Kahn Academy is a series of self- pacing tutorial, "free," videos which are posted on Youtube. This brilliant idea all come about when the founder, Salman Kahn, was helping his long distance cousins in math. He tutored them using Youtube videos to compile mathematical lesson that would allow his cousins to pause, repeat, and review the information at their own pace and time frame. Mr. Kahn allowed this information to be public on Youtube, and he immediately got overwhelming responses from students, parents, and teacher. After reading the comments , Mr.Kahn realized that his vision for education and his passion for teaching could really change the way our society educates children. Therefore, that was the beginning of Kahn Academy.
Mr. Kahn, then, quit his full time occupation to pursue his mission to deliver world-class education to internet users around the world. His vision for the future in education is project based learning. He views a classroom where students are working independently on project based assignments. Peer to peer tutoring and interaction is taking place, and the teacher is compiling data and information in order to help individual student. His idea is that students must master and build core concepts before going on to the next concept.
In addition to teaching students in school, Mr. Kahn , understands the large impact that Kahn Academy will have on adults and other individuals around the world. Kahn Academy is still a work in progress; they have a video library of approximately 2,000 videos at the present time. The goal is for the knowledge map that is already in place, to continue to grow and build on other skills and subjects.
iTuneU is a virtual library that consist of featured Universities and worldwide resources for individuals to explore. iTuneU is useful for students, teachers, and lifelong learners who value resources outside the norm to acquire knowledge or to enhance their education. Students will be able to watch video or audio footage on resources anywhere in the world. Teachers and Professors can enhance lessons by visiting sites from iTuneU that will bring learning literally into the classroom. iTuneU also offers Voice Over or Audio devices that will accommodate visually impaired students.
TED started in 1984 as a conference bringing together technology, entertainment, and design. The focus is on "Ideas Worth Spreading." TED offers themes, speakers, talks, and translations. The mission of TED is to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately the world. Some areas of topic on TED are, conferences, events, and conversations. One example from TED is TEDWomen, How are women and girls reshaping the future? Another example, is Kahn Academy, Sal Kahn was a featured speaker on TED.
While exploring the collections of each of the three, I observed many similarities, but I believe that they are unique in their own way. In my opinion, each of the three collections will be useful in the educational setting. I am in elementary education, therefore, I feel as though the most useful collection of the three would be Kahn Academy. I believe secondary education majors will be able to benefit from all three in the classroom setting. All three of the collections will enhance education, and be a wonderful resource for parents.
Kahn Academy tutorial videos range from basic skills to college level concepts. The lessons are short concepts that build on one another. I really like the idea of personalized instruction where I can navigate my way around the lesson. If I need to refer back to a concept, or watch it several times, I can. The instructions were clear and concise. After mastering a concept, the individual is able to progress to the next lesson. I like the concept of flip teaching where teachers are assigning the video for homework, and they are assigning the homework for classwork. I am really enthusiastic about this concept. I also think this is a wonderful tool for parents. Often times, parents feel frustrated when they cannot help their child with school work, but with Kahn Academy, parents can help students digest and understand these concepts.
iTuneU, is another great tool to utilize in the classroom. iTuneU, as well as the other two collections, display volumes of information to educate and inform the world. iTuneU has many more diverse feature, such as being able to observe a lecture from any of the universities or resources listed. Audio and video were available which will help visually impaired students or students who have learning disabilities. I believe that this will be an outstanding resource to enhance my lessons especially in science and social studies. This is the perfect way to bring real world learning into the classroom.
TED is another valuable resource that emphasizes change on a global level. I really liked many of the resources available. However, I believe this resource might be more beneficial to me as a professional development tool. I may use this as a teacher resource, due to the fact, all the concepts and ideas may not be developmentally appropriate for younger students. This may also be another great parent resource. When teachers help educate parents, they are also educating their students.
I viewed, Rounding decimals for my classroom. I decided on this skills, because many students in elementary school have trouble understanding place value and rounding. I am excited to learn more about this site. I like the relaxed language that Mr. Kahn uses to explain his lessons. The black background and the different color font make it easy for students to follow the procedures during the step by step instructions. Especially in mathematics, some students catch onto concepts easier than others, so the self-pacing idea of Kahn Academy will be valuable in an elementary classroom.
iTuneU has an unlimited amount of sites to view. I believe the abundant amount of resources will be of great use for secondary education students, college students, and professional development for teachers. I did view , Art Beyond Sight, which is an audio used to describe surrealism. This site will be extremely useful for hearing impaired students. I also like the idea of using this site for a creative writing assignment for elementary students. I located a great deal of art education material which I will refer to often in order to incorporate many art elements into my curriculum. In my opinion, this site was more challenging to use. Every application had to be downloaded which was at times a slow process.
TED is another wonderful resource, but I found it difficult to find many resources that will be appropriate for elementary students. However, I did view, Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously,
this is one more idea to incorporate art in elementary education. I believe as an educator, I will be able to refer to this site for many new ideas, and inspirational thoughts on issues in our world.
This assignment has surprised me, because I did not realize how much information is available to me as a teacher. I am without a doubt, pleasantly surprise to know that I have so many wonderful resources at my convenience. It is reassuring for me to know that I can get information from individuals who are experts in their related field.
I, like you, think these resources are amazing. Make good use of them when you become an educator.
ReplyDeleteWell done!