Experiences with Khan Academy
Khan Academy is not a new resource to me,
although this design experiment uncovered some valuable features and
affordances I wasn’t previously aware of.
The basic premise of the tool is simple in that it provides prerecorded
videos that provide explanations to both basic and advanced math concepts as
well as an array of other topics I haven’t ventured into yet. I have found this resource to be beneficial
in both the tutoring environment and as a differentiation resource for students
off abilities; specifically, the gifted and talented students I serve in my
current position. Why Khan?
There are many advantages to using Khan academy
which benefit both teachers and students.
A few of these affordances I was already familiar with while I was surprised
by some new discoveries as well.
Khan academy affords teachers:
- Prerecorded content to allow for easy flipping of classroom content
- Upbeat and motivational explanations
- Videos that mimic one-on-one instruction versus lecture formats (you never see Khan’s face)
- Frees up classroom time for practice, creative experiences and collaboration
- A dashboard with feedback on videos watched by students, attempted problems and resulting successes or failures
- An automated system for staying up to date with individual student progress
Khan academy affords students:
- Differentiated instruction that automatically levels up as students master content
- Video explanations students can access at their own pace by fast forwarding through parts they already understand while also reviewing parts they are struggling with
- Private remediation and the comfort of being able to develop the skill at their own pace without someone standing over them
- Control over various aspects of learning including pace, revisiting weaker skills or moving on to more advanced topics
- Step-by-step explanations as opposed to on-level instruction that assumed previously mastered skills that grade level based teachers often deliver
Criticism to Consider:
Overall, I have been a consumer of and advocate
for Khan academy as an online, differentiated learning resource. I can see the benefits it offers both as a
component of a flipped classroom and a supplemental resource. In my research and further exploration of
Khan Academy for this design experiment, I also found criticism I hadn’t
considered that in fact contradicts the learning theory, constructionism, that
I identify most closely with. Critics of
Khan Academy claim it merely provides a replacement to the classroom drill and
kill delivery method. By this
description, Khan Academy would fall in the substitution or possibly
augmentation levels of the SAMR model of technology integration (Ruben, n.d.). Another important aspect I discovered is how
well the design of Khan Academy aligned with learning theories associated with
behaviorism. In this approach, students
are lectured or shown an explanation (in video form on Khan Academy), given
rote practice and rewarded (with badges on Khan Academy) for desired behaviors or
right answers based on convergent thinking practices, which ultimately demonstrates
mastery of a skill. I found this to be
quite an interesting connection, and really challenged my thinking and stance
on this relevant, useful tool. However,
to counter the critics, I noted that Khan describes his site based videos as a
way to free up time for “creative activities during the school day, like arts,
games, or collectively brainstorming more abstract stuff” (Thompson, 2011). 
“Isaac Newton would not have
invented calculus had he not had textbooks on algebra.”
-Salman Khan
Ruben R. Puentedura's Weblog. (n.d.). Retrieved
June 25, 2017, from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/
No comments:
Post a Comment