Khan academy
After a couple of interesting discussions recently, I really wanted to learn more about the Khan academy. After about an hour and a half, my conclusion is that I'm disappointed.
This is not innovative education. This is a massive collection of video based lectures.
Education background matters, but funding apparently does as well. Please spend some time evaluating for yourself.
Most of the videos are high school (Algebra, biology, chemistry, calculus), college (differential equations) or general knowledge (computer science, astrology, credit crisis). There are large sections of Sal Khan working through test problems. Some of the sections are developmental math.
Developmental math sections
Basic lectures. No visuals, no manipulatives. I can see value in some of these for adults that understood the concept in an initial language and are trying to build English skills. The lecture on _order of operations_ consisted of working a problem with the requirement that _order of operations_ is "Do this first." No understanding of why. Place value was just the same. Repetition of words, no real understanding if the child did not understand.
CA Standards algebra 1 (Test problems)
Poorly labeled section titles. Blurry cut and paste problems. I found that the demonstration of one problem assumed knowledge in the answer. _i.e. "Multiply out using the distributive property." Then evaluated the multiple choice answers for the "distributive property." The lecturer was also audibly distracted by a firetruck going by.
Chemistry (Appropriate for 1st year HS or college.)
Introduction to Atom- first lecture listed under chemistry.
Khan (presumably) starts with a philosophical discussion of cutting an object into every smaller objects until you get to the "uncuttable." When he states that we now know an atom has parts - proton, neutrons, electrons he uses the term "orbit." He also explicitedly states that electrons aren't in an orbit and this view is incorrect or mentally incorrect (despite a visual.) It's not for several more minutes that he explains that an electron can really be in an orbital cloud. During this video he makes at least two references to really understanding atoms when you get to the segments on quantum physics.
There were several other things that bothered me about this lecture. "Protons are purple. It's a nice neutral color." The use of the term "He" to represent "Helium" before any discussion of what an element was. Jumping right into the periodic table in the same lecture. At 12 minutes out of 21, he discussed the atomic weight and mass of carbon and called it a neutral atom. (First lecture remember!)
History (Appropriate for 1st year HS or college.)
1620-1750 1st lecture.
I can sum this easily. There was this successful settlement, then there was this one, then not much happened for about this entire period of 130 years except the colonies formed and the British were here and the French were here. Then the British and the French got into a war.
