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Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

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Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#31

Post by kamens »

kiba wrote: post #7
ilamont wrote: post #3

Yes, the Khan Academy IS the Future of Education." Then: There are no guarantees, of course. Maybe, then, it's time to pull back on the hype machine for Khan Academy. I've used it before, and it's wonderful as a student aid, but it basically boils down to free instructional videos. It's a great help, but it's hardly the revolution that the headline makes it out to be.

What about exercises with game mechanics? I think Khan Academy is becoming a whole system of learning rather than just a very large library of free instruction videos.

Bingo. Dismissing Khan Academy because it's currently mostly known for videos is just as dangerous as dismissing any tiny HN startup that's focusing on a core idea and, once lessons are learned, iterating from there.

We're not arrogant enough to think we'll start out by building a generic AI solution to education.

We do know that we have a) a lot of video content that students are constantly watching, b) dynamically generated math exercises that students use to practice every day, and c) some very encouraging in-school pilot programs.

We're using those experiences to learn and expand. The YouTube video linked in the article shows the edges of our progress so far.

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#32

Post by solipsist »

nvarsj wrote: post #28
solipsist wrote: post #5

I haven't exactly been as amazed by the Khan Academy as everyone else has. After watching a few videos, I decided that we need to focus more on the material that we are teaching - rather than the methods we go about doing it. They will obviously go hand by hand, but in my opinion the material that we are teaching is our biggest weakness and therefore needs the most reform. A video that everyone should take the time t…

"do you need to learn how the engine of a car works before you can drive it?" No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did. Understanding the basics of a science, especially math, is extremely important to fully grasp the higher level topics. I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. Unfortunately I see philosophies as you describe in my lo…

> No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did [learn how a car engine works]

Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself. Computers can give you an understanding of calculations in addition to doing the work.

> I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon.

This is probably the biggest argument against using computers to calculate for you. However, if you haven't already, watch Wolfram's video that I linked to above as he clearly explains how this belief is not necessarily true. The very rudimentary basics will need to be learned by calculating, but anything above the fundamentals can be understood without the calculations.

> Similarly, there are pushes to move more "computer learning" into grade school, despite extremely poor reading and math proficiency.

I think this computer learning is different than the learning I'm talking about. Schools currently use computers as a medium to enhance the current education system. They use them to make calculating more interactive and fun. I think that computers should actually do the calculations, rather than "tricking" the students into doing the work.

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#33

Post by Jach »

dwc wrote: post #27
Jach wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As an autodidact ... if there is a curriculum, it's not obvious. Shouldn't you be used to not having a curriculum (and indeed be thriving) if you're really an autodidact? The structure seems obvious to me. Videos are put in sequences by subject, with pre-requisites coming first. In his physics and finance sequences he frequently calls out a potential video you should watch first to better understand the current con…

As an autodidact interested in far more than I can learn in my lifetime I'm always on the lookout for the easiest path to learning. After struggling to find an acceptably easy path with Khan I dug up some alternate videos that gave me more direction. Am I really an autodidact? It just seemed the most concise word for my self-driven learning. If I don't fit the definition then I should go find a new word. :) > Clippy…

There's a lot to be said about directed learning, totally. I wish I had a mentor growing up. But I've given up on easy learning.. that is, I've picked a lot of low hanging fruit and now I want to learn about quantum mechanics beyond an intuition level (I'd like to do the complicated math), so I have Feynman, Dirac, et al. What I like about Khan material is the brevity, but that doesn't work for all subjects. In the book department Schaum's Outlines for Stuff tend to fit my style well; I like having worked examples so I can pick up the patterns. If only I could just implant knowledge into myself with a chip-to-brain interface as in the Matrix!

If we did away with state-controlled curricula I think that'd help in itself. Even the schools where you supposedly "learn what you want" have workbooks you have to follow very orderly to "pass the material". The nature of state-curricula leaves it up to the arbitrary decisions of boards and a handful of teachers instead of experimenting and doing radical changes and letting individual teachers do their own thing to see how it works out. But this is all for a classroom setting.

There are lots of places we can use HI (human) more effectively... The whole Stack Overflow / Yahoo Answers model is great too, adding an interface to auto-connect people via webcam/mic/screensharing would be nifty instead of a series of text messages.

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#34

Post by dwc »

Jach wrote: post #33
dwc wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an autodidact interested in far more than I can learn in my lifetime I'm always on the lookout for the easiest path to learning. After struggling to find an acceptably easy path with Khan I dug up some alternate videos that gave me more direction. Am I really an autodidact? It just seemed the most concise word for my self-driven learning. If I don't fit the definition then I should go find a new word. :) > Clippy…

There's a lot to be said about directed learning, totally. I wish I had a mentor growing up. But I've given up on easy learning.. that is, I've picked a lot of low hanging fruit and now I want to learn about quantum mechanics beyond an intuition level (I'd like to do the complicated math), so I have Feynman, Dirac, et al. What I like about Khan material is the brevity, but that doesn't work for all subjects. In the b…

Very good thoughts! One promising thing about the Internet is the ability to form communities where local interest is too small or sparse. Currently these communities tend to be fairly stable and hoping to grow. But what if there were a way to facilitate ad hoc communities of people at a similar learning level, all going through a particular subject at the same time? You've given me some things to ponder. Thanks.

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#35

Post by gmartres »

solipsist wrote: post #32
nvarsj wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"do you need to learn how the engine of a car works before you can drive it?" No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did. Understanding the basics of a science, especially math, is extremely important to fully grasp the higher level topics. I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. Unfortunately I see philosophies as you describe in my lo…

> No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did [learn how a car engine works] Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself. Computers can give you an understanding of calculations in addition to doing the work. > I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. T…

> Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself.

That must be one impressive animation.

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#36

Post by gmartres »

dagw wrote: post #21
psykotic wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe we're talking past each other. Could you explain your goals with this curriculum? Are you trying to reduce the teaching of mathematics to a bare minimum so people can get on with what you see as more essential subjects? My stance is that mathematics is first of all useful in the small for normal people. Everyday arithmetic, basic accounting, that sort of thing. But beyond that we need to teach mathematics for t…

But beyond that we need to teach mathematics for the same reason we teach art, music and literature. Perhaps like art and music, we should only be teaching beyond the very basics to those who actively seek it out. We don't require all highshool students to learn how to play the piano, read music, or draw nudes, so why should they all learn how to invert a matrix or find its determinant by hand?

Because mathematics is part of what defines us? You could apply your argument to any topic taught in school: history, literature, physics, ...

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#37

Post by mthoms »

solipsist wrote: post #32
nvarsj wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"do you need to learn how the engine of a car works before you can drive it?" No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did. Understanding the basics of a science, especially math, is extremely important to fully grasp the higher level topics. I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. Unfortunately I see philosophies as you describe in my lo…

> No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did [learn how a car engine works] Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself. Computers can give you an understanding of calculations in addition to doing the work. > I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. T…

Relevant (but very basic) example of what I think you're describing: http://www.animatedengines.com/

It worked very well for me personally and gave me quite a few "A-HA" moments. I'm not sure it helped with my driving however ;-)

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#38

Post by solipsist »

gmartres wrote: post #35
solipsist wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did [learn how a car engine works] Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself. Computers can give you an understanding of calculations in addition to doing the work. > I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. T…

> Yes, but one simple computer animation could give you the same understanding of the engine as if you had built the engine yourself. That must be one impressive animation.

I mean, to what depth do you really need to understand an engine in order to drive it better?

Re: Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education

#39

Post by speleding »

nvarsj wrote: post #28
solipsist wrote: post #5

I haven't exactly been as amazed by the Khan Academy as everyone else has. After watching a few videos, I decided that we need to focus more on the material that we are teaching - rather than the methods we go about doing it. They will obviously go hand by hand, but in my opinion the material that we are teaching is our biggest weakness and therefore needs the most reform. A video that everyone should take the time t…

"do you need to learn how the engine of a car works before you can drive it?" No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did. Understanding the basics of a science, especially math, is extremely important to fully grasp the higher level topics. I don't believe one can conceptually understand a topic without understanding the fundamentals that it builds upon. Unfortunately I see philosophies as you describe in my lo…

> No, but you'd be a much better driver if you did.

Agreed, but it might still be a good idea to change the order in which you teach them: first learn to drive, then learn how the car works inside. There is ample evidence that the human brain is better capable of understanding if it understands the big picture first (for proof see: "The pyramid principle" by M.Minto)

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