The concept of an online high school may sound terrible, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen: quality education will keep consolidating until there’s one super school left. Outlier is doing the same thing but on the college level: why deal with a mediocre local math teacher if you can get taught by the best?
Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
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Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#12The concept of an online high school may sound terrible, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen: quality education will keep consolidating until there’s one super school left. Outlier is doing the same thing but on the college level: why deal with a mediocre local math teacher if you can get taught by the best?
I don't believe so there is huge problems with hybrid/offline learning at scale with distractions, social interactions etc that cannot be fundamentally solved by Khan Academy.
But having a 'master teacher' is something I definitely welcome because my education, like so many others, varied year to year, on say math, because of educator quality.
Khan's 'reverse school' is something I wish I could have experienced growing up as I think it would personally have worked for me.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#13where price tho?
“The tuition for full-time students who are Arizona residents will be paid for by the state at no cost to families. Students who live in the US, but outside Arizona, will pay $9,900 per year tuition. Students who live outside the US will pay $12,900 per year.”
OTOH, this looks promising (though I haven't read his 2012 book which spells out the 'vision'), and would be great if this can provide a framework for a democratized online schooling system with the flexibilities and features it provides.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the landing page: "Students from around the world"
They may accept students from around the world, but whether it counts as a high school for the purpose of continuing on to higher education is country-specific, which (I assume) is why 2Gkashmiri asked what they did. Also, based on the About Us page, the requirements for submitting an application are quite US-centric ("Student must be proficient in Algebra 1", etc). I did not try to fill out an actual application to…
Even the most irritatingly bureaucracy obsessed box ticking country, i.e. Germany, would accept a transcript with two college courses per semester as a university preparatory high school.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#15In some places, remote learning can be far superior to locally available education. I love the Khan Academy and I hope they are successful in this project too.
I know a social worker who said, there were problematic kids that started "going" to school in the pandemic because it was now from home.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#16The concept of an online high school may sound terrible, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen: quality education will keep consolidating until there’s one super school left. Outlier is doing the same thing but on the college level: why deal with a mediocre local math teacher if you can get taught by the best?
I took a few classes there, and from what I remember, the primary mode of instruction was a janky early-2000s webapp that presented excerpts and quiz questions from a textbook. There were teachers and lectures, but a lot of kids didn't show up to those, and class sizes were relatively small. (I was frequently the only kid who dialed in to the conference call for my French conversation class, so I got a lot of one-on-one time with the teacher.) Social events like clubs were primarily handled through web forums that I didn't spend much time in because I wasn't a full-time student at the school.
The marketing copy here makes it sound like Khan World School is fundamentally the same model, but hopefully Khan Academy's online textbooks are a little less janky.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#17Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#18The concept of an online high school may sound terrible, but sooner or later it’s bound to happen: quality education will keep consolidating until there’s one super school left. Outlier is doing the same thing but on the college level: why deal with a mediocre local math teacher if you can get taught by the best?
Because there’s more to high school than just classes. It’s important to learn how to deal with people as well. A purely virtual high school experience sounds extremely lonely and thin for the soul.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#19This is just another paid MOOC, and it seems very expensive for students from outside AZ/the U.S.? I find it kinda disappointing that the Khan folks are getting involved in this kind of thing, as schools might now have reason to start distrusting their previously-successful model of just offering content and support to students and educators in a fair and non-discriminatory way.
Khan Academy is still free, but it looks like Khan World School has actual humans.
> Much of the learning and assessment happens through in-depth discussion with teachers, peers and industry experts.
Re: Khan Academy launches Khan World School online high school
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
“The tuition for full-time students who are Arizona residents will be paid for by the state at no cost to families. Students who live in the US, but outside Arizona, will pay $9,900 per year tuition. Students who live outside the US will pay $12,900 per year.”
That's too high if you are considering students from all over the world. Why should it be more for outside US students? OTOH, this looks promising (though I haven't read his 2012 book which spells out the 'vision'), and would be great if this can provide a framework for a democratized online schooling system with the flexibilities and features it provides.
I think you under-estimate how much fancy schools cost worldwide. In Bangkok, for example, a very good British-style education will cost you $18k per year at Patana, and if you really want to flash your cash you can drop $30k at Shrewsbury (British) or $30k at ISB (American).
I grew up as an expat kid, and this would have been a reasonable alternative for my parents, with the added bonus that I could have stayed with the same peer group and curriculum while they moved country. Socialisation would have been a bit harder but far from impossible.
> Why should it be more for outside US students?
My guess would be the US subsidises some aspect of this?