they can use with their students, without having to spend their valuable time researching them.

The tools included with Istation are designed for use in the classroom and teachers can access them at any time. The animated content is kid-friendly and engaging, making it easy for teachers to capture and hold their students’ attention.

#3: Teachers Get Fully Scripted, Teacher-Directed Lessons

Every teacher understands the importance of having a detailed lesson plan to stay on track in the classroom, providing students with the information and resources they need to learn new concepts.

Istation provides teachers with teacher-directed lessons that are already scripted. Each lesson comes with printables and instructional tools to enable teachers to engage their students and give them the resources they need to learn.

#4: Teachers Get Access to Supplemental Reading Materials for Students

Even the best lesson plan may leave students wanting or needing more. Some students may want to dig deeper into a topic while others may need to do additional reading to understand a difficult concept.

Istation gives students and teachers access to the Lexile® Find a Book tool, which provides a list of supplemental reading based on each student’s abilities and needs.

#5: Allows Teachers to Create Assignments for the Classroom or Homework

Finally, Istation allows teachers to create new assignments for students, either as homework or for students to complete as independent classwork.

Teachers can use Istation to track student progress and completion of assignments, measure progress, and follow up as needed.

Alludo’s Take

Alludo partners with school districts to create dynamic digital learning experiences that drive teacher engagement. We understand that equipping teachers with a proven e-learning platform to use in the classroom supports teachers by respecting their time, providing them with the flexibility they need to support their students, and enabling and encouraging innovation.

It’s for that reason that we have included courses related to Istation in our extensive professional development content catalog, which we have curated with an eye toward providing teachers with a choice and a voice in what and how they learn. 

Teachers can benefit from incorporating an e-learning platform like Istation in their classrooms. In addition to Istation-specific courses, we also have courses addressing hybrid and distance learning to help teachers understand how e-learning platforms can help their students.

The Alludo approach of using gamification to drive teacher engagement works particularly well with Istation, which uses the same approach to engage students.

Empower Educators in Your District with E-Learning Platforms

Increasingly, school districts are finding that incorporating e-learning platforms into the classroom has the effect of empowering teachers and providing students with engaging lessons and tools to help them learn new concepts and get to the best possible learning outcomes.

Want to reach up to 100% PD in your district? See how Alludo can help make it happen with our free professional development platform trial, including:

• Hundreds of core topics
• Asynchronous microlearning activities
• Timely and specific feedback
• Analytics that show learning impact
• Access anytime, anywhere