Open letter to Sal Khan
christopherdanielson.wordpress.com
Open letter to Sal Khan
1–10 of 146 posts
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#2Someone should read how to disagree (http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html). He is criticizing something that Sal probably got wrong. Sal could probably do a better job of using findings in educational research to make his videos and exercises better. But the author seems to be implying that KhanAcademy as a whole is of poor quality. I think he's using a DH5 to argue something that requires a DH6.
I think Sal does an excellent job with his videos as a whole. He does a good job of explaining things in an intuitive and deep way. See http://www.collegeanswerz.com/rethinking-education for more information. Or read Sal's book http://www.amazon.com/The-One-World-Schoolhouse-Reimagined/d....
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#3> In short, these videos and their accompanying exercises are useless.
That's a bit harsh
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#4From a comment:
>I don’t want to fix KA. I don’t think it is possible to do so given Sal Khan. Sal Khan should not be the voice on his videos. He should not be the person putting together the actual content of his videos. And, I suspect, he should not be making any important decisions about either content or delivery of instruction, from the pedagogical side of the operation. I’m sure he’s a competent business/finance guy, but as long as he is engaged in making these borefests, they will be third-rate at best
That, friends, is why the "best minds of [this] generation are thinking about how to make people click ads".[1] That is why we're stuck building photo-sharing apps: because no good deed goes unpunished.
[1] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b42250609...
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#5I agree with the sentiment of the letter but why does Sal have to provide the optimal video lecture (code) for every topic (module) for his project (Khan Academy).
As a single person, even with a team of advisers, he will not be able to do this for every topic he covers.
One solution can be that he provides a clear interface to each of his modules and sub modules e.g. this module should cover changing base of logarithms and the student should be able to pass these questions (units tests) in the end.
In this model people can contribute in two ways - either make unit test more comprehensive or make the teaching material (code) better.
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#6Sal does a great job with the higher level mathematics. His videos helped me get an A+ in calculus. He does his best, and he should be applauded for that.
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#7It is hard to get the details right with math. First there is the basic factual level (not saying anything wrong), then there is a language level (will an 6th grader understand this? an 8th grader? a 10th grader?). Finally, and this is the hardest part, presenting the material in the most pedagogical way.
Posting an open letter is a bit of a sensationalist move, but this way it will be sure to gather enough attention. Perhaps there should be a content-improvement suggestion box for this kind of things. With more teachers starting to use the khan videos and exercises, I am sure bugs will be found, but let's treat them as such.
I've seen lot's of the old Khan videos replaced by newer and improved ones. I wouldn't be surprised if the decimal video gets an update.
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#8From a comment: >I don’t want to fix KA. I don’t think it is possible to do so given Sal Khan. Sal Khan should not be the voice on his videos. He should not be the person putting together the actual content of his videos. And, I suspect, he should not be making any important decisions about either content or delivery of instruction, from the pedagogical side of the operation. I’m sure he’s a competent business/financ…
Eh, I don't really think that's why people are reluctant to do good/big things. I think the core reason is because it's a cached thought (http://lesswrong.com/lw/k5/cached_thoughts/) to make safe and familiar choices in life.
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#9I don't think the Khan Academy videos have ever really aspired to be the most pedagogically nuanced videos anyways. It's not necessarily a huge problem for those who are quick learners and have others around them (at home or school) who will correct the inevitable errors (like the one pointed out by the OP). It may become more of a problem for those who are entirely dependent on Khan Academy (or similar online sources) for all of their education, which is not who it was intended for, and there can't be too many who are in that position.
A number of educators do take issue with Khan, but no one else seems to have put the effort in to supplant him rather than simply criticise.
Re: Open letter to Sal Khan
#10The dramatic tone of this article seems disproportionate to its complaint.
I can't help but feel that the author has a grudge against Sal Khan which motivates his writing as much as his disapproval of Khan's teaching strategy.