What is Khan Academy?
Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization that promotes free education across a wide spectrum of disciplines and subjects. From 2nd grade through AP High School and College, Khan Academy provides access to knowledge for most age groups. Based on their own language, they provide personalized learning, various tools to assist instructors, and in-depth content for students to explore.
Cognitive Presence
Within Khan Academy, there are many multitudes of activities for students to participate in. Students can watch recorded lectures, complete quizzes, participate in practice assessments, and receive instant feedback to gain better understanding of their progress. Everything is laid out in a simple and easy to navigate manner which lessens the stress of having to “find out” where to go and what to do next. By easing the barrier of entry into the learning environment, Khan Academy, provides a great place for most students to stay motivated and complete their work.
Instructor Presence
Instructor presence seems to be limited to pre-recorded lecture and providing the content that students will be accessing during their time in the class. With Khan Academy being an online environment, instructors can provide many different forms of content from recorded lectures, text-based documents, quizzes, practice activities. However, there does not seem to be any type of real time interaction between the student and instructor.
Social Presence
There does not appear to be a process for students to interact with other students or their instructors. While the format may be designed for student centered learning and allow students to move through the course at their own pace, it does not allow for the building of relationships or camaraderie with other students. Khan Academy is designed as a self-paced learning environment and allows students to control their education process…not one to be social.
Overall
There is a tremendous amount of information available to students, it is a well laid out and makes it easy to navigate and locate information in a consistent manner. After reviewing many of the subject, there is a consistent flow to the presentation of information. Consistency in the presentation of information enhances the quality of the class and the learning experience. Khan Academy provides many ways for the instructors to assess the students progress and allows for students to know where they stand at any given moment.
I would like to see Khan Academy implement the ability for students to interact within their courses. First, the ability to meet and interact with the course’s instructor. This could be done through either Q&A Forums, live sessions, and or a combination of both. Second, being able to interact with other students. Interaction with other students would enhance the social aspect of education and being able to relate to others who may be experiencing some of the same issues.
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