Russ Steele
Ever since my friend George Rebane introduced me to the Khan Academy, I have been telling friends and family, especially the grandkds, about this marvelous educational tool develped by Sal Khan on YouTube. I have even used it to sharpen my long lost math skills.
The Cal Political News has a story by Lance Secretan at the World Future Society about the Khan Academy and this radical educational experiment
"In some cases, radical experiments, such as turning over the school to the students, has resulted in remarkable outcomes. If students are not inspired to learn, and are not inspiring themselves to do so and to play a bigger game in life, then a continual erosion of academic standards is inevitable. And this raises the subject of how we teach.
Sal Khan is providing us with an insight to the future. Realizing that making millions as a hedge-fund manager would not lead to a fulfilling life, he began tutoring his 7th-grade cousin, Nadia, with remote tutoring math sessions. She moved from struggling with math to advancing several grade levels in ability, and this led to other friends and family calling for help. He began recording the lectures online and this led to the creation of the Khan Academy whose video lectures on YouTube are now viewed by tens of thousands of teachers and students every day. This pattern is spreading"
Lance Secretan thinks the future of teaching will looks like this:
1. Physical schools may become less necessary and the purpose of school buildings will change dramatically.
2. A streamed video lecture by a world-class professional expert will often be of superior quality than an in-person lecture by a local teacher.
3. The lectures will be completed in the evening so that tutoring can take place during the day, giving teachers the opportunity to spend more of their time offering personal guidance to each student.
4. Graduation will not be a criteria – having a full grasp of each subject will be.
5. Tomorrow’s teachers (and those of today who wish to excel) will learn how to become inspired again as teachers, and how to inspire their students to learn – and therefore make a difference in the world.
I highly recommend watch the Khan Academy video and make up your own mind if this would be a valuable tool in your home or children's school. Let's change the world one student at a time!
