<p>I've been feeling very pessimistic about our global future with our failure to confront some huge long-term problems But here is one bright spot that gives me hope for the next generation. The Khan Academy with its online learning format, now with the backing of the Gates Foundation, is going to revolutionize our schools and colleges. The illustrative examples of how teachers are using and interacting with these tools in a pilot program in Palo Alto are particularly fascinating, and the concept of "flipping" home/schoolwork is key.</p>
<p>I've long thought this would be the future of education...allowing kids to move through each concept and subject at their own pace and allowing teachers to focus their efforts on helping individuals at whatever level they're at. If you listen to this NPR (On Point) interview with Kahn you'll hear college students calling in to say how beneficial these lessons have been in their education. With this format, lower schools through colleges can ditch scheduled formal lecturing and become real learning centers with small groups and one on one interaction. It also bodes well for real equality of opportunity as these are truly low-cost alternatives for education.</p>
<p>Oh thanks, Sabaray. I didn’t find this in a thread search as I must have misspelled the name. But I would encourage anyone who has the time and interest to watch the TED talk. He is terrific.</p>
<p>It really is very interesting and innovative. My son struggled with math all through high school and is now trying to learn everything he should have in high school. I have recommended this as an option for him - I think it will also have a broad application to adult learners.</p>
<p>I’m a huge fan of Khan Academy! A college prof friend introduced me to it last year.</p>
<p>Both my middle school kids were skipping a math class this year (daughter, because she started in remedial math, but was doing well, son because he was doing really well in elementary math last year). We had them do math on Khan all summer (no playing video games/watching tv until you do Khan!) They both feel comfortably ahead even though they missed a year that they normally would have taken.</p>
<p>College freshman d used Khan to brush up on math, chem, and bio. She doesn’t start class til next week, so yet to see if it will pay off.</p>
<p>H and I have both done some of the math to see what the kids are doing and history/science just for fun. </p>
<p>We use Khan all the time when class material or the book is not clear. I began rec. the you.tube sites after a Forbes article several years ago. The implications for this are so wide-spread, from the student who needs extra help to the those who want to work ahead. As a parent it is a great resource for us to go to “after-hours” to try (and I mean try) help my daughter with that advanced algebra problem.</p>
<p>My kids have used Khan for all kinds of things…to supplement online instruction, help on homework, look up things they are interested in, help with things related to their EC, brush up on SAT skills, you name it. It’s just one of many resources, but the one they go to first!</p>
<p>What I find most exciting is that they have been experimenting with it as the basis for classroom instruction, this past year with two fifth grade and seventh grade classrooms (maybe expanding this year). The idea of having kids get their basic instruction at home, for homework, and then do exercises and work with the teachers at school, (flipping) is revolutionary. Also, the software that allows teachers to track very specifically each student and where their weaknesses are is a powerful boost to teacher efficiency. One of the teachers involved with this interviewed was highly positive about the system.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what’s so innovative about the Khan Academy? I tried looking at a few videos, and except for the fact that it’s on a video and it’s free, I can’t tell any difference from a classroom lecture, or even a textbook.</p>
<p>There is nothing original about an online lecture, however, with Khan each subject is broken up into 10-12 minute explanations of concepts, originally because of the youtube time constraint. This time limit proved to be an optimal length for a concept-based lecture. And apparently those that have used his videos believe he has a great gift for explaining things clearly.</p>
<p>But the real innovation has come after they took off as a widely popular supplementary learning tool and greatly expanded their range in subjects and grade levels. While not part of Khan’s original purpose, the expansion has led to a rethinking of the classroom experience in which Khan could do all the lecturing in short modules for kids at home who can pause, rewind and replay as much as they need to for the concept to sink in. At the same time teachers are freed up to work with students individually on exercises and projects that reinforce the concepts. Accompanied with an incredibly detailed tracking system, in which the teacher knows exactly how much time is spent by each student on each concept, and to what extent it is mastered at any given moment, the program promises to greatly increase teacher efficiency.</p>
<p>Imagine a system in which a students’ progress in every area is tracked automatically, with immediate feedback, and with consistent, data-based and objective means to evaluate teacher effectiveness. For one thing, it may greatly reduce the need for standardized testing.</p>