Khan Academy for Two Year Olds?!? I Guinea Pig my Own Kids

 As a school administrator, I was excited about Khan Academy when I first saw the site with videos.  When I saw the diagnostic practices with help videos posted, I was thrilled.  I couldn't wait to try it out on my middle school students and went straight to my own kiddos.  I created accounts for my 7 year old (not pictured) and my five year old (in green).  They were soon fighting over who got to use the site.  They both zoomed through the first two lessons, but got stuck when they were asked to add double-digit numbers.  I reminded them about the video for help and my seven-year-old expressed dread at getting talked to.  My first thought:  this is not going to work.  I finally goaded them and turned on one of the suggested videos.  The lesson started with single digit addition and he groaned and tried to run away.  This was OLD information and he was SICK of hearing it.  I quickly jumped ahead to the double-digit addition and he stopped and tuned in.  Suddenly, there was silence.  He finished the video and went straight back to the exercises...guess what?  He got them all right.  A believer was born!  When he finished the third lesson a screen popped up telling him he had received a meteorite badge.  I thought he would dismiss that, but he was pumped - especially about the idea of earning a black hole or galaxy or whatever else comes next.

This evening my seven-year-old was out of the house, but my five-year-old asked to "do the math game."  I was cleaning up from dinner, but decided to give him a shot.  I logged him in and suggested that he start with the addition again even though he had passed the first three lessons.  Little did I realize how ridiculously insulting this would be.  He saw that he was ready for multiplication and demanded that exercise.  I set him up and went to washing dishes.  Soon I heard some frustrated grunts coming from the living room.  "Why don't you watch a video?" I suggested.  "No!  I don't want to miss one!" he replied.  Once I convinced him he wouldn't be "docked" for watching the lesson he went for it.  You can see the result below.  Not only did he sit mesmerized throughout the lesson, but my two year old climbed up next to him, declared that "I'm gon do sum mat," and sat through the video.

Once the video was complete he yelled out, "Daddy I need a pencil and some paper!"  I brought him some and he started doing what you see below.

I intentionally acted as a spectator and didn't get involved.  I saw that he was drawing and organizing groups and then counting them.  He then launched straight back into the exercises.

 Guess what?  He got the next 20 correct.  He took a long time, and asked me for clarification a few times, but he was excited about being in control of his own learning.  It was something HE wanted to do for HIMSELF.  Plus, he was super-psyched because he earned two more badges...who knew?

As a Generation X parent who wants things individualized I am thrilled about this technology.  It focuses in on my kid's needs with laser-like intensity and gives him the tools he needs to learn.  Could he have accomplished all of this without a teacher nearby?  No way.  He needed me there as a resource and guide, but this technology tool made me a much more powerful teacher because it made him a more powerful learner.  The learning taking place was all about HIM and I was just another resource.

As an administrator, I am excited to get a class of kids trying this out.  Remediation is almost a dirty word for how difficult it is to find time to fit it into the school day.  Khan Academy would allow learning and remediation to occur instantly and effectively with the student in control.

I am obviously very "pie in the sky" about Khan right now, and I am sure there will be kinks, but for now I am giddy with the possibilities for any learning program that makes a kid of any age say, "I'm gon do sum mat."

Khan Academy

On the Path to 1:1

It seems that anytime I start getting nervous about our 1:1 transition I see an article like the one below that puts some wind in my sails.  We are on the right path!

1:1 Path

Partnering in Education

Great essay from Alfie Kohn way back in 2008 in Ed. Week, but it is still true today.  As we incorporate technology into our classrooms, it is important to keep the focus on the teacher.  The technology is just a tool the teacher uses to make them more powerful.  True instructional change comes about with the change in teaching philosophy from the "sage on the stage" to the "guide on the side" or partnering with students.  Student engagement is so low because we have taken the actual learning away from the students and we are attempting to "learn it" for them through spirited lectures instead of giving them the opportunity to dig-in, make mistakes, thoroughly fail, and then put the pieces back together in a meaningful fashion.  Think about it - that's how you learned to walk, ride a bike, or even beat that difficult level in Super Mario Brothers.  It is how we prefer to learn as human beings and our current instructional philosophy is (in some cases) taking that away from our students.

It's Not What We Teach; It's What They Learn

iPad as Interactive Whiteboard

At our school we opted for the Interwrite Pads instead of the Whiteboard.  I have been curious about the iPad and what it could do as far as presenting.  This article talks about some very cheap iPad software which could make everything else obsolete.  But will it be enough to convince my wife I REALLY need one?

iPad vs. Interactive Whiteboard

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | Video on TED.com

My math teachers have been investigating this site (Khan Academy) from a pure video resource, but I had no idea it had a progress feature as well. This is not to be missed if you are a math teacher or anyone who struggles with math or has a student who struggles.

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | Video on TED.com

1:1

An unexpected project this year has been our efforts to transform our school to a 1:1 laptop environment.  It started as a conversation about student response systems and ended with us making a commitment to give every 8th and 9th grader a MacBook next school year.  What a whirlwind!  A big first step as a school system was setting the stage for changing the culture.  I developed a presentation called "The Immigrant's Guide to Digital Natives" and traveled to the schools in the district making a case for why our students need and deserve technology in their learning.  Some major reasons are the need to develop 21st century skills, and to EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD.  We are 50% free and reduced lunch and we feel we need to close the gap between the "have's" and "have-nots."

Once we decided on a device, the next step was trying to find a digital learning environment or platform.  Believe me, I have investigated them all.  From pay to free, I have been snooping and free-trialing with varied results.  With the $ we are already spending, programs like Angel and Blackboard aren't a possibility, so we are settling for now on My Big Campus.  MBC is free if you use Lightspeed as your filtering system.  We have some teachers testing it out now with some 6th grade students and everyone is thrilled so far.

The third step in the process (at least a major step) is decided on a response system.  It is strange that this is the one area where we are behind since this is where it all started.  The one I have spent the most time with is QuestionPress.  I have also heard good things about Quizdom.  I would love feedback on response programs which your school has used with good results.

My opinion is that the three major pillars for a 1:1 transition are:

1. Device
2. Digital Learning Environment
3. Student Response System

I am yet to see a school incorporating all three, but I would love some feedback.

Flowers, Balloons, and Babies (Oh my...)

I wanted to get my wife and my baby home from the hospital. It seemed like an easy enough task the day before, but this was a new day and a new world.  After the labor, the birth, seeing him for the first...well, I didn't know how my wife was doing, but I had come unglued.  

No one prepares you for this part. The magazines don’t talk about it, but it ate a hole in my stomach just thinking of the technical elements that would have to come together in order to get our stuff from the hospital room to the safe haven we had prepared at home.

At 3 a.m. of the big day, my wife and I sat planning our attack as she fed our son.

I would begin making small trips with suitcases at 6 a.m. directly after I had retrieved breakfast for myself at the hospital cafeteria, which was located approximately 17 miles down the hallway. Afterwards, I would bring in the car sear, read the 732 page manual, and attempt to strap our son into the device. We would walk calmly down the hallway with her carrying the final bag and me toting our child. I would pull the car around, we would load, and then….wait…I would have to drive...

I am 27 years old. I have been driving for 11 years. All of a sudden I was quite sure that I wasn’t capable of driving a straight line. It never mattered before how I drove the car, or if someone else hit me. All of a sudden I felt that I would be an ant on the highway trying to avoid all of the giant maniacal drivers. I took a breath, avoided the temptation to curl myself into a ball in the corner, and we went back to sleep.

We woke up at 5:30 am. Go time. 

I sprinted to the cafeteria, spooned out four pounds of eggs and ran back to the room. I immediately began cramming our belongings into suitcases. Things were proceeding as planned.  I could do this.  I could pack a car,  Heck, I could probably drive the damn thing.  I will most likely be able to keep this ridiculous small human alive for the next 18 years.  I was basking in the glow of optimism that can only be born from life-changing events, lack of sleep, and way too much coffee.  

It was at that moment that I saw them. Flowers…balloons...and ridiculous amounts of them.  I felt myself slowly detaching and floating from my body. 

You can’t pack flowers! You can’t cram a balloon in your suitcase...I tried. 

My first thought was to leave them behind, but then I realized they now had an emotional significance. These were HIS flowers, HIS balloons. Obviously, I MUST get them home.

After considering the possibility of tying the balloons around my neck, balancing a suitcase on each shoulder, and carrying the flowers in my teeth, I decided this was no time to be rash. I picked up the six vases and balloons all at once.  Obviously I needed to get them all packed in one trip or everything would be lost.

I made it to the elevator without breaking a sweat. What threw me off was the elderly couple in a wheelchair who entered two floors below. They pushed two buttons that they thought were for the ground floor, which caused the door to open for absolutely no reason on our trip down. 

I felt a bead up sweat run down my side. One of the balloons came loose from my grip and floated to the ceiling. It was the traditional “It’s a Boy!” balloon. This balloon must not pop. I grabbed it with my elbow and held it with my tonsils. I gripped the vases even tighter.

  Finally the elevator opened on the ground floor. I maneuvered my way around the couple and walked briskly for our SUV. It was a beautiful day. I had forgotten what real air felt like in my lungs. Our SUV came into sight, and for one brief moment I thought it was all going to be okay. The first trip was within my grasp. 

        I don’t remember exactly how it happened - where it all went wrong - but as I went to reach for my keys the “It’s a Boy!” balloon came loose. 

        I lurched for it in a panic, dropping all of the flowers and spilling water all over my pants. I couldn’t lose this balloon. This balloon represented my son, my new life, my ability to take care of a family that I didn’t want to disappoint. I must retrieve it.

        To my delight, the balloon became entangled in a small tree only ten feet away.

I ran towards the tree. I loved that tree. Just as I reached the beautiful heavenly tree, a breeze came from behind me and shook the balloon free. I lunged and felt the tip of the string barely brush my fingertips. 

I stood in silence watching the balloon float over the parking lot and into the city.  My heart ached and my eyes started to well with tears. 

         My first lesson…letting go.