Khan Academy: It's Different This Time
[The] Khan Academy’s style of teaching is identical to what students have seen — and rejected — for generations: do this, then do this, then do this. Today, thousands of American students are performing poorly in math, in large part because they weren’t taught it correctly in the first place. If Khan Academy is no different than the problem it’s trying to correct, how can it possibly be the solution?
I agree with some of the thoughts of the author on this topics, but some of the value of the Khan Academy comes in the use of video and private study as an opportunity for students to learn. Some students thrive in a classroom with lots of other students, others do not. The use of video allows some students to pause, stop, rewind and take copious amounts of notes without the potential ridicule of classmates. It also lets teaches that may be great lesson planners or one-on-one teachers and not good lecturers have the very best provide the lectures, letting them focus where they might be better suited.
