The instructional website I am reviewing is https://www.khanacademy.org/ . Before I started teaching history and tools for learning I used it all the time for mathematics, but last year I found an abundance of easily accessible information for every subject and grade level.
The home page is very clean and organized by subject and grade level. Choices range from math to test prep, and there is even a section containing outside resources (partner content). I could find no links "dead".
I chose to fully investigate the social studies section, and was most impressed with the "Crash Course World History Videos". In my opinion there is no better website for comprehensive multi-subject online tutorial/learning than this site.
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Instructional Aspects:
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1. Objectives clearly stated
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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2. Objectives appropriately sequenced
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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3. Instructional strategies appropriate for the objectives
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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4. Instructional activities/process clearly described
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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5. Tasks adequate/significant for achieving objectives
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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6. Resources adequate/significant for achieving objectives
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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7. Learning achievement adequately evaluated
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5 4 3 2 1
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3
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8. Evaluation criteria clearly expressed
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5 4 3 2 1
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3
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Motivational Aspects:
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9. Gaining and maintaining learners’ attention
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5 4 3 2 1
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4
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10. Relating to learners’ interest and goals
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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11. Building on learners’ prior knowledge & foreshadowing what the lesson is about.
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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12. Providing positive feedback and feeling of accomplishment
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5 4 3 2 1
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3
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13. Motivational strategies serve
for objectives
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5 4 3 2 1
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3
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Web Design Aspects:
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14. Navigation clear and easy to access
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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15. Authorship and date clearly stated
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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16. Text follows rules of grammar, spelling and literary composition
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5 4 3 2 1
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5
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17. Use of multimedia (Text,
graphic, audio, video, animation, etc.) visually appeal
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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18. Mechanical aspects (No
broken links,
misplaced or missing
images, etc.)
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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19. Web design appropriate for objectives
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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20. Web design appropriate for learner characteristics
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5
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4
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3
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2
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1
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5
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Total:
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92
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Reflection:
The only reason I deducted points is due to no evaluation of learning achievement on ALL sections. The math section is excellent. It pre-tests knowledge and works toward mastery by offering video help and hints. Other sections, such is history, offer learning opportunities, but no true evaluation. I took 2 points off in the motivational strategy category because of the evaluation aspect. Sometimes, my students, due to their age, will have no motivation unless there is an evaluation.
I really liked your site that you reported on. I also like the Facebook capability of just signing in too. A lot easier to log in with. I checked the section you talked about in the Crash Course World History as well, and I highly enjoyed that section. Probably because that was my favorite subject back in the day.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Diane!
I recommend Khan Academy to parents all the time. I love it! It is the perfect site when you hear "math just isn't the same as when I learned how to do it" from parents. I have only explored the math portion of the website, but I really like how the website is set up like a hierarchy. With math, you pick the grade, then pick the strand, and finally you can choose where to go from there. Awesome job Diane!
ReplyDeleteLove Khan Academy. I agree that it is an awesome resource in so many subjects. I need to spread the word in my high school for all the students taking their online college courses with no face time with their instructors. This would be a tremendous help!
ReplyDeleteI use Khan Academy all the time!!!! It is a great tool for Project Based Learning and that is one of my instructional focuses this year at school. I like the ease of finding what you are looking for without having to spend time navigating through numerous sites until you "hit" the jackpot. It is straightforward and extremely easy to navigate through. It also is a wealth of information. Thank you Diane!
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought this site was very thorough and interesting. The first thing I noticed on the login page was the different sign in links. One for the student, one for the parent, and one for the teacher. I had never seen this concept before on an educational website. This can be very useful in that the parent and teacher can stay engaged with the student, and all can learn together. The subjects were well organized, and easy to navigate. The visuals are all very creative and I am sure they help to keep the attention of the learner. I especially impressed that there were help links along the way if a student was confused about the subject. The videos showing interviews was also a very nice touch. Great site!
ReplyDeleteI have watched Khan Academy grow and change over a number of years and I still love it! When I first started using it, it was mostly math and science, so my options as a social studies teacher were limited, but definitely not nonexistent. It seems to just keep getting better. The thing that I found so inspiring early on was that it made me think I could create my own resources to flip my classroom. The examples I saw inspired me to be creative, and employ my resources successfully, which was pretty exciting! Nice job, Diane!
ReplyDeleteI'm still a HUGE fan Khan Academy...I agree with you, Diane. If my students don't think "it's for a grade", then their motivation is ZERO!!!! This site is every evolving, but I still manage to easily find different categories of math, and with the integration of the standard, why wouldn't you use this resources?!
ReplyDeleteInteresting Site. I don't know if it is as interesting as SumDog on math for younger ages and I did not see a literacy section. I did like the layout and it was easy to get started. I think it would be a great tool as a supplement to a lesson. I agree with Titus, having different links for the student, parent, and teacher. I like the idea of the parents having some input on this as well. Great job Diane.
ReplyDeleteDiane, yes, Khan Academy has been around for a while, and I am the same as Marybeth,have seen it grow and change over the years. Yes, it is a very good resource for teaching and learning content, and now especially for Flipped classroom.
ReplyDeleteRachel and Diane, I guess you will have to integrate the grading part into your overall teaching by designing some assignments for students to report/summarize/assess their learning from the Khan Academy separately. :)
Khan Academy seems to be a good resource. I like the fact how it has videos that help to teach topics. The only thing I did not like is that it did not have much on computers and business, which are topics I teach.
ReplyDeleteI liked that the site offers a wide variety of subjects and content. Once you select an area of interest, there are video tutorials to begin with the basics. It also offers the user to put the knowledge to use by trying it yourself. There are many different challenges and also a place for help requests. Overall, a great resource for students and teachers
ReplyDeleteI love Khan Academy. It offers a lot of information and is an exceptional learning tool when needing a refresher.
ReplyDelete