Meet Billy Strickler.  He is in his 8^th year of teaching 4^th grade students at Washington Elementary in Fairfield, Iowa.  Billy has a great group of 19 students this year.  He has a Mimio interactive whiteboard in his classroom, access to the school’s computer lab twice a week, and access to two MacBook computer carts with 25 computers each that he schedules to use almost daily.  Billy has been using StarrMatica in his classroom for the past six years.  Here is how he uses our content in his own words:

StarrMatica allows a more kid-friendly approach to concepts, especially ones that might be a little difficult.

I use it to lecture in a more engaging way than me standing at the front and talking.

I can place activities and games in individualized backpacks that my students can work on to better their skills in areas they need to improve. Students can do this on their own during center time, free time, or even at home.

Kids enjoy the games and activities and I never have to worry about engagement. I have kids taking more ownership of their learning, because they will work on things at home using StarrMatica.

I have started to use StarrMatica in every area, as they have a great search and find component built in. It is a quick way to find engaging activities for my kids, using technology. Instead of having to go out and just search and search for things to fit all of my areas, I can go to one website and do it all in half the time. Teachers are always struggling for time, and this helps alleviate that stress. And I know that all of these activities and games are aligned to the Iowa and Common Core. StarrMatica just makes things easier for the teacher.

This is a website that I trust my students to use.  I know the activities and games are going to work and will be there the next time I want to use it. It gives every kid, no matter their skill level, a chance to succeed. It gives teachers a chance to differentiate without having to search on their own to find websites that meet each students’ learning abilities. I fully support StarrMatica and highly encourage everyone to use it.

Want to be our next teacher feature?  Contact us.  We would love to hear about your experiences.