[Maths-Education] Re: : The Khan Academy

[Douglas Butler]

Yes I have been aware of these for a while now.  If you read his biography
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Khan_%28educator%29> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Khan_%28educator%29
he holds three degrees and chanced into making videos while tutoring a young relative. He has made over 3000 videos, and is now funded directly by the Gates Foundation.

 

My worry is that he has never taught classroom mathematics, and it would be a minor miracle if one person could teach all this content effectively.  So the quality is very variable and he has yet to embrace any of the advantages of using dynamic software.  No doubt that will follow, but meanwhile, for example, his take on the Histogram is laughable:

 <http://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/ck12-algebra-1/v/histograms> http://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/ck12-algebra-1/v/histograms

 

Like so much on the web, this large and influential contribution needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But who is there to say which videos are any good and which are rubbish?

 

Douglas

 

== from Douglas Butler   < <mailto:debutler at argonet.co.uk> debutler at argonet.co.uk > ==  

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From: maths-education-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:maths-education-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Peter Gates
Sent: 18 March 2012 07:59
To: Maths. Education
Subject: [Maths-Education] Fwd: The Khan Academy

 

Colleagues. I wonder if anyone has an informed view on "The Khan Academy" a website which seems to have hundreds of maths instruction videos on YouTube. 

 

http://www.khanacademy.org <http://www.khanacademy.org/> 

 

Its been suggested to me as "inspirational " but I've looked at some and have been quite underwhelmed. Am I missing something here? 

 

Peter Gates 

University of Nottingham