Student
Orientation
1
Student Orientation
Hello and Welcome!
This brief walkthrough is designed to help you become familiar with the ALEKS
program and how it will be used in this class. It will also assist you with the
registration process and direct you where to go for help.
You will have regular, required assignments in ALEKS, and you can expect to
spend several hours a week working on them. Just how much time you have to
spend in the program will depend on how efficiently you use the ALEKS
system.
Thank you,
[Instructor Name]
[School Name]
2
What is ALEKS?
ALEKS stands for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces. It is an
individualized, adaptive learning tool that is unlike any other online program
available today. Think of it as a human tutor designed to help you learn and
master math.
ALEKS uses artificial intelligence to determine what you know, what you don’t
know, and what you are most ready to learn. ALEKS then creates a
personalized learning plan that gives you credit for what you already know and
shows you what you are ready to learn.
To make sure that you remember what you learn, ALEKS will sometimes check
your knowledge. These Knowledge Checks are designed to help you in the
long run, so take them seriously! ALEKS has been around for a long time and
is a trustworthy system. Treat it well and it will treat you well.
Your work in ALEKS will make up xx% of your overall grade.
Getting Started
Once you register with ALEKS, you will take a brief tutorial on how to use the
system. Next, you will complete an Initial Knowledge Check. It’s purpose is
to figure out what you know and don’t know, so that you can begin with
material you are ready to learn.
Take the ALEKS
Knowledge Checks
honestly so that the system
can accurately measure
your knowledge of course
material. If you don’t, you
will only be giving
yourself more work!
Getting Started
After you finish the Initial Knowledge Check, you will see your ALEKS Pie. This
represents your current knowledge of the course. Notice that ALEKS has
assessed that you already know some of the material and given you credit for it!
Each Pie Slice represents
a different course area and
has three sections:
 Dark = topics mastered
on a Knowledge Check
 Light = topics learned in
Learning Mode
 Grey = Remaining
topics not learned or
mastered
Click on CONTINUE MY
PATH to access your
ready to learn topics.
Learning in ALEKS
Once you are in Learning Mode, you will be presented with a Lesson Page for the
first Ready to Learn topic. Read the lesson and click on the Practice button to
complete the problems.
There are many
resources available to
help you learn in ALEKS.
Use the icons on the right
side of each Lesson Page
and practice problem to
access these resources.
The gauge in the top,
right corner tracks how
many correct problems
you need to complete the
topic.
How to Get the Grade
To stay on track, you will complete Objectives. Think of these Objectives as
learning goals; the more you procrastinate, the more work you will give yourself!
To work on topics in the
current Objective, select
the Objective from the
drop-down menu in the
top, left corner. You can
also select “Part of My
Grade” in the Topic
Carousel filter in the top,
right corner.
This will display your “goal
topics”, or topics that are
part of your grade, in the
Topic Carousel.
Pay close attention to due dates!
Learning in ALEKS
If you want to switch to another topic, open the Topic Carousel and select the
topic you want to work on. You can also filter the topics that appear in the
Carousel by using the Topic Carousel filter in the top, right corner.
REMEMBER: ALEKS will
occasionally check your
retention of what you have
learned by giving you a
Knowledge Check.
If you forget how to do a
topic, or just didn’t learn it
the first time, ALEKS will ask
you to review that topic for
more practice.
Learning in ALEKS
Completing an Objective before the due date will put you in “Open Pie” mode.
This means that the pie is now “open” and you can work on any Ready to
Learn topic from any Objective. When the due date hits, you will automatically
move into the next Objective.
Use the Open Pie Mode to
your advantage. You can
complete topics from past
Objectives or get ahead and
work on topics from future
Objectives.
If you want to focus on only
the topics for the next
Objective, then select the
Objective from the drop-down
menu to filter the topics.
Your ALEKS Timeline
The ALEKS Timeline tracks your weekly progress to help you manage your
study time. Hovering over each day will tell you how much you have left to do
in order to complete your assignment by the due date.
Click on the Menu icon in the
top, left corner to access your
Gradebook, Reports, eBook,
and more. You can also
order a $15 loose-leaf copy
of your eBook.
Click on the Next Knowledge
Check icon to see when the
next Knowledge Check will
occur. If you need more time
to review, you can delay the
Knowledge Check for up to 24
hours.
Sometimes your instructor will
have extra assignments in,
like a quiz. You can access
these in the Work on
Navigating Your ALEKS Account
Click on the Menu icon in the top, left corner to access your Calendar,
Gradebook, Reports, eBook, and more. You can even order a $15 loose-leaf
copy of your eBook!
Learning how to use the ALEKS reports will help you track your time and
progress, and help you focus on exactly what you need to work on in order to
get ahead.
Math Fundamentals | Calendar
Mastered: 2 4 0
Learned: 3 0 0
3
Remaining: 10
GRADEBOOK
FILTERS
Hi, Sam!
Grading Policy
VIEW UPCOMING | VIEW ALL
OVERALL ALEKS GRADE:
NAME
TYPE
DUE
Chapter 3
Objective
07/25/14
12:00am
GRADE Points
Weekly Time Goal
Time Goal
07/25/14
12:00am
Weekly Topic Goal
Topic Goal
07/25/14
12:00am
52
90%
98%
Chapter 3
Homework
07/25/14
12:00am
48%
Chapter 2
Quiz
07/25/14
12:00am
Chapter 1
Objective
07/25/14
12:00am
Chapter 1
Homework
07/25/14
12:00am
65%
80%
50%
86% | B
DETAILS
%
· An extended assignment
· Was dropped
· The result was modified
by the teacher
· Assignment is extra credit
Instructor
Modified
Dropped
Key Tips to Success
• Don’t wait until the last minute to meet a deadline – it will be harder to
catch up and you will end up doing more work and wasting time.
• Log in every day.
• Use the resources in ALEKS. They exist to help you learn and prepare for
your Knowledge Checks.
• Take each Knowledge Check seriously. Do your best work without using
outside resources – your results on Knowledge Check will affect your pie.
• Think ALEKS made a mistake? Complaining to your professor won’t
fix it! Contact ALEKS Customer Support through your ALEKS Inbox.
• Regular use of ALEKS will dramatically increase your performance and
success – ALEKS is more than just homework; it teaches you math!
How to Register for your ALEKS Class
Step 1: Go to www.aleks.com and click on SIGN UP NOW! just below the
Registered Users box.
How to Register for your ALEKS Class
Step 2: Enter the 10-character
class code and click on
Continue.
Step
3-4:
Verify
your
enrollment information to
make sure you are in the
right class, and then indicate
whether you have used
ALEKS before.
How to Register for your ALEKS Class
Step 5: Enter your 20-character ALEKS Access Code. If you do not have an
access code, you can purchase one online by clicking purchase an access code
online.
Be sure your access code will accommodate the length of your class!
Step 6: If you are new to ALEKS, then complete the registration steps to
create an ALEKS account. If you are an existing ALEKS student, simply verify
your email address.
Managing your ALEKS Account Home
Your Account Home allows you to easily manage all of your ALEKS classes
with one login. You can change your email and password, sign up for new
classes, buy extra time, and view previous classes. To return to your
Account Home from within an ALEKS class, open the menu from the top,
left corner and select Manage My Classes from the menu.
Help and Resources
ALEKS offers extra resources to help students get started on the right track. To
take advantage, visit: www.aleks.com/highered/math/student_resources
If you ever need help or have questions, contact ALEKS Technical Support:
•
Hours (Eastern Time):
Monday through Thursday, 7am – 1am
Friday, 7am – 9pm
Sunday, 4pm – 1am
•
Contact Support: http://support.aleks.com
•
Visit: www.aleks.com/support
– FAQs
– User Guides
– System Requirements
– Troubleshooting