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Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

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Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#181

Post by jeffreymcmanus »

ig1 wrote: post #173
jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's great that you're contrasting Khan to ALEKS. I'm not drinking the Khan kool-aid; my kid just started using ALEKS in the last month and I agree it's terrific. It's really puzzled me why Khan is getting all this attention when ALEKS has been around so much longer (and seems to be better in many respects -- just lacking instructional video). It would actually be terrific to have some kind of integration between ALE…

Because KA has had a much bigger impact, millions of people are using it.

You have the tail wagging the dog there.

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#182

Post by ig1 »

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #181
ig1 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because KA has had a much bigger impact, millions of people are using it.

You have the tail wagging the dog there.

KA had a much bigger impact when it was growing word of mouth, long before it got publicity.

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#183

Post by GFischer »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #179
jvc26 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'... most doctors seem arrogant, uncaring, and incompetent' - it's unfortunate if this is your take-home from meeting doctors, but I have to say that is a serious overstatement.

Unfortunately this is the reality of healthcare for a great many of us in the states. My experience with one of the larger HMO organizations here was very disconcerting. I was bedridden with spinal joint pain for several days. They were unable to see me in a reasonable timeframe (2 week wait minimum), which meant by the time I was able to come in for a blood test the acute inflammation I was experiencing had passed,…

Wow, contrasting this with the latest 2 experiences my family had:

My stepfather went for a routine visit to the doctor in Vienna, Austria. They found a suspicious object, and decided to treat him immediately, and he was operated on the very next day. It ended up being benign, but I was amazed at their speed of treatment.

My uncle went for a cardiologist evaluation here in Montevideo, Uruguay (where we have a form of socialist-style medicine in the style called Mutualism). They found a suspicious spike in his heartbeat, which they suspected to be a treatable syndrome (Wolff-Parkinson-White), and decided to do some special evaluations. He was treated (with full anaesthetics) one week later (at almost zero cost).

Both were quite good experiences, times are a little slower in Uruguay but everybody has access to basic medicine.

That said, I suspect that for difficult-to-catch diseases, you have to make yourself a bother, otherwise you might slip through the cracks like your friend almost did (doctors here in Uruguay are heavily penalized if they take too much time with one patient).

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#187

Post by tszyn »

rklancer wrote: post #178
tszyn wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an interesting point. Why do you think it is easier to get distracted while reading a Web page than while watching a video? Do you think the argument still holds when you're viewing a page in full-screen mode?

With respect to video, I suspect that the answer is that video changes with time. If a video viewer's attention drifts off of the video, he or she is likely to notice being slightly behind when he or she does glance back at the video, and therefore promptly return to task. Whereas written material does nothing active to re-attract your attention. I hypothesize that the attention-focusing effect of full-screen reading…

Thanks. That makes sense. The more you stand to lose by drifting off, the less likely you are to do it. Even if the cost of getting back on track is just pressing F11 or seeking back in the video, it can be a significant disincentive.

I think the whole computing experience -- sitting upright in front of a screen with a mouse in your palm -- puts your mind in "hunting mode". Web surfing is all about clicking, clicking, clicking. It's like a videogame -- a series of clicks produces a reward (or not): a funny video, a witty exchange, an interesting piece of news, an update from a friend.

I think this induces a certain state of videogame-style excitement, which is incompatible with "calm consumption", as when you're reading a book. On the Web, one minute you're playing "the Web game", the next you're supposed to read a serious text on math, history or geography. But you can't focus because your brain wants to get another dopamine fix. You need to calm down first, which takes time.

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#188

Post by mpershan »

tszyn wrote: post #187
rklancer wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect to video, I suspect that the answer is that video changes with time. If a video viewer's attention drifts off of the video, he or she is likely to notice being slightly behind when he or she does glance back at the video, and therefore promptly return to task. Whereas written material does nothing active to re-attract your attention. I hypothesize that the attention-focusing effect of full-screen reading…

Thanks. That makes sense. The more you stand to lose by drifting off, the less likely you are to do it. Even if the cost of getting back on track is just pressing F11 or seeking back in the video, it can be a significant disincentive. I think the whole computing experience -- sitting upright in front of a screen with a mouse in your palm -- puts your mind in "hunting mode". Web surfing is all about clicking, clicking…

All I want to argue is that, at best, this is a slim advantage of a video over a book. So we shouldn't be saying that Khan Academy is revolutionary in any meaningful sense. It's a new medium for the same old content, and it's a medium whose advantages are pretty slim, at least for the way Khan is using video.

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#189

Post by rklancer »

mpershan wrote: post #188
tszyn wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. That makes sense. The more you stand to lose by drifting off, the less likely you are to do it. Even if the cost of getting back on track is just pressing F11 or seeking back in the video, it can be a significant disincentive. I think the whole computing experience -- sitting upright in front of a screen with a mouse in your palm -- puts your mind in "hunting mode". Web surfing is all about clicking, clicking…

All I want to argue is that, at best, this is a slim advantage of a video over a book. So we shouldn't be saying that Khan Academy is revolutionary in any meaningful sense. It's a new medium for the same old content, and it's a medium whose advantages are pretty slim, at least for the way Khan is using video.

Sure. I'd even agree. I would say that for certain use cases, the advantage of video can be large. Averaged over all use cases that matter, there may be no advantage at all. Of course that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it where the advantage is large (not that I think you're saying that!)

Re: Khan Academy: It’s Different This Time

#190

Post by kragen »

swcpg wrote: post #114
quanticle wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mean to quibble, but you should really replace Henry Ford with Karl Benz. By the time Henry Ford got into the act, cars had already proven their usefulness. Ford's innovation was making cars cheap enough for the average person to afford.

Ford also wouldn't be happy about truly progressive, disruptive innovations like the rise of a strong labor movement.

What are you talking about? The labor movement in the US was stronger during Ford's lifetime than it has been since then, and Ford always had good relations with it.
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