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Personally, I think the Khan academy model is the future - watch lecture videos at home, and work through problems in the classroom.

davycro 12y ago
Agreed. But the video has to be quality. We have several flipped classrooms at my school, where you watch a video before lecture and then have an interactive session. The videos are mostly a professor talking over a PowerPoint deck, which is worse than a lecture.
- findjashua 12y ago
  Powerpoints or copying equations on the blackboard are the best way to make sure students don't attend lectures/doze off in class.
ghshephard 12y ago
As one who has gone through about 100+ Khan videos, I appreciate them for what they are - which is usually helping someone over a conceptual hurdle. I would love it if someone were to take the next step, and create a more sophisticated question bank than Khan has, which stresses your learning experience. The one key issue with Khan is that it typically doesn't stress you, and as such, the knowledge retained is usually fairly shallow.
- nooron 12y ago
  StudyEdge (YC S13) is doing a great job with a similar service. They provide Khan Academy-style videos with a live support system (on the FB app platform). The videos + support system are meant to supplement university courses-- essentially acting as a web tutor. Their own supplementary question banks tend to be deep and well designed. I used the service to get through Calc 2 as an undergrad. I liked it so much (went from a C+ to A student in math) that I went to work there the next summer!
  - findjashua 12y ago
    Similar experience - I had a terrible professor for my LInear Algebra course back in college and Gilbert Strand's lecture videos on MIT open courseware were the only reason I passed that course (actually got a better grade than other math courses).
AJ007 12y ago
I agree. It would be weird if we only listened to songs rendered by mediocre live cover bands years after the record, cassette, CD had come and gone. On another note, one of the biggest, and most baffling, complaints I heard from friends who went to a large local state university was foreign lecturers whose English was so poor they couldn't understand what was being said.
stevesearer 12y ago
This was how one of my favorite professors would teach, only instead of videos, you just had to read the books and readings he assigned. The majority of class was spent with him in the front of the room responding to questions or comments about the assignment. He was really gracious and took the time to respond to what might have seemed like bad questions and somehow use them as a springboard to further the discussion. He would also usually throw out book, movie, or music recommendations that popped into his mind during the course of the class that was related to the topic. His passion for history and ability to engage the students was what made him an excellent professor.
pamelafox 12y ago
That's the "flipped" classroom model, but these days, we talk more about "self-paced mastery" learning or "personalized" learning, which is different. Basically, students should be able to go at their own pace, so they can dive into whichever topics they don't grasp as easily or find particularly interesting, and not worry about having to keep exactly in step with their classmates. That may mean doing more problems, re-watching videos, etc. These style classrooms don't involve students necessarily doing anything at home, they just give students the equipment to learn at their own pace. There are some schools trying it out, using Khan Academy and other resources. I've visited a few and it's neat to see. I've also been doing that model in the weekend workshops I teach, and see definite benefits. No more having to rush the students that need more time or bore the students that got it quickly.
- findjashua 12y ago
  I actually meant to make the same point - watching lectures at homes means you can rewind and go over the parts you didn't get the first time. In fact, I do that all the time. But, the real confidence (and happiness) comes from being able to apply what you've learnt. Working with other students and having a teacher help you out when you're stuck is the perfect complement for that. Where are you based, if you don't mind me asking. I'd be interested in volunteering at programming workshops in/around San Francisco.

davycro 12y ago

Agreed. But the video has to be quality. We have several flipped classrooms at my school, where you watch a video before lecture and then have an interactive session. The videos are mostly a professor talking over a PowerPoint deck, which is worse than a lecture.

findjashua 12y ago
Powerpoints or copying equations on the blackboard are the best way to make sure students don't attend lectures/doze off in class.

ghshephard 12y ago

As one who has gone through about 100+ Khan videos, I appreciate them for what they are - which is usually helping someone over a conceptual hurdle. I would love it if someone were to take the next step, and create a more sophisticated question bank than Khan has, which stresses your learning experience. The one key issue with Khan is that it typically doesn't stress you, and as such, the knowledge retained is usually fairly shallow.

nooron 12y ago
StudyEdge (YC S13) is doing a great job with a similar service. They provide Khan Academy-style videos with a live support system (on the FB app platform). The videos + support system are meant to supplement university courses-- essentially acting as a web tutor. Their own supplementary question banks tend to be deep and well designed. I used the service to get through Calc 2 as an undergrad. I liked it so much (went from a C+ to A student in math) that I went to work there the next summer!
- findjashua 12y ago
  Similar experience - I had a terrible professor for my LInear Algebra course back in college and Gilbert Strand's lecture videos on MIT open courseware were the only reason I passed that course (actually got a better grade than other math courses).

AJ007 12y ago

I agree. It would be weird if we only listened to songs rendered by mediocre live cover bands years after the record, cassette, CD had come and gone. On another note, one of the biggest, and most baffling, complaints I heard from friends who went to a large local state university was foreign lecturers whose English was so poor they couldn't understand what was being said.

stevesearer 12y ago

This was how one of my favorite professors would teach, only instead of videos, you just had to read the books and readings he assigned. The majority of class was spent with him in the front of the room responding to questions or comments about the assignment. He was really gracious and took the time to respond to what might have seemed like bad questions and somehow use them as a springboard to further the discussion. He would also usually throw out book, movie, or music recommendations that popped into his mind during the course of the class that was related to the topic. His passion for history and ability to engage the students was what made him an excellent professor.

pamelafox 12y ago

That's the "flipped" classroom model, but these days, we talk more about "self-paced mastery" learning or "personalized" learning, which is different. Basically, students should be able to go at their own pace, so they can dive into whichever topics they don't grasp as easily or find particularly interesting, and not worry about having to keep exactly in step with their classmates. That may mean doing more problems, re-watching videos, etc. These style classrooms don't involve students necessarily doing anything at home, they just give students the equipment to learn at their own pace. There are some schools trying it out, using Khan Academy and other resources. I've visited a few and it's neat to see. I've also been doing that model in the weekend workshops I teach, and see definite benefits. No more having to rush the students that need more time or bore the students that got it quickly.

findjashua 12y ago
I actually meant to make the same point - watching lectures at homes means you can rewind and go over the parts you didn't get the first time. In fact, I do that all the time. But, the real confidence (and happiness) comes from being able to apply what you've learnt. Working with other students and having a teacher help you out when you're stuck is the perfect complement for that. Where are you based, if you don't mind me asking. I'd be interested in volunteering at programming workshops in/around San Francisco.