Education Trend- Khan Academy Scarlet Sink - CI 5091

Salman Khan changed his career as a hedge fund analyst y accident! After a family reunion" he took on the task of tutoring his niece in #e$ %ork from his home in &ouisiana! At first he created 'ideos on ()( to send to her! Since this took too long and shi**ing $as e+*ensi'e" he *urchased the e,ui*ment to create 'ideos he could *ost on-line for her to $atch in a timelier manner! Soon" other teachers" *arents and educational *rofessionals egan to use these free 'ideos to hel* students learn a out math! The idea sno$ alled and he ecame an instant sensation $hen -ill .ates *roclaimed him /his fa'orite teacher!0 Soon Sal Khan found himself in the limelight and $ith the acking of -ill .ates and other financial sources launched htt*s122$$$!khanacademy!org2! originally started! In his ook The 3ne 4orld Schoolhouse" Khan e+*lained his 'ision for changing education! 5e elie'ed that school continued to e done inefficiently! 4hat6s more" he ackno$ledged the differences that socio economic status has on learning! 5e also en'isioned a glo al education system that em raced and ins*ired learning around the $orld! 5ere in the 7nited States" school tended to egin in the morning and end in the afternoon! Khan ,uestioned $hy this couldn6t e more fle+i le! 4ith the in'ention of technology" and the different schedules that *eo*le $ork" school could actually ha**en 89 hours a day and not :ust during the morning and afternoon! 5e mentioned that some #o$ Khan $as a le to create much more than $hat he

*eo*le $ork etter in the afternoon and that some *eo*le are most efficient during the night time hours! 4hy couldn6t schools acce*t this and *ossi ly tailor instruction to different human internal clocks; After all" some *arents $orked second or third shift" it seems to make sense that their children might learn more efficiently during that time! Another onus to the 'aried scheduling $ould *ro'ide more o**ortunities for the family to ond doing acti'ities together! The *ossi ilities of teachers taking on their :o s at different times during the day might e etter for them as $ell! Some teachers may ecome etter teachers if they could egin later in the day! Khan also elie'ed that the school day $ould ecome more eneficial for students if they s*ent more time gaining e+*erience $ith sol'ing *ro lems and researching than the lecture then com*lete $orksheets! 5e thought *re-teaching conce*ts might allo$ teachers to ecome facilitators of mastery learning! The current model $ith *acing guides and testing *ressured failed to allo$ teachers to s*end time $ith students to uild mastery $ith skills! Khan hel*ed teachers egin to fli* their classroom learning! Imagine if all of your students learned the content you *resented $ith <0= mastery! 4hat ha**ened to the other 80= of the content; This goal of settling for success to <0= left students $ith a deficit of 80= of the learning" in essence caused a ga* in mastery! 4hen considering math" if alge ra $as learned to <0= mastery and the students could sol'e asic e,uations and radicals accurately! The 80= missing might ha'e contained the a ility to use and a**ly formulas or to calculate *ercentages! 4hat im*act $ould these missing skills ha'e on the student $hen they egan the ne+t math course" $hich then com ined the a ility to sol'e e,uation and a**ly formulas; The student $ould ha'e to /master0 and learn those skills in order to reach the mastery le'el

for synthesi>ing the t$o skills! Khan argued that mastery should e at the forefront of teaching so students can transition easily from one academic le'el to the ne+t $ithout ha'ing to fill in ga*s that should ha'e een mastered in *re'ious content! Another to*ic he roached a out education in the 7S $as the uni'ersity system! Although our college students com*leted their degrees" they $ere often still not ,ualified for engineering or high tech *ositions ecause they lacked the creati'ity and *ro lem sol'ing skills! Em*loyers here $ere frustrated $ith the college graduates $ith e+cellent .?As ut $ho couldn6t think creati'ely or $ork successfully in a team en'ironment! Khan discussed the im*ortance of internshi*s and their a ility to identify students $ith skills com*anies sought in ne$ em*loyees! #e$ internshi*s $ere a far cry from the days of filing *a*er$ork or running errands! @80"000 for a summer internshi* caused a flurry of acti'ity for students to com*ete to $ork at high-end com*uter com*anies in Silicone )alley! In e+change for the e+*erience of $orking on a team com*leting an im*ortant *rogram for a com*any" the students $ere re$arded $ith skills they could only learn y /doing0 rather than sitting in a classroom listening to lectures! 4aterloo 7ni'ersity in Canada used internshi*s as *art of its curriculum! Students there $ould s*end a semester during the $inter or s*ring $orking for a com*any! Aany of our technology com*anies here could only find Canadian interns during these times of the year" since our colleges re,uire classes in the $inter and s*ring! Those students not only $ere *aid for their time $orking" ut many of them $ere re$arded $ith careers here in the 7S ecause they had more e+*erience on their resumes than their 7S counter*arts! Khan suggested an internshi*- ased model for uni'ersities here! #o$ the ,uestion ecame $ho $ould run

these institutions and ho$ could $e e+change the .?A system to a measurement $here a**lied kno$ledge could e used! Khan6s second *oint a out schooling discussed the dis*arity et$een social classes! 3 'iously" the middle class and $ealthy students families could *ro'ide the resources necessary for success! 5e ,uestioned ho$ could $e le'el the field and egin to *ro'ide resources to the less fortunate! 4ith the Khan Academy 'ideos" anyone $ith access to the Internet" $hich $as e'eryone ecause they could use the *u lic li rary" could fli* their learning $ith their 'ideos! E'en more so" the $ay the *rogram on the Internet runs" students chose $hat they $ant to learn and then *racticed until they demonstrated /mastery!0 Aastery ha**ened $hen a student ans$ered 10 ,uestions assessing a *articular skill 10 times! If a student missed ,uestion num er <" 10 or num er 1" the assessment started o'er! This conce*t allo$ed students to fill ga*s $here learning $as missed" or to stri'e to mo'e ahead in the curriculum! Burthermore" Khan $anted to teach on a glo al le'el! Since almost e'ery third $orld 'illage oasts at least 1 T) $ith a )CC or ()( *lay" Khan Academy $ould urn ()(6s of his 'ideos and send them off to these 'illages! Allo$ing students $ho didn6t ha'e access to technology to at least gain some e+*osure to to*ics they should kno$ a out! The conce*t follo$ed his desire to create a learning en'ironment for e'ery child on the *lanet! Aany *eo*le feared the rush of su**ort for Salman Khan and the Academy! These fears included re*lacing the classroom teacher" the need to *ro'ide more e+*eriences for students and the audacity that Khan could teach etter than a real *erson! 3thers e+*ress concern that indi'iduals $ith no classroom e+*erience" like -ill .ates and

Sal Khan ha'e egun to influence *olitical and financial changes in education! Birst" Khan ackno$ledged that his 'ideos could ne'er re*lace classroom teachers! 5e discussed the enlightened classroom" $here learning gets a oost from technology infused into the teaching! 5is 'ideos do *ro'ided a means for fli**ing the classroom! 4here students $atched a 'ideo or content on line at home as /home$ork"0 and then returned to the classroom $ith the a ility to discuss" *ractice or im*lement the *rocess in a *ro:ect! 5is 'ideos no$ taught science and social studies conce*ts Dalthough" he hired e+*erts to *roduce these 'ideos since his e+*ertise is mathE! Khan also mentioned the idea of team teaching! Instead of 1 teacher to 80-85 students" $hat could ha**en if <5-100 students had four teachers in the same classroom; Aany educational *rofessionals agreed" ,uality teaching didn6t e,ual to the ,uantity of teaching! There $ere teachers $ith smaller classroom $ho rarely met 1 on 1 $ith students and classrooms of F0 students $here teachers intentionally s*ent time $ith each student on a daily asis! 4ho $ould e the etter teacher the teacher $ho taught $hole class" or s*ent time indi'idually $ith students; The relationshi*s et$een students and their teachers fostered the learning and achie'ement in the classroom! Khan asked readers to imagine $hat $ould ha**en in a huge classroom $here four e+*ert teachers s*ent time $ith each of the students! Students could also egin to mo'e for$ard and learn a out to*ics they $ere interested in! Instead of only co'ering to*ics assigned from the teachers" students could no$ e+*lore connections to the o'er arching ideas *resented in class! Khan em races the relationshi* that teachers ha'e $ith students! 5e looked for a solution and ho*ed to allo$ teachers to s*end more time guiding students $ith e+*eriences rather than lecturing

to*ics" $hich needed to e co'ered for state standards! Khan Academy allo$ed teachers and *arents the a ility to track and follo$ e+actly $here students achie'e and $here they struggle! 3ne of the latest trends in education included the use of /(ata (ri'en Instruction!0 Khan Academy *ro'ided a *lethora of data for classroom teachers com*aring students $ithin the classroom and throughout other users of the soft$are! This data allo$ed teachers to target skills needed in classrooms and students $ho might ha'e needed additional su**ort $ith a *articular lesson! Accumulating the data for teachers $ould allo$ them to ecome more efficient and effecti'e $ith their teaching! Bor instance" if a class had mastered ordered *airs" instructional time shouldn6t e utili>ed for re'ie$ing the skill" ut allo$ students to use their mastery in a**lication *ro:ects! Khan Academy egan its first system $ide im*lementation this year in Idaho! After seeing im*ro'ed achie'ement for students utili>ing Khan Academy" the state de'elo*ed a *lan to integrate the Academy in schools! 3nly F<= of Idaho6s students currently *erform at grade le'el in math! The state $as $illing to try ne$ conce*ts to hel* ridge the ga* for the students in their system! The coming fall $ould *ro'ide students $ith a lended learning e+*erience through Khan Academy! Through a 'ariety of grants" school6s im*ro'ed technology and sought *rofessional de'elo*ment! The desired outcome $ould e teachers $ho could carefully monitor student *rogress and assist as needed in student *rogress! #ot all schools $ould im*lement Khan Academy right a$ay! 5o$e'er" schools $ere carefully chosen and the *rograms $ould 'ary accordingly! (ifferent forms of technology" including la*to*s" ta let and other de'ices $ould e tested! 3ne school" $hich can6t allo$ Internet access"

$ould e'en use an off line 'ersion of the soft$are! 4hile reading these articles" the fears and a**rehension e+*ressed regarding the Khan Academy $ere ama>ing! Clearly" the intentions of Khan Academy $ere fairly straightfor$ard! The enter*rise had een created from a s*ecific need" Khan tutoring his cousin long distance! Burthermore" indi'iduals $ho utili>ed his 'ideos as enhancements to learning $ere sho$ing *rogress and success! 4ouldn6t teachers $ho had their student6s est interests at heart make a stand for im*lementing /$hate'er it takes0 to create successful learning; -reaking do$n the current Common Core" Essential Standards and 81st Century Skills" $ould indicate that Khan Academy addresses content in a $ay that $orks for many students! -eyond the asics of math skills" Khan Academy assisted students in learning to hel* themsel'es" $hich is a 81st Century Skill! Students $ho needed e+tra challenges or slo$er content deli'ery can e in charge of ho$ much they *rogress! The

e+tra data allo$ed teachers to e'aluate indi'idual *rogress and uild intentional content lessons to assist students in their academic *rogress! (eli'ering content to a $ide 'ariety of learning styles and le'els remained an issue in classrooms! Teachers often found themsel'es attem*ting to teach students $ho $ere elo$ grade le'el along $ith students $ho $ere a o'e grade le'el! Challenging these students to *rogress $as challenging! Khan Academy offered teachers the a ility to allo$ students to mo'e ahead in their learning $ithout ha'ing to create additional lessons! Khan Academy also allo$ed students $ho needed e+tra assistance $ith a skill to relearn and *ractice the skill to mastery! -ecause Khan Academy frees u* instructional time" teachers could egin to tailor and target im*act learning for their students!

Students utili>ing Khan Academy $ere finally allo$ed to take res*onsi ility for their o$n learning! These students could *ace learning so they felt comforta le and successful! Aonitoring their o$n success increased the 'alue of their learning and sense of accom*lishment! 5a'ing teachers as guides allo$ed them to ask ,uestions" and increased their a ility to seek ans$ers $here information $as unclear! These skills remain im*ortant goals to fostering 81st Century skills that de'elo* life and career skills and inno'ation and creati'ity as outlined y htt*122$$$!*81!org2! Time taken a$ay from classroom instruction to com*lete assessments continued to e another concern for teachers and *arents regarding instruction! 7nfortunately" the data recei'ed from the state sometimes lacks significant details a out learning! Teachers cra'e intentional data that could e read easily and inform ne+t ste*s for learning! Khan Academy *ro'ided this data along $ith suggestions for learning! Students $ould no longer lose learning time to com*lete assessments $hen using Khan Academy! The data com*iled from students learning $as an authentic *iece of data for teachers! In middle school" students lose a**ro+imately 18 school days *er year for state mandated assessments! Bor many teachers" those days e,ual the time needed to teach a com*lete unit of study! Khan Academy could *ro'ide the data $ithout losing that instructional time! 3ur current school model failed too many students to continue on the same *ath! ?erha*s Khan Academy $asn6t the ans$er to increasing success! 5o$e'er" the anti,uated educational *ractices still utili>ed in classrooms needed to e restructured! At least teachers had the o**ortunity to try something inno'ati'e that seemed to moti'ate students to ecome more accounta le and am itious in their learning $hile addressing

'alua le 81st Century skills!

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Carr" (! D801F" Aarch 1E! Khan academy launches first state$ide *ilot in Idaho! Information Week Education, http://www.informationweek.com/education/onlinelearning/khan-academy-launches-first-state-wide-p

Khan" S! D8018E! The one world schoolhouse: education reimagined. #e$ %ork1 T$el'e!

?arslo$" .! D8018E! Commentary1 the Khan Academy and the day-night fli**ed classroom" iochemistry and !olecular iology Education "#D5E! FFI-FF<!

Sa+ erg" -! D801FE! A ri'er of data! Education $e%t &'D1E" htt*122educationne+t!org2ari'er-of-data2

Tal ert" C! D8018" Guly FE! The trou le $ith Khan Academy L4e log commentM! Cetrie'ed Gune 81" 801F from htt*122chronicle!com2 lognet$ork2castingoutnines2801820I20F2the-trou le- $ithkhan-academy2

4aters" A D8011" Guly 11E! The $rath against Khan1 $hy some educators are ,uestioning Khan Academy L$e log commentM! Cetrei'ed Gune 1I" 801F from $$$!information$eek!com2education2online-learning2khan-academy-launchesfirst-state-$ide-*