Thursday, March 17, 2011

Using Video to Reinvent Education



Have you all heard about Khan Academy? It's a wonderful online resource for math instruction and tutoring. The above video from TED.com came to us through an interesting blog post from Reading Rockets.

Sal Khan hosts video lectures on math concepts in an entertaining, easy to understand way.  He even says that teachers have starting assigning his video lectures as "homework" and then using class time to work out problems (used to be "homework").  Kids seem to be learning well this way!

To read more on their suggestions for online learning, click here.

Click here to link to Khan Academy.

Oh - and one more thing.  You know I always harp on my pipe dream of giving all students an iPad or Kindle loaded with their textbooks instead of making them lug around heavy, expensive textbooks (at least in middle and high school)... Well, the pushback has been due to the "cost" of the technology.  But -- get this - once you buy the hardware (at a discounted bulk rate of course), then you can download all the FREE Open Source textbooks you want at ck12.org. So, costs not looking as bad, eh?  Check it out by clicking here.

4 comments:

Cerebration said...

Campus Technology and Blackboard present:
=============================
FREE Webinar: Faculty Voice in Online Education: Enhancing Relationships Between Faculty and Students for Learning Success

March 31, 2011 @ 11AM (PT)/2PM (ET)

To Register Now:

Click Here

In an online learning environment, what you say is not as important as how you say it. When your "online voice" positively affects the relationship between faculty and learners, student retention in online education is greatly enhanced.

Join us on March 31st for a free webinar that will help you identify your online persona and ways to improve it. You'll learn how to apply an active listening model that strengthens relationships between all members of the online learning community and improves the learning experience, overall.

Talking points include:

- Is your language positive or punitive?
- What color and font size should you use to communicate?
- How does your persona come through in teaching?

Make plans now to attend this important event. Presenters will field questions from the audience after the live presentation.

Anonymous said...

This is amazing! One of the best things about it is that students can access the videos at school even if the system blocks YouTube.

I stayed up until 11 last night playing with it, and I'm a verbal type. Wow!

Anonymous said...

I hope that the kids of DeKalb having trouble with math, use this to help them improve their skills. Please spread the word about this free learning tool.

Cerebration said...

Found a new resource you all might enjoy -- read this article at the Patch about "Quizzy's World" to help students prepare better for tests.

CRCT Prep a Challenge for Overburdened Teachers

I'll add their site to our list of links on the home page.