Khan Academy Teacher Toolkit review

Web 2.0 Tool Review

Name of Tool: Khan Academy: Teacher Toolkit
Tool URL: http://www.khanacademy.org/toolkit
Type of Tool: Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
Description: Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization.  I first became aware of Khan Academy when searching for educational videos to use in my community college biology classes.  Some student later told me that they have used Khan Academy's videos on their own and found them very helpful.  The toolkit is a set of math exercises for students and analytical tools for teachers to evaluate their students performance on those exercises.  These videos and exercises can be used individually to supplement instruction, or the teacher can set up whole units of instruction using the toolkit.  Given that the toolkit allows the teacher to see and analyze data on student performance, it would seem that the toolkit could almost function as a learning management system, similar to Blackboard or Moodle.
Test run: I tried one of the exercises available on the site.  The exercise I chose was on scientific notation. 
I will demonstrate how the exercise works in the folowing screenshots (I used my laptop's Print Screen key, pasted into Corel Paintshop Pro to edit and save the screenshots):
This first screen shot shows the question.

I'm asked to drag the decimal point in the lower number to get the scientific notation form of the upper number.  In the next shot, I show myself doing it incorrectly (on purpose :)).

Then I submit, and it tells me I am wrong.

Then I move the decimal point to the correct position...

...and click "Try Again."

I get a smiley face for my correct answer, and I can click for a new question.  The new question will be very similar to this one. 

You might notice that after I gave the correct answer, I got two "leaves" (shown above the "Next Question button).  The leaves indicate that I've accomplished something, and are apparently part of gaming elements incorporated into the exercises to help motivate students.  I'm curious how much this actually works.  Ephemeral, digital world trophies don't seem all that exciting to me. 

What do you need to know before using this tool? Khan Academy's most obvious feature would seem to be their videos.  If you know how to use YouTube, you can search through their library of over 3,200 videos on various topics.  The interface for the practice exercise I did above seemed pretty clear to me.  If you do make a mistake in using the interface, the tool will generate new questions indefinitely for you to try again. 

What do you need to have before using this tool? Like most Web 2.0 tools, the Khan Academy Teacher Toolkit only requires you to have a computer with an internet connection with a webbrowser.  The teacher and students will need to register to create an account and log in.  A Google ID can be used to quickly register an account at Khan Academy.  They recommend students have Google accounts if using Khan Academy. 

How do you use this tool?  There is more than one way to use the toolkit.  Generally the first step is for the teacher to register.  Then the students must be registered, and they must assign the teacher's account to be their "Coach."



Teaching scenario: The math exercises are indexed to the Common Core.  Given that this is the case, a math teacher might review which parts of the Common Core are most problematic for students, then use the videos and exercises in the toolkit to supplement those problem areas. 
 
What are the advantages of using this tool in a teaching environment?  This tool is specifically designed for a teaching environment, so it is perhaps more appropriate for educational purposes than most Web 2.0 tools.  The exercises are indexed to the Common Core cirruculum, which I think would be extremely useful for K-12 math teachers.
What are the disadvantages of using this tool in a teaching environment?  So far, the exercises,  analytics and index to the Common Core parts of the toolkit only cover math.  I'm not sure if they intend to expand the toolkit to other topics.  A teacher would have to invest a significant amount of time into using this tool to use it effectively.  It seems like you could almost use this toolkit as a learning management system, like Blackboard or Moodle.  If you already have a learning management system, then adapting this toolkit to your course may be more than you need.  However, as discussed, the exercises in the toolkit may be used individually, so a teacher might still browse through to find supplemental materials.