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Grant To Allow Khan Academy To Expand, Build a Physical School
mayberry42 writes with this news snipped from Hack Education: "Khan Academy announced this morning that it has raised $5 million from the O'Sullivan Foundation (a foundation created by Irish engineer and investor Sean O'Sullivan). The money is earmarked for several initiatives: expanding the Khan Academy faculty, creating a content management system so that others can use the program's learning analytics system, and building an actual brick-and-mortar school, beginning with a summer camp program."
I'm not as impressed by khan as some people are. What it does best is get your feet in the water on a subject or topic that you've been avoiding out of dread or intimidation. Sal's easygoing manner also helps in this regard. But since the experience is passive, you don't remember much of what you "learned" a couple weeks down the road. It doesn't replace a good textbook or a good work ethic.
And all the for-profit schools raise their fists in the air and scream: "KKHAAANNNN!!!"
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Can someone figure out why they need to actually build their own place? I just don't see how it fits with their strengths...
I wish that average Americans would consider this sort of learning more seriously. While it isn't a full university degree by any means, at least it should help bring them up to the level that the rest of the world is at, in terms of education and knowledge.
Although I'm European, I do have to deal with typical Americans far more often than I'd like through my work. Virtually all of the Americans I deal with are working for large businesses, so perhaps they're even above average to some extent. However, in terms of knowledge, education and basic reasoning abilities, they are far below the comparable people I deal with in Europe and Asia.
Let me give you some examples. On at least eight occasions now I've had to deal with Americans who couldn't perform basic arithmetic. In these cases, they contacted us, complaining that we overbilled them. We take these complaints seriously, so we double-checked the accounting and everything added up according to our numbers. We asked the Americans for theirs, and they provided us with the same numbers we had. We double-checked their arithmetic, and they had made some errors with basic addition! Although we do far more business with European and Asian customers, we have never once had to field a similar complain from them.
I occasionally have to deal with these Americans by email. You wouldn't believe how atrocious their grasp of English is, including many who are native English speakers! Some of them, including high-level managers and executives, do not know about capitalization or punctuation. If it weren't for most email clients today having built-in spellchecking, I suspect that these emails would be rife with typos, too. I have never seen this when emailing European or Asian customers in English, however. Even the lowest-level employees there often have impeccable written English skills. It has gotten to the point that I can reliably tell where a customer is located based on the body of the email alone, considering only whether or not capitalization and punctuation are used.
I don't dislike these Americans, but it's clear that they are below the rest of the world when it comes to education. I wish that they would better consider opportunities like this. Even if they don't attain the level of education and knowledge that the rest of the world has, any elevation whatsoever would be beneficial for all of us.
At least in physics there is a HUGE body of evidence that telling is basically not teaching, be it lectures or videos. That is, one must confront student misconceptions and more generally understand how people learn. We don't learn deeply by watching. Seriously, what elite athlete learned by watching and listening?
Try out these links:
"Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos" https://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/khan-academy-and-the-effectiveness-of-science-videos/
"Improved Learning in a Large Enrollment Physics Class" http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_research/index.html
"Why Not Try a Scientific Approach to Science Education?" http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/files/Wieman-Change_Sept-Oct_2007.pdf (the author is both a Nobel Laureate and a U.S. University Professor of the Year; he's currently Deputy Science Adviser to the President for science education)
It is a sad commentary that methods that have rigorously been shown to work, like http://modeling.asu.edu/ , could really use more funding when Khan gets such funding on just the publicity.
A few posible reasons:
That last might be done better in the teacher's own classroom; at least as an initial survey, and then see how they change to deal with a more normalized environment.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
The ASU page you linked lists 10s of millions of dollars of NSF grants. I think it is ago if a private individual wants to grant money to a school to do the same thing.
Your post indicates you did not even bother to read the slash dot summary. If you had, you would realize this grant is about doing, not telling. It has nothing at all to do with lecture videos.
> Seriously, what elite athlete learned by watching and listening?
lol... What did a athlete learn by running or swimming? :D
nah man... you're too late.. khan has earned his money because he is awesome
That's broadly true of most areas of education. For instance, language classes need to hit four domains with most lessons to be most effective. That is to say reading, writing, listening and speaking, the problem being that a site like the Khan Acadamy isn't going to be well suited to the writing and speaking components, and be very heavy on the reading and listening components. One can still learn like that, but it's a much slower process.
To an extent that applies to other subjects as well, you'd be surprised how much you can learn doing problems, even if you've done one or two like it before, the results add up over time, but if you don't have somebody to check your work or show you how to do it, you're going to take a lot longer to learn it, assuming you do in the first place.
Khaaaaaan!!!!! Khaaaaaaaaaaan!!! KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!
The system that I envision, at least as far as math is concerned, is something that I dub "modular math" -- though, that term should not be confused with modulus. I think the curriculum should be broken up from arithmetic to calculus in models (sets, pods, mods, levels, whatever).
A student meats the material at their level, and progresses through each model. This allows a student to quickly move through material that is easier for them and to have the time required for material that is more difficult. I imagine a system whereby students participate in a math curriculum whereby they progress on their own through CORRECT (yet to be defined) use of online lectures and quizzes and tests.
A teacher is ever present and provides the one on one work that the student requires when they hit a topic that they have trouble with, or need further or alternate explanation. The puts the teacher as a facilitator that needs to be familiar with all levels of math from basic arithmetic through calculus -- and by familiar, I mean able to actually teach the concepts. A teacher may have a student in model 4 and model 10 in the same room, and when each student has an issue, the teacher would need to be able to step in at that topic and work with the student.
I have begun development of the requisite online tools for this, but Khan has, by far, a lead on videos and lectures -- and even presence. I thought of this way before Khan was popular enough for me to have heard of him, but, with most things, it comes down to who implements it first. I think that it could be an exciting next step for the Khan Academy.
No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.
This is great news. Khan already has a superb employee, John Resig of jQuery fame, who can organize these funds and help develop spectacular learning environments. Traditional colleges and universities should study this organization closely and take notes before they are obsoleted.
Step 1: Accidentally discover that videos with a particular instruction style help lots of people learn outside of physical schools.
Step 2: Build a physical school
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Is not that kids are stupid, it is in the presentation.
Math as it is presented in most all schools is one of the driest subjects on the planet.
Yes there are kids who just get it but they are not the majority in point of fact they are a tiny minority.
I remember sitting through basic algebra and it was mind numbing ( this was in the early 70's ) and nothing was related to the real world, just the rules of algebra for weeks on end.
Even today with a 10 year old I am having to go back and re-learn math skills that have long since faded to someplace in the back of my brain so I can help my own kid with his homework. The Kahn Academy has been the best refresher course I have ever found.
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
I've always preffered bricks and mortar (and concrete) over wooden buildings.
Hivemind harvest in progress..
The core of the Khan Academy's approach is that students learn by watching videos (i.e. the teaching telling) and this funding will expand that approach. In the article, it states, "And that means you just need a handful of good lecturers’ record their lessons; the Internet will take care of the rest."
As in https://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/khan-academy-and-the-effectiveness-of-science-videos/ and in my other links this approach doesn't work very well if what you care about is deep learning. Sure -- student can plug numbers into the correct formula, but do they really understand? Other approach do lead to a deeper understanding. It is unfortunate that Khan hasn't looked at the relevant pedagogical research that deals with these issues.
Well, no. What the physicists have found is that even if students can plug values into an equation, they don't really understand. Here's an anecdote that illustrates the issue. Eric Mazur teaches physics at Harvard; most of his student have a 5 on the AP physics exam. Some years back he heard about a key assessment used in physics, the "Force Concept Inventory." Instead of having students do calculations, it asks conceptual questions, like what happens if a car and truck collide. Physicists finds the questions shockingly easy. Thinking that he lectured well and that he had good students (who has better ones?), Mazur gave the FCI. A minute or two after passing it out, a student asked, "How should I answer these question -- they way you taught me or the way I think about these things?" In short, she didn't deeply understand the material. It turned out she had a lot of company. Mazur then began to search for better teaching methods than telling (i.e. lecturing). See Mazur's article in Sciencehttp://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=display&rowid=635 , and if you have the time, this video, "Confessions of a Converted Lecturer," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwslBPj8GgI . Finally, this short video shows how he teaches today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBYrKPoVFwg
In short, telling (videos, lectures, whatever) isn't really teaching. Good teaching takes into account knowledge that student bring to the classroom and more broadly how we learn. Most teaching (I'm a professional educator -- a college professor) doesn't do this. Check out "How People Learn," from the National Academies Press, http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368
There are plenty of quizzes, a directed graph to help you pick the next topic, great hinting when you get stuck, silly awards for different types of progress, the ability to create student-teacher account associations ("coach" feature), etc.
Of course, lesson one is that you need to lie about your birthdate if you are under 13. This is because nobody under 13 is allowed to use the Internet, including Khan Academy. Unfortunately you need subtraction to do this, but I'll help you just this once: say you were born in 1969.
Grey means you haven't done the prerequisites. Green means that you have done the prerequisites. Blue means that you have mastered the lesson.
None of this works unless you get an account of course.
I watched some videos and took some practice tests and my mind immediately started thinking: "He tasks me! He tasks me, and I shall have him! I'll chase him round the Moons of Nibia, and round the Antares Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up! Prepare to alter course!"
Has anybody who is funding Khan Academy actually looked at the material they teach? I teach college-level calculus, and I guarantee that if any student was learning about limits (the basics!) from Khan Academy, they would fail even the easy exams.
cf. http://www.khanacademy.org/exercises?exid=limits_2
Even in the videos where they're supposed to teach how to do the exercise, the lecturer just says "the way I think about these problems is to plug in a million and a billion, and you see how it works.... I know I kinda just hand waved it but that's how you think about it." He then proceeds to claim "they kinda just cancel out," and "it's non-rigorous but it gives you the right answer."
This is why our students come up with inane things like sin(x)/x = sin, because "they just kinda cancel out." Nobody should seriously attempt to learn from an institution that doesn't actually teach mathematics, reinforces bad habits, and probably confuses students more in the long run.
Even in the art history videos (e.g. Virgin of the Rocks http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/leonardo-virgin-of-the-rocks), they discuss the differences between two versions of Da Vinci's painting but ignore the only visual difference: the hand! Instead they talk about "how I think of Mary" blah blah blah.
Go get a real education by reading a book or going to class. World-class education my ass.
Sure, for idiots whose opinions don't matter, telling isn't teaching. For people who care, telling is teaching.
one could just do meta-Kahn academy.
Wrap each lesson up into a primer, where that "advanced language" is broken down to basic terms. Core material can then be leveraged in multiple ways where people who do see it differently, or who can expand on what is there are free to do so.
Blogging because I can...
This video and scores does not include the feedback loop of the course exercises. The feedback of the coursework is where the pre-conceptions are corrected. Reviewing a vid can be a moment of discovery when you find a preconception is false.
I am taking some lessons. I am learning. Additional videos from other sources are great reinforcement of learned concepts. I recommend the Physics for Future Presidents.
http://physics.berkeley.edu/academics/Courses/physics10/teaching/Physics10/PffP.html
The truth shall set you free!
If Khan's videos were as bad as the ones in the wordpress link, I would agree with the skepticism. But Khan's videos are really good (at least the Math ones I've watched).
Sounds like a move that will kick off a whole new eugenics war all over again.
Projects like Modeling, http://modeling.asu.edu/ , are designed to ferret out misconceptions. They're typically deeply entrenched and you really have to address them head-on in really thoughtful ways. When you do, deep learning may then occur. Watching videos, not designed to ferret our misconceptions, isn't nearly as likely to do this.
This is totally anecdotal, but I've heard of reports of modeling instructors getting pressured to use Khan's videos. The former has sound pedagogy and tons of research behind it demonstrating improved student understanding and the latter has neither. Sigh.
To really assess you learning (if you're doing Newtonian Mechanics), see if your instructors will give you the "Force Concept Inventory." It's a standard in physics education research. For more on it, see http://modeling.asu.edu/r%26e/fci.pdf . As they put it, "(1) commonsense beliefs about motion and force are incompatible with Newtonian concepts in most respects, (2) conventional physics instruction produces little change in these beliefs, and (3) this result is independent of the instructor and the mode of instruction." At last count, Google Scholar reports 1,400 citations to this paper. It's that important. With Khan's videos as taped lectures, this research implies that they don't produce much deep learning.
I prefer wooden buildings over concrete buildings because concrete buildings produce echoes too many times. try it in a concrete building.
Watch Mr. Khan's TEDtalk. Effing brilliant:
http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
Read this from Khan's website and you'll realize how strong your own misconceptions about them are: http://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/6844033473/bringing-creativity-to-class-time-by-sal-khan
I don't think the strength of Khan academy (or any other video-based educational programs) is as a replacement for more traditional education, but rather as a supplement. Khan gives students additional instruction about whatever their interested when they need it. For instance, a student struggling to understand the concept of limits whilst completing a pre-Calculus assignment at 8 pm is not able to get further explanation from their primary instructor at that moment. They can, however, go to the Khan academy lecture on the topic right then, and have the concept explained to them at the moment they need it and immediately put what they've learned into practice on their assigned work. Khan provides immediacy and an alternative viewpoint; it's just like looking the concept up in a textbook, but perhaps easier for many students to follow. So, I agree that it's no replacement for other teaching methods; but it is a great resource which can be made accessible to all English speaking children for a very low cost. Seems worthwhile to me as a supplement to other methods.
I refer my students to KA - not as a teaching tool but as a review tool. The advantage of their delivery method is that a student can rewind and have another look, something that is often not possible in the classroom. The advantage that my students have in my class is that I can see what they are doing, pinpoint where they are struggling and try to find another way of explaining it. So, I believe that KA and conventional teaching can complement each other.
The videos need to be professionally produced. The ad hoc nature is very distracting and time consuming--missing coverage etc. The range and amount of videos is a good specification however. The reversal of homework/instruction times is much needed.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
It's amazing that we are all hailing Khan even though his program long term is not tested. Education is more of just a thought for us all to jump on the band wagon and hail its success. Let him trial his ideas. Then in a few years if children have wasted their lives allowing him to fulfil his ambitions then let him be accountable!!. But if it's a success then lets hail him.