Tools: Khanacademy

MY SCREENCAST about Khan Academy:

The web-based tool that I am discussing is “Khan Academy”. Some of you may remember the youtube video that Jenn showed to the class a couple of weeks back about the founder, Salman Khan, talking about the site and the power of technology in the classroom. It is a nonprofit organization and is completely free to sign up and use as a teacher, student and parent.

WHAT KIND OF VIDEOS ARE ON THE WEBSITE?

Khan Academy is an educational tool, whose mission is to create a world class education “for free. for everyone. forever.” The website uses thousands of different 3-4 minute videos that cover a gamut of topics and sub-topics from mathematics, to physics, to prehistoric art in Europe and West Asia. Each subject has hundreds of video attached that cover various age levels, from kindergarten to masters programs.

What is so wonderful about each video is that it is short and concise. Many of them, particularly in the lower level videos, like “Algebra Basics 1” where he uses Chuck Norris to represent the variable “x”, before moving on to something less tangible and more abstract. I must admit, Chuck Norris has never been used to better effect. The videos become far more serious as you move into topics such as: “Physic: Empirical and molecular formulas for stoichiometry.” Each video connects to practice material, as well as another video to deepen one’s knowledge of the desired subject. Points are awarded for every right answer and you cannot move forward unless you get a particular amount of questions correct in a row - some videos you need ten, others five, others one.

HOW CAN THIS BE RELEVANT FOR A TEACHER?

I believe this website, and websites like it, have the potential to change the way teachers act in the classroom. The responsibilities of the educator will change, as the way education and information are presented shifts. What I mean by that is, if students can have agency in their own learning at home, and can be taught by someone through a video at a more concise and controlled rate than most teachers in a classroom, what then, is the role of the classroom teacher? Moving forward, the teacher is no longer a lecturer; rather, the teacher can now do what he/she is meant to do: lend assistance and focus to students that need help. Every student can go at their own pace and the teacher, through various resources Khan Academy has set up, can circulate and see who needs more attention to get caught up, and who can even be a mentor to other students in the class.

A classroom community can be set up, where there is mentorship, agency and collaboration, unlike anything the classroom has been able to nurture before. Khan Academy states that they “guide learners from kindergarten to calculus using state-of-the-art, adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps.” The website does the most difficult job for the teacher; it highlights, immediately, the students who can mentor and the one’s that need extra help. Traditionally, it would be impossible to circulate to each student that needs assistance because half of the math lesson is used to lecture. Using Khan, the majority of the lecture is complete before the class starts. That gives the teacher substantial additional time to spend teaching to the students who need it.

WHY IS THIS RELEVANT FOR STUDENTS?

Students can use this tool at their own pace; they can pause, restart or skipped videos based on where they are at with the material. One may be able to skip the videos, but there is always a small “test” that accompanies those videos to ensure that you have enough knowledge of the subject to move forward with the material.

Immediately, the students have control over their own learning in a way in which they never had before. They control how fast they learn and at what pace they will move through various modules. On the website, everything is laid out in a very linear and straight forward way. A student knows what they must do to move to the next level and they also know that they are accountable to the website. It is interactive and you can create an avatar when you begin on the website. A student earns points depending on how many videos they engage with and on getting correct answer for each module. Students can track their own progress and see where they need work.

In a traditional classroom, after one class about integers, you move on. Even if you do not understand the concept and did not do the homework, you push forward. Now the student has checked out and cares very little, if at all about math because the student does not believe in his/herself. By having countless archived videos on every mathematical concept that will be covered, students can go back, re-watch and gain understanding on their own. Students can be masters of a concept even if they do not initially understand at all. This structure of teaching, allows students to gain the understanding at their own pace, instead of the pace of learning being dictated by the teacher.

Students do not only have control over what they view, but why they should do it. Through this style of teaching, students become self-reflective learner. They are teaching themselves what mastery is, and how they, themselves, learn. They will begin to understand their own study habits and what is most effective. There are message boards for every module and lesson that gives students access to asking questions and searching for answers on their own. Students teach themselves how to learn and the classroom teacher, then, teaches them how to collaborate and create.

Khan Academy has even made unit plans for teachers that have accompanied power points, videos, hand outs and experiential activities.

HOW IS THIS RELEVANT TO PARENTS?

Khan Academy allows an area to sign up to the site as a parent. This is exceedingly useful, particularly before one enters post-secondary, as it gives parents an up to date reflection of where their child is at in terms of progress and work ethic. During my parent teachers interviews many parents had questions about why their child received a certain grade and what they need work on; the parent aspect of Khan Academy answers all of those questions before the parents even think them.

Not only does it make the student more accountable, it makes the parents more accountable. Parents, now, cannot shun the responsibility in assisting in their child’s learning. Parents now have a choice in how to engage in their child’s education. If parents are not sure of some math or science concepts, they can use the video tutorials to learn as well. It puts the whole family on the same page. Furthermore, the site has museum tours that the parents can administer if they so choose.

TPACK:

Speaking for myself, I consider Khan Academy to be an apt example of my own pedagogy. More than anything, I value students to have agency over their own learning. Khan Academy gives students this ability. They are at the heart of their own learning and become critical of their own understanding. I believe that in order for this site to completely align with my own pedagogy, it would be necessary to scaffold these lessons before attempting to have students learn at their own pace. It would push the educator to stay extremely alert everyday to monitor who is where in the unit and who can mentor other students effectively.

Not only does Khan give pace for students to explore their own learning and understanding, but it allows them to interact with technology in a meaningful and educational way. The distractions on a computer are countless; however, if the students can push themselves to focus on each video, it gives them the opportunity to view technology as an educational tool as well.

More than anything, Khan gives the teacher the classroom, not to cover material, but to infuse collaboration and monitor understanding. Both of these things are difficult to imbue in a math class because of the pithy content that inherently must be covered. Khan allows for teachers to create lessons and units in a much deeper way and challenges teachers to have experiential and hands on learning activities.

Students can find a new belief in themselves, as the move through Khan Academy. It is so easy for a student to check out when fallen behind. It is an excuse not to learn and discover. Khan Academy has the potential to have students believe in themselves and find new meanings in their own learning.

CAUTIONS:

- The biggest draw back to Khan Academy is the fact that it exists on the internet, and therefore, demands that every student has access to a computer.

• Even with a computer, internet access is necessary. If you do not have access to the internet, or your connection is unpredictable, the site has no effect on learning.

• Although Khan Academy has their videos translated to over 40 languages, there are still a number of languages that have not yet been accessed.

• The site, particularly for parent, can seem a bit difficult to navigate through. There are a number of different tabs and, until you have used it for a while, it can be dreadfully confusing.

• Many students may not use the site effectively and could get left even farther behind because of the “go-at-your-own-pace” style of the website.

• If the teacher does not use the check in resources effectively, then the teacher will not be able to circulate the class properly.

• The internet has an infinite amount of distractions.

IN CONCLUSION:

What I find most incredible about this educational resource is the fact that it has the potential to be used world wide. I think of a place like South Sudan, a place that has very few schools and even fewer students. If there was someway to make DVD’s of certain curriculums for grade levels, the possibility of creating an education package for students becomes a very real thing.

I believe in this technology a great deal and think that it connects to the new curriculum in a deep way. The more content that can be covered at home, the more big ideas can be discussed and honoured in the classroom. Is this the way of the future? I think the answer is yes.

I would encourage all of you to create an account and have some fun navigating through the site, you may even decide to watch a tutorial on advanced calculus and learn something new.

https://www.khanacademy.org/