Posted on 02/16/2012 6:22:59 PM PST by RoosterRedux
Student debt is nearing a record $1 trillion in the U.S. Jobless law school grads are suing their alma maters for false advertising. Needless to say, the cost of higher education -- not to mention the return on the investment -- has become a sore spot for many.
With an election on the horizon, the Obama Administration has not been deaf to the grumbling. The president addressed the topic in his State of the Union, and his administration has since launched a campaign to stem the rise in college tuition by tying a school's federal aid prospects to its affordability. Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Senator John Kerry were dispatched to university campuses earlier this week to tout the plan. In all the tut-tut over college affordability, there been some nostalgia for the time when some world-class, public universities -- The City University of New York and The University of California, for example -- didn't charge any tuition for many of its students.
Salman Khan's Khan Academy -- a free, nonprofit education site with more than 2,800 video lessons and financial backing from the likes of Google (GOOG) and the Gates Foundation -- has picked up this mantle, at least in spirit. Fortune caught up with Khan a few months ago while he was just about to speak at the Future of State Universities Conference in Dallas. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation.
Fortune: Judging from the counter on your site, it looks like Khan Academy is not too far away from delivering its 120-millionth lesson. What has surprised you the most about all those users?
(Excerpt) Read more at management.fortune.cnn.com ...
I want an African-American Socialism degree from Princeton...will that help me get a yob?
Or so I hear!
I’m a fan of Khan Academy. That was something I wanted to do when the internet first started, but I never had the wherewithal. I’m glad he did it.
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Here’s my modest proposal for education reform.
We have been discussing ways to fast track kids through high school to avoid the liberal agenda and other idiocies:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1315730/posts?page=84#84
Proposal for the Free Republic High School Diploma.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316882/posts
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Students watching videos will not supplant higher ed classrooms. For supplementary purposes or augmentation informative videos might be a good resource, but nothing will replace collaboration, student interaction, tutoring, and individual instruction.
There is no research that indicates the Khan video format (youtube) increases retention of content, either.
Millions of lessons but where are the results? Well, at least it is free.
Some professors are geniuses at communicating their subject matter and some are dolts.
Video tape, VCR, Youtube...that is the medium for communication geniuses. The best excel and the worst die a painful death!
Condolences for your faves!
“There is no research that indicates the Khan video format (youtube) increases retention of content, either. “
I’ve actually tried his k-12 math program (http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard) just to see what the fuss was all about. At least there is some interaction to this part of the academy but even this is not so great.
Mathematics is not about retention of content.
It is about wrapping one's mind and spirit around concepts that are intimidating...and finding affection and enthusiasm for that subject.
Take a look at the MITx program at mit.edu. That is phase two of a project that could restructure college education. MIT’s OpenCourseWare project was phase one. If your local college faculty and administrators aren’t familiar with the project, they are in for a shock.
There is a revolution brewing! And it is about time!
“Mathematics is not about retention of content.”
I guess you’ve never heard of Saxon, Kumon and DISTAR? Mastering the multiplication tables? You’re not going to know what 8x7 is just by watching a video about multiplication or doing a couple of random problems before going on to the next topic.
Decades ago there were teachers who taught in one-room schoolhouses. Their students all managed to earn Regents diplomas or the equivalent.
The difference? The students were motivated.
It has never been demonstrated that teachers with a degree from a school of education provide a better education.
Math is based on a foundation of prior discovery. That prior discovery need not be memorized (unless you are a stupid HS teacher who is still trying to earn his pension).
Sorry not getting down on your level.
I will check out your site tomorrow...Thanx for your hard work on this subject matter...and God Bless!
Forgive me.
Derek Muller, physics educator and science video blogger researched this education format. His results call into question the effectiveness of these lessons.
He found that students have preconceptions prior to watching the video lesson; "....students believe they are learning but they do not engage with the media on a deep enough level to realize that what was is presented differs from their prior knowledge."
Interestingly, he gives credit to Khan for clear, concise explanations.
He was featured on a Stossel report on Fox Business, and it appears that the results are encouraging in a number of school districts that are using the videos.
The teachers who use them were very enthusiastic about the children's willingness to study.
Mark
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