School management system - EDUkIT becomes School Champion

You still don’t know what the Khan Academy is? Then we are coming to you!

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Khan”? A ruler? A tribal chief? A title in ancient Mongolia? A star in the constellation of Ophiucus? A national group in Canada? An administrative district in Japan? The 31st letter of the Georgian alphabet? A city in the west of Germany?

And what about the phrase “Khan Academy”? Unusual, isn’t it? Something connected with the East immediately springs to mind. When we asked the children about it, they answered: “It’s something Arab or Turkish…”, “Maybe, they will teach me how to become a real khan?”

“Remember how it all began…”

Що таке Академія Хана ?

logo of Khan Academywww.khanacademy.orgIn fact, the Khan Academy is an international educational network. Its founder and “guru” Salman Khan started by tutoring his cousins and got so enthusiastic about the whole idea that he soon decided to make educational videos and place the fruit of his work on YouTube.

It started in 2006. The videos were openly accessible, and anyone could watch them. In the short run, people who familiarized themselves with them started writing to Salman letters of gratitude, which said: “I think I have learned more about Maths in the past three weeks than I had in all four years of my high school studies”, “When you watch his videos, you just comprehend everything, you just get it” and “I ended up passing a whole bunch of tests from his videos”…

This inspired Sal to create more and more videos. They were informal as if the learning material was being explained by your elder brother, not by a teacher, there were jokes in it… Maybe, this is his main secret?

Because, after a while, thousands of people from all over the world started watching Salman Khan’s videos. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, said: “What Khan does is amazing! I see him as a pioneer in an overall movement to use technology to let more and more people learn things and know where they stand. It’s the start of a revolution!”

The simplest things are the most difficult to explain. But Khan managed to do it.

Salman Khan’s lessons, of which there are over two thousand, are small videos, from 5 to 15 minutes long. They are dedicated to various subjects, topics and disciplines: Algebra, Calculus, Geometry, Banking, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Economics and Finance, History, Statistics and many others. Just imagine - this is a whole library! Everything goes from the easiest to the most difficult, it literally starts at 2x2=4 (two times two is four) and goes all the way to the college level Calculus.

The tutoring is done in the form of a computer game – there are tips, scores and levels… All tasks are divided into modules. You can see the graph of personal progress, how many videos you watched, what your level of knowledge in a given subject is and how well it is improving, how long it took you to watch a particular video and do assignments. There is another map – for your parents and tutors. It shows them which topics from the course you have covered and how long it took you. The most amazing is that you can see the mistakes you have made in each of the tasks! Therefore, you can view and analyze them at any time convenient for you. In addition, you can do it on your own instead of blushing in front of a whole class of students near a board when working at your mistakes.

The map of topics on the Khan Academy’s website looks like a starry sky. And your knowledge is really like constellations where the brightest stars are those that are yet to shine in the sky - and everything is possible thanks to Khan’s lessons…

“… and now you just have to press a button like that!”

Salman Khan AcademyNo wonder Salman’s lessons and lectures are so much liked by children, who are fed up with hearing monotonous voices every day. They see Salman as a friend and a peer. Children have always liked playing, even with numbers and triangles. Each of Khan’s videos is dedicated to a small problem, after solving which a student can pass on to the next one connected with the previous. The material is repeated again and again. When studying, every student earns so-called “badges”. You can get the “Meteorite”, the “Earth”, the “Moon”, the “Sun” and even the “Black Hole” (but not anyone can get this last badge, you have to show extraordinary abilities to earn it). But the motivation works!

To become a Khan Academy student, you don’t have to take any special entrance exams, you just have to have a computer, the Internet, a Google or a Facebook account, and, most importantly, the willingness to study!

Khan Academy materials can be used not only at home, but also in class. For that, the teacher has a special tool – a paradigm that shows the progress of each student. Different colours show classwork and homework. Every student can work at his own pace.

Making confident steps into a new life with fresh ideas in our heads…

According to Khan himself, he wants to create a stand-alone virtual school, in which everyone can study, improve their level of knowledge as well as get feedback, assessment and practice. Salman would like each student to work at their own pace and the teacher to become more of a mentor or a coach.

Modern computer technologies have enabled Salman Khan to create educational videos in his home in California (USA), then these videos are watched by people from all over the world who have a computer and Internet access. “One thing that kind of shocked me is that I get a lot of letters from the Middle East, Latin America, Ethiopia, Uganda. I’m hoping I’ll be able to make about a couple of hundred videos a year,” Sal shares his impressions.

If you have some knowledge, share its light with others

КомандаGradually, Khan was joined by other young people who picked up his idea of a world educational network in the Internet. At present, 46 members are working in the team. You can learn more about them at site of Khan Academy.

When the School Champion project team saw Khan Academy videos, we got very interested in the materials offered by Salman. The team members were so inspired by them that we decided to translate videos into five languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, French and German. That’s why you can now find videos in Algebra and Geometry on YouTube in the above-mentioned languages.

The Khan Academy is available in Ukraine!

So, Salman Khan has given such a simple way of learning to millions of people around the world. Thanks to School Champion team translators, this tool is now available in five languages:

Language versions of the channel
Ukrainian version
Russian version
German version
Chinese version
French version

Enjoy your learning! Eric Hoffer said: "In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."
If you have some questions or suggestions send your letter to khan@schoolchampion.com

Video about the Khan Academy

To view the videos you will need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. What is Khan Academy? (The Tech Award)

Watch this video on Youtube (with Russian subtitles).

To view the videos you will need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. Khan Academy on the Gates Notes

Watch this video on Youtube (with Russian subtitles).

To view the videos you will need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. Let’s change our approach to education with the help of Khan Academy video lessons (TED 2011)

Watch this video on Youtube (with Russian subtitles).

Here is what School Champion project participants involved in the partner project with the Khan Academy say:

Photo of Olexander Elkin
Olexander Elkin:


“The Khan Academy is a pioneering approach in creating and delivering educational content, which is in great demand among people of various ages, levels of knowledge and places of residence. Since 2006, Khan’s free educational videos have been watched more than 300 mln times, and, overall, more than 4000 videos are now on the program – from the basics of Arithmetic to the laws of thermodynamics. These results of the Khan Academy are impressive!”
Olexander has been working in the project since February, 2011.

Photo of Maryna Paschenko
Maryna Paschenko:

“Innovative, alternative approach in education, the use of Internet technologies, accessibility of education, a large diverse audience, feedback opportunity – all of that makes the Khan Academy an important element in the world education system of the future.”
Maryna has been working in the project since November, 2010.

Photo of Iryna Romashkevych
Iryna Romashkevych
:

“I like the idea of the Khan Academy. It can be called revolutionary. Khan’s lectures are funny and quite simple. As a translator into Russian, I absorb Sal’s videos and adapt them to the realities of the language of translation.”
Iryna has been working in the project since November, 2010.

Photo of Galyna Vinnytska
Galyna Vinnytska:


“I like Khan Academy for its simplicity and accessibility of teaching methods. I think it would be nice to include the Humanities into the list of subjects in addition to the Sciences. I’ll be glad to continue cooperating with the Khan Academy.”
Galyna has been working in the project since November, 2010.

Photo of Anna Pletnyova
Anna Pletnyova:

“What I like about the Khan Academy is that you can return to the video again and again if you need more time to learn about a particular topic, while in a typical classroom you have to ask a teacher to explain the material once again, and some people might be too shy to do it.”
Anna was working in the project from January, 2011 till June, 2012

Photo of Olena Rozskazova
Olena Rozskazova
:

“I hope our hard work will not go to waste, and our translations of Khan’s lessons will be used in Ukrainian schools. Most importanly, the initiative has to come from the teachers.”
Olena was working in the project from January, 2011 till June, 2012

Anna Grinker
Anna Grinker:

“The very idea that each person, regardless of age and level of knowledge, can learn at his own personal computer is new and fascinating. What Khan is striving for is education without limits. His videos transfer learners into another reality, where the material is explained in simple words not by a strict teacher, but by a peer on the other side of the screen.”
Anna has been working in the project since September, 2011.

Photo of Jean Richard Bonzou:
Jean Richard Bonzou:


“Translation is my work. I like it. Everything Khan does is great because children can learn at home for free using the Internet.”
Jean was working in the project from November, 2010 till September, 2011.

Фото участницы проекта Академии Хана Алины МатиенкоAlina Matienko:

“The main idea of Khan Academy is providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere." I like the idea of free education, cause unfortunately it isn't easy always to receive it. Morover Khan Academy makes the Internt safer and more useful for children.”
Alina has been working in the project since April, 2012.

Tatiana Petrenko:
Фото участницы проекта Академии Хана Петренко Тани
“Khan Academy is a new phase in education. Wih Khan Academy schoolchildren and students can catch up for the lost material or improve their knoweldge. Khan Academy's videos also can help teachers in their work. The educational process becomes more various and effective with Khan Academy.”
Tatiana has been working in the project since February, 2012.

Stas Fedorov:Photo of team member

“I like Khan's alternative approach to teaching because his method works.”
Stas has been working in the project since October, 2013.

Photo of Jung ZhangPhoto of Li Chunui
Jung Zhang, Li Chunui:


“We’d recommend Khan Academy lessons to Chinese schoolchildren because they help children understand school subjects as well as develop a scientific awareness. Salman’s videos are interesting and versatile”.
Jung and Li were working in the project from January, 2011 till July, 2011.

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