Khan Academy

OMG! Why didn't I have access to this amazing resource when I entered middle school?!?!?!?

My dearest apologies for expressing my excitement. This resources is simply amazing. Where do I begin? I mean I am really excited to share this resources with family and friends with students of all ages.

Basics:
Khan Academy is a free educational resource that provided opportunities for learning in many content areas from grade levels kindergarten to twelfth grade. Khan users have the opportunity to create an account directly through Khan or use other platforms such as Google, or Facebook to login and get started. Khan is very versatile, and has web versions of at least four major languages. However, it doesn't stop there, nope, although there are other versions of Khan, Khan also offers translations of their resources in over 30 languages. Khan keeps track of students progress and offers recommendations or "missions" for students to participate in. Khan believes in empowering students, allowing them to take charge of their learning and development.

Exploration:
Khan demonstrates the power of engagement at its best. With Khan parents and teachers have the opportunity to assist students with learning tasks. Parents and teachers are "coaches" on the site. With resources at their fingertips and helpful question answer sections, coaches are able to individualize, and capitalize on every single learning opportunity. Khan like most sites of similar fashion offer a dashboard feature where progress reports are generated. Features such as discussion  boards, badges and projects are housed. While I was exploring I was able to look at tutorial's on how to count and add numbers. This feature was great! Sometimes, as adults we cant remember how or why, this feature allowed me to "refresh" my memory and explain to a student how to count or add. This tutorial also demonstrated counting and adding to students that may be stuck or need to take advantage of relearning. While exploring the dashboard I also came across a features that allowed coaches to evaluate lessons and curriculum development. This is paramount! As coaches prepare lessons they can log in and determine if the lesson will meet the need on one student or all students. If all students need coaching in a particular area, the teacher can continue with planning the lesson for the entire class. If the coach logs in and determines only 3 out of 7  students would benefit from the lesson the teacher can add the 3 students to a group and develop a many lesson for the 3. Take the remaining 7 students and develop a lesson for them. While exploring I noticed that Khan has built in motivational tools for students. Students, can gain point, badges etc. Khan even has avatars for students to customize, all based on a predetermined reward system. There are many features to keep students engaged. Khan builds character and self-esteem.

Terms and Conditions
Khan wants to protect each member of its site. The terms and conditions are very detailed in how they plan on protecting students and coaches. The site is specifically for educational development in specific content areas. The site is open to protecting the privacy of all its members. This non-profit agency is known world wide, however the account users is responsible for any ill willed actions. The terms and conditions appear to be similar to others I have seen on other sites for educational development. Each coach should read and understand the terms and conditions prior to signing up their student. The terms are lengthy but to the point and are delivered in a way that protects the most valuable asset, students. Khan partners with other sites such as YouTube to deliver video content. Those terms and conditions carry over as well.

Overall, I am excited to incorporate Khan Academy into my personal and professional life! Did I mention this is a great free resource!!!!