Schools Using Educational System of Khan Academy

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Rashid Faridi

Guest Post by Kaitlyn Colekhan academy logo

Over the past few years, Khan Academy has grown from a few simple YouTube videos into a fully-featured, interactive educational system that allows students to learn and measure their progress at their own pace. It has drawn the attention of big names like Bill Gates and is being used in some form at hundreds of schools nationwide. In short, it’s pretty hot right now, and you’d be remiss as an educator or a student not to check out what it has to offer.

Whether you want to use it as a study tool for your own education or bring it in as an alternative way for students in your classes to learn a subject, it’s simple and free to get started with Khan Academy. This is perhaps a large part of the reason why it’s proving so popular nationwide. Here, we’ve highlighted some of the many schools that are using Khan Academy’s instructional videos to teach, learn, share, and grow from elementary school to high school. You may just find inspiration to start using Khan Academy on your own!

Los Altos School District:

If there’s a model of a school using Khan Academy, it’s this Silicon Valley-adjacent school district. The district is participating in a pilot program in partnership with the developers at Khan Academy, and the results of student experiences with the videos and learning tools are being closely monitored. So far, things seem promising and the school has recently expanded the Khan program to all schools and a wider range of grade levels. Khan videos and materials are most often used in math courses to supplement and support existing lesson plans. Administrators haven’t found significant differences in test scores in students who use Khan (Los Altos is already a high-performing school district), but many report seeing a newfound enthusiasm for learning in students that they don’t get through traditional textbooks.

Franklin Elementary School:

Franklin Elementary in Franklin, Connecticut is seeking out new and innovative ways to bring online learning into the traditional classroom. In 2012, the school began using Khan Academy in their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math classes. So far, both teachers and students have been happy with the results. Teachers feel it has helped them to better assess student abilities and focus on helping students where they need it most. Students have reported that the Khan programs have helped improve their math performance and have made math fun for them. Online learning programs have also helped replace language teachers at the school, which had to be let go due to budget shortfalls. Students can now work through math problems using Khan Academy and learn a language through LiveMocha, all at their own pace.

Minola School District:

With the launch of the new iPad app for Khan Academy, it’s easier than ever for teachers to bring the resources it has to offer into the classroom. One school district making use of both the tablets and the online education site is Minola School District in New York. Elementary and middle school students within the district are using Khan Academy on their iPads to watch videos and play math-related games that earn them rewards as they progress. Students get goals from their teachers to work on using the program; once they’ve achieved those goals, they can then progress to new goals at their own pace. It’s been a big help to many students, both those who need a little help with math and those who want to work ahead, with one student moving into some serious algebra well ahead of his 5th grade class. Test scores have also supported the program, with students using Khan often outpacing others in their math comprehension.

Envision Academy:

Envision is one of four charter schools in Northern California that’s experimenting with Khan Academy in its academic programs. Last summer, the school ran a small program for remedial algebra students using Khan materials, a pilot which was largely successful. The school’s chief academic officer, Brian Greenberg, says students respond so well to the Khan material because they get “instant feedback” through tracking accomplishment and progress and by earning badges. During the summer program, students only spent half their time on algebra, with the rest spent on building lower-level math skills, yet the students in the program still outscored those in the traditional class that only focused on algebra. Many teachers feel that this is because allowing students to work on these weak spots takes the fear away from math, and makes it fun for students to learn in a way that many haven’t experienced before.

Apple Valley School District:

The Apple Valley School District is using Khan Academy in its math classes, but they’ve chosen to combine it with another teaching tool, Accelerated Math, to get even more out of the videos and programs offered. The combination allows teachers to connect videos and lessons from the Khan Academy site directly to district and statewide objectives for learning, making it simple to use the free materials at Khan without skipping over anything central to standardized test prep. In addition to using Khan Academy, students are also encouraged to embrace Google apps, wikis, and other forward-thinking technologies for education.

Mt. Ararat Middle School:

Based in Topsham, Maine, this middle school is embracing Khan Academy in a pilot set of math classrooms this year. Students will be using the math videos posted at Khan to learn new concepts while also completing problem sets, both in the classroom and at home for practice. The school is encouraging parents and staff members to sign on as coaches for students, helping them to stay motivated and get the support they need to succeed. If the pilot program is successful this year, students at Mt. Ararat could see a lot more Khan in the classrooms in coming years.

Bubb Elementary School:

Gayle Dyer is bringing a host of online and high-tech tools into the classroom for her fifth grade students at Bubb Elementary School to use. Students can play and learn on iPads and through educational content on YouTube and Khan Academy. Dyer is one of many teachers taking part in a pilot program through Khan Academy and she is having a great experience so far, saying, “The kids are highly engaged in it. When they do it on the iPad, it’s fun. So they’re practicing more.” Dyer says that using the iPad for Khan lessons has been effective because students can work at their own pace and because they can showcase their progress through earned badges, boosting their self-confidence and interest in math.

Summit Preparatory School:

Summit is one of a number of California charter schools making Khan a part of their everyday classroom experience. The school is splitting up lessons between those that are teacher-led and those that are computer-based, allowing students to get feedback from both their teacher and the online Khan programs. Unlike many of the other schools participating in Khan’s pilot programs, Summit is from a far less affluent community, with 40% of students qualifying for free lunches and a high level of gang violence. Many students don’t have a computer at home, but through the help of the school and the Khan Academy, many are improving their test scores and doing well in their studies.

Hope Technology School:

This private school in Palo Alto uses small classes (only 12-13 students) and the latest technology to help both typical learners and those with special needs thrive in a classroom setting. One of the newest tools being tried out in Hope classrooms is Khan Academy. Hope is unique among schools trying out Khan because nearly 40% of its students have special needs and require special accommodations in the classroom and during testing. Yet that hasn’t held them back, as students at the school generally perform at or above grade level. With students able to learn at their own pace through Khan, it makes it simple to accommodate the needs of just about any type of learner. The long-term effects of Khan at Hope have yet to be seen, but it is so far proving to be yet another valuable tech tool in the school’s arsenal.

Mt. Lebanon High School:

Math classes at Mt. Lebanon are fully embracing the idea of the flipped classroom, with students watching lectures as homework and getting help from their teacher to work on problem sets in class. A big help to this process has been Khan Academy, which was the inspiration for teachers to create their own Khan-like programs for students. While students don’t always use Khan material in class, it was the model provided by the service that inspired several Mt. Lebanon teachers to flip their classrooms, developing their own video lectures and online content. Students and teachers alike are loving the new model, with many really appreciating being able to go back and watch videos or review material that was confusing at first glance.

Fitzgerald Public Schools:

Students at Chatterton Middle School in the Fitzgerald Public School District are using Khan Academy to work at their own pace in math classes in a program called Tier Math. Students begin the course at their own level and work through at a pace that is comfortable for them, progressing through lectures and problem sets using Khan Academy resources online. It seems to be working, as assessment scores have been steadily increasing in students in the Tier Math program. Students in the first Tier Math class were even asked to become teachers themselves and show students in later classes how to use the online tools, an experience teachers report as being highly successful and that will likely continue in future years.

Acton Academy:

Acton Academy is making great strides in bringing adaptive educational technologies into the classroom. The school not only uses Khan Academy, but also Manga High and Jili Math to help students work at their own pace and review material that they may not have grasped. Students at Acton begin using these programs in their early years, a process that seems to be paying off. Students at Acton are on average 3.5 grade levels above age and accelerating, thanks largely in part to the interactive and leveled materials they get from these adaptive digital technologies.

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Posted on April 23, 2012 by Rashid Faridi

Sara's avatarcitymovement

Urban Cultural Studies posted “The City as You’ve Never Seen it Before” and it got me thinking about mapping and the Situationist Interntional. The Situationist International, an international group of revolutionary artists, philosophers and architects, was founded in 1957. The S.I. fought against the capitalist system and advocated for an alternative life style. In response to the city model Parisian urban planners were developing, the S.I. used the map of Paris to reconfigure the experience of the city by constructing situations that playfully and inventively explored the urban.  Psychogeography was one of the particular strategies that the S. I. used to lead pedestrians off their predictable passageways and conduits within the city and  surprised them with new experiences or insight of their urban landscape. By manipulating the map itself, they intervened in the logic of the city, constructing an alternative geography as well as a providing a different perspective of…

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Earth Day:Some Exciting Stats on Green Job Growth

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Rashid Faridi

Guest Post by Elena Verlee

Although many past Earth Days have come and gone with little in the way of good news regarding the environment, there is much to celebrate on April 22, 2012. Backed by one of the more environmentally-friendly presidents in recent memory, the United States has seen huge funding for alternative energy sources, a drive for better fuel economy, and a massive movement by colleges and other groups to live cleaner, greener, and more efficiently. So this Earth Day, think of these 25 exciting statistics about the growth of jobs for work that benefits the environment, and be happy. The future is bright.

  1. Hydropower is estimated to have the potential of adding 1.4 million jobs by 2025

    Every state has the potential to create hydropower projects, from ocean water, streams, or pumped storage water, meaning plants all over the country could be created and staffed with workers.

  2. The government has created a $2 million green job competition for veterans

    In March 2010, the government announced it would allocate $2 million toward grants for training military veterans in industries like bio-fuels, renewable electric power, energy-efficient construction, and more.

  3. The green construction industry will add 2.3 million workers to its labor force

    According to the U.S. Green Building Council, green construction employed more than 1 million people from 2000 to 2008. This number is expected to rise to 3.3 million by 2013, about a 230% increase. Nearly half of American solar power firms plan to hire more workers: In August 2011, almost half of 2,100 solar power companies surveyed said they plan to add an expected 24,000 jobs by August 2012.

  4. The solar industry job growth rate is 6.8%

    Compared to the fossil fuel industry’s negative growth rate of 2%, the nearly 7% growth in solar power jobs, including manufacturing and installation, is very promising.

  5. Tennessee will see the creation of 10,000 new green jobs by 2014

    A handful of companies like Volkswagen and Nissan Leaf and Storage Battery Manufacturing will help the state continue to see an 8% growth rate annually, with jobs like energy brokers and solar installation managers becoming available.

  6. Ohio could see 23,000 new auto industry jobs in the next 10 years

    A recent report by non-profit research group Ceres found that because of new federal regulations for fuel efficiency, hiring will increase by automakers and companies that make fuel-efficient tech.

  7. The geothermal industry has added 7,000 jobs and counting since 2008

    Executive Director of the Geothermal Energy Association Karl Gawell estimated in 2011 that new geothermal construction projects, which have no fuel costs and produce very little CO2, will add another 3,000 jobs in California, Nevada, and elsewhere.

  8. The bio-fuel sector could produce 807,000 jobs by 2022

    The Biotechnology Industry Organization said in late 2011 that the bio-fuel industry could produce hundreds of thousands of jobs while lowering U.S. oil imports by $70 billion.

  9. Knoxville, Tennessee’s green jobs grew by 14.6% annually from 2003 to 2010

    In 2009 alone, Knoxville added more than 16,000 green jobs, helping lower the unemployment rate to 7.7% for the city, a full two points lower than the rest of the state.

  10. The green industry in the U.S. now employs 3.1 million workers

    Green jobs now outnumber jobs in the fossil fuels industry (although some have taken issue with the definition of “green job” used in the calculation).

  11. In Little Rock, Arkansas 11,933 green jobs were created in 2010

    Being home to clean-tech companies like LM Wind Power and CLEAResult Consulting helped Arkansas’ capital become one of the fastest-growing cities in America for green jobs.

  12. President Obama’s Recovery Act of 2009 invested $90 billion in clean energy

    This money has already helped sponsor 40 clean-tech projects that will eventually employ upwards of 60,000 people.

  13. With more than 28,000, Albany has the highest concentration of green jobs in the country

    One out of every 15 workers in and around Albany has a clean job, or 6.7%, thanks in large part to the business of GE, which houses many of its clean-tech operations in Schenectady.

  14. The U.S. is only tapping 20% of its hydropower capacity

    There is much, much more room for job growth in hydropower because out of the 500 gigawatt capacity, the U.S. is only making use of 100 gigawatts.

  15. The Dept. of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program will help create 10 times the number of the failed Keystone Pipeline

    And what’s even more exciting is that the DOE program will cost taxpayers $2 billion less than originally expected.

  16. Jobs for the Future is expanding green job training in seven cities across the country

    Funded with $38 million from the Dept. of Labor, JFF will equip workers with skills necessary for the green industry, adding thousands of jobs to Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and more.

  17. Worldwide, the green energy sector could create 20 million to 30 million jobs by 2030

    And that’s just the energy sector of green technology. This many jobs would inject trillions of dollars into a struggling world economy.

  18. North Carolina’s green industry grew by 700 companies from 2009 to 2010

    Job figures are certain to increase in “The Triangle,” the nickname applied to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, which already has one of the highest totals of green jobs in the country.

  19. California is projected to spawn more than 200,000 jobs by 2020

    A 2011 report by The Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy stated that energy efficiency policies will produce 211,000 skilled, high-paying jobs and more than $11 billion in revenue for the state.

  20. The number of green jobs in Toledo, Ohio have gone up 72% since 2003

    The city added 4,000 jobs during the period, and in one 18-month period the jobs helped lower unemployment nearly four percentage points.

  21. Organic farmers’ markets rose 17% in 2010 alone

    A key part of the green movement is locally sourced, organic food. Farmers had plenty of work in 2010, as the markets’ surge in popularity swelled their numbers to 7,175 across the nation.

  22. Des Moines, Iowa is growing in green jobs at 11.4% per year

    Since 2003, more than 2,500 green jobs have been created, moving the city’s total to over 5,200 green industry jobs and helping keep unemployment low.

  23. Albuquerque lowered unemployment 2.6% in 2010 thanks to green jobs

    The city’s 9,000-plus clean-tech jobs at manufacturing companies like Advent Solar and Schott AG have helped make it a hub of environmentally-friendly work.

  24. Ogden, Utah has been growing at a rate of 8.6% for new green jobs each year

    The 927 jobs the Ogden area has added in recent years are thanks to openings created at green companies like recycling company American Specialty Glass Inc. and green manufacturer W.R. Grace & Co.

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Settlement Patterns in Ancient India

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Rashid Faridi
Copy of an old etching of the ghats of the anc...

Copy of an old etching of the ghats of the ancient city of Benares in India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of the plans of rural settlements in Ancient India have been discussed elaborately in the ancient texts like Manasara Shilpashastra. Shilpashastras are old Sanskrit texts which were possibly compiled about the fifth or sixth century B.C. but the tradition which they indicate are of greater antiquity. VideHavels wrote about them in Ancient and medieval Architecture of India, 1915. P.K. Acharya translated them into English with his own comments entitled as Indian Architecture in five volumes in 1927.

Most of the plans are rectangular or square and do not appear to differ in essentials. Each village was surrounded by a wall and ditch for defense purposes. There were generally four gates in the middle of the four quarters. The centre of the village was generally occupied by a temple, tank or public hall. The four quarters were further sub-divided by straight streets. Each block was inhabited on the basis of caste or  profession, the best quarters being generally given to Brahmins and the high caste. The easterly axis of the general plan and the intersection of the urban street by north south running shorter streets bean relationship with climatic conditions. Such an arrangement ensured the advantage of sun-light and the proper circulation of fresh air.

The plans of rural settlements do not seem to have survived in the true form. When one speak of the village plan, one refers to the layout of the Basti (inhibited site) resulting from the arrangement of houses and  village streets of panes. In this sense a definite pattern has emerged only in the case of compact or linear settlements which are very limited in number. At times the settlements are so irregularly huddled together that it becomes very difficult to recognize the definite pattern.

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