Khan Academy: Effective E-learning Application

Impact of Technology on Education

Discuss about the New Trend For E-Learning In Using Educational Cloud.

The “recent developments in the fields of technology as well as innovations” as significantly impacted the way the various individuals lead their lives (Tondeur et al. 2013). One of the most important examples of this particular fact is the way technology has impacted the various educational institutions of the world.  Education is one of the most basic needs of the various individuals from the diverse parts of the world and it is with this particular outlook that the various nations of the world have incorporated the policy of education in their constitutions (Tondeur et al. 2013). Furthermore, the United Nations has also recognized the “right to education” as one of the most basic as well as the fundamental rights of the individuals (Nickerson and Zodhiates 2013). Thus, the various nations of the world have taken active initiatives in the recent times to impart effective education to the individuals. Many scholars are of the opinion that education is necessary tool for the individuals as it equips the various individuals with the necessary kinds of tools which are likely to help them to overcome the problems faced by them in the later part of their lives (Nickerson and Zodhiates 2013). Furthermore, another significant trend noticed in the educational field is the use of technology for the process of imparting effective education to the students (Lewis et al. 2013). Thus, the various institutions are taking the help of various kinds of visual as well as audio aids for the process of imparting education to the students. Therefore, it is seen that various educational institutions have emerged in the present times which take the help of various kinds of applications as well as software to the provide quality education to the students (Lewis et al. 2013). The use of these has simplified the educational system in a significant manner and has much improved the learning process of the students. However, it is generally seen that the use of these applications entails with itself various kinds of problems as well. This report will discuss about the various e-learning applications through the lens of the “Khan e-learning application”.

The “Khan e-learning application” is one of the most popular e-learning applications and it is a reflection of this particular fact that a large number of people from the various parts of the world (Khan Academy. 2018). This particular application is being provided by the “Khan Academy” which was founded by the Indian movie celebrity Salman Khan in 2008 (Khan Academy. 2018). The organization Khan Academy is “a non-profit educational organization” which was created with the objective to provide effective educational facilities to the students from the various parts of the world (Khan Academy. 2018). The organization taking the help of the platforms provided by the electronic media like YouTube and others provides short tutorial lessons to the students as well as the tutors (Khan Academy. 2018). In addition to this, the institution also provides various kinds of exercises as well as the lessons in order to ensure that the lessons which are being taught to them has been understood by them the in most effective manner (Lewis et al. 2013). The website of the institution has designed in such a manner so that the users are being able to access the website in an effective manner. Moreover, the major contents of the website are in the English language however the users do have the option to have the option to access the information in various different kinds of languages like “Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, French, Bengali, Hindi, and German” (Khan Academy. 2018). 

Introduction to Khan Academy

Figure 1: “Courses provided by Khan Academy”

Source: Khan Academy, 2018

The primary objective of the institution is “to provide a personalized learning experience” through the help of various kinds of videos as well as audios (Khan Academy. 2018). Furthermore, the website also aspires to act “as a supplement to its videos, because it includes other features such as progress tracking, practice exercises and teaching tools” (Khan Academy. 2018). The services provided by this particular website can also be accessed with the help of the various kinds of mobile phone applications. Most of the videos of this particular website try to create the ambience of the educational institutions through the use of blackboards and other kind of aids (Collins and Halverson 2018). The institution apart from being operational in the nation of India is also operational in Africa, Latin America and in the various nations of Asia (Khan Academy. 2018). The organization provides learning aids right from the primary school level up to the high level schools as well. Furthermore, in the recent times it is seen that the institution provides “Crash Course and the Museum of Modern Art” (Khan Academy. 2018). Moreover, in the recent times the institution provides guide for various kinds of competitive examinations like SAT, MCAT, LSAT and others (Khan Academy. 2018). The institution in the year 2017 became the official partner of the organization “College Board's Advanced Placement” (Khan Academy. 2018).

Figure 2: Login In page of Khan Academy

Source: Khan Academy, 2018

The nation of India is a developing with very high rate of illiteracy and therefore the application was developed by the institution with the primary objective to provide the very basic knowledge as well as the education the various people of the nation (Collins and Halverson 2018). In addition to this, it is see that there are many people who due to inefficient financial means and other reasons are unable to further continue their education (Ertmer et al. 2012). Therefore, this particular application was designed with the specific objective to provide education to these people. Furthermore, it is seen that the quality of education provided in these institutions is not as per the international standard and in a way it can be said that this particular application seeks to improve the learning as well as the educational facilities which are available to the students of India (Ertmer et al. 2012). Moreover, the students can also learn various kinds of new languages taking the help of this particular application.

Features and Services Offered

This particular application is generally being used by the various individuals as a supportive material for the process of their studies. It is significant to note that this particular application provides easy as well as effective videos where the students as well as the other individuals can easily learn about the things which are required for the process of their education (Zaharescu and Zaharescu 2012). Furthermore, the application also provides various kinds of teaching guides to the teachers which they can use for the process of teaching in the actual classrooms (Zaharescu and Zaharescu 2012). In the recent times it is also seen that the various individuals are increasingly using this particular application for the purpose of learning various kinds of new languages like “Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, French, Bengali, Hindi, and German” (Khan Academy. 2018). These in short are some of the key reasons for which this particular application is being used by the various individuals from the different parts of not only the nation of India but also from the other parts of the nations of the world.

The e-learning application under discussion here has millions of users from the different parts of the world in addition to the ones in the nation of India (Carr 2012). Furthermore, the application has received recognition from the various parts of the world and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the various international philanthropists of the world like Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and others are taking an active interest in this particular application and have made a significant amount of contribution towards the further development of this particular application (Khan Academy. 2018). In addition to these the application in the recent times has several awards like “2014 Heinz Award” and others along with the various kinds of international donations which it has received in the recent times (Khan Academy. 2018). Therefore, it would be apt to say that these awards as well as the international recognitions which the institution and its e-learning application has received in the recent times is an indicative of the fact that the organization has been able to fulfill the “goals as well as the objectives which it set put to achieve at the time of its initiation” (Carr 2012).

The effectiveness of a particular learning application can be measured in terms of the quality of services which it provides to its users and also by the number of its users (Hutchison, Beschorner and Schmidt?Crawford 2012). It is significant to note that the application under discussion here is being used not only by various individual students from the different parts of the nation of India but also from the different parts of the other nations of the world. One of the key reasons for the enormous success attained by this particular e-learning application has been the high quality of educational materials which it provides to the users (Hutchison, Beschorner and Schmidt?Crawford 2012). Moreover, the simplistic as well as the interactive way in which the videos and the content in them is being designed is also one of the key reasons for the success attained by the application in the recent times. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the application has been one of the most effective e-learning applications to be developed in the recent times.

Khan Academy for Basic Education and Language Learning

The process of evaluation is an important one for the process of measuring the effectiveness of a particular application. However, it is significant to note that the evaluation process which is being for measuring the effectiveness of one particular application cannot be applied to other applications as well (Alshwaier, Youssef and Emam 2012). Therefore, the evaluation process of this particular e-learning application should be completely based on the kind of services which it is providing to the people and the reason for which it was founded (Alshwaier, Youssef and Emam 2012). The application under consideration here seeks to provide the basic educational facilities to the people from the various parts of not only of the nation of India but also from the various parts of the world as well. Therefore, it is important to note that the effectiveness of this particular application should be measured in terms of the quality of the basic which it seeks to provide to the students. Furthermore, to be precise the effectiveness of this particular application whether it is being able to make the students understand the basic concepts for which they are taking the help of this particular application (Alshwaier, Youssef and Emam 2012). The effectiveness of the application should also be measured in terms of whether it is being able to make the students thoroughly understand the basic concepts of their coursework and on how well they being able to apply those concepts in their educational lives.

The primary learning which is being used by this particular application for the process of imparting education to the students and the other people who take the help of this particular application is the “Cognitive Theory of Learning” (Pereira and Rodrigues 2013). Many psychologists are of the opinion that this particular learning have come out of the umbrella of “Gestalt psychology” (Pereira and Rodrigues 2013). The major precept of this particular theory of learning is the belief that the “individuals not only responds to stimuli but also act on beliefs, thoughts, attitudes, feelings and strive towards goals” (Pereira and Rodrigues 2013). The major focus of this particular theory is on the role which the external factors play on the learning process of the individuals. The major users of this particular application are the children who because of being at a very impressionable age are more likely to learn in a much better manner by virtue of the help of the visual method (Wang, Yu and Wu 2013). Therefore, this particular application by taking the help of various kinds of videos particularly aims to influence the cognition of the students so that they not only able to learn the things which are being taught to them by means of the videos but are also able to apply them when needed. Thus, it would be apt to say that this is precisely the reason why the application takes the help of the various kinds of videos for the purpose of providing help to the students in the process of their learning.

Khan Academy: Awards and Recognition

 The above mentioned paragraph gives an overview of the reason why this particular application takes the help of the various kinds of videos for the process of imparting knowledge to the students from the different parts of the nation. Another significant theory on the basis of which the education provided by this particular application can be explained is the theory of connectivism (Wang, Yu and Wu 2013). This particular theory of learning had gained a considerable amount of significance in the present age of digital learning. According to this particular theory of learning the learning process of the individuals is based on the fact the process of learning is influenced by the cultural as well as the social context in which the process of learning takes place (Wang, Yu and Wu 2013). Furthermore, this theory of learning also states that learning occurs across and within a particular network and not within a particular individual. Therefore, it can be said that this particular theory is used by this particular application and the institution itself to create a network where the people from the different parts of the world would be able to form a community (Beetham and Sharpe 2013). The users would be able to learn in a much better manner because of the large network to which are connected. Another learning theory which is being used by this particular e-learning application is the learning theory of behaviourism. It is significant to note that the primary focus on this particular theory is on understanding the behavior of the various individuals and the theory also states that the human beings learn new things in the most effective manner by observing as well as looking at the behavior of the other individuals (Beetham and Sharpe 2013). Therefore, this particular e-learning application takes the help of this particular theory of learning to create learning in which the professor in addition to explaining the theories as well as the frameworks also gives a practical demonstration of the same through the help of various kinds of practical activities as well as exercises (Beetham and Sharpe 2013). The developers of this particular e-learning application are of the opinion that the human beings learn best by observing the behavior of the other individuals and thus the institution takes the help of this particular feature to create stimulating learning videos which not only appeals o the cognition of the students who take the help of this particular application but also the students can learn new things by observing the behavior of the professors who are providing lessons through the help of these videos (Rossing et al. 2012). Thus, the developers of this particular e-learning application are of the opinion that the students would be able to learn the lessons as well as prepare for the competitive examination in the best possible manner if they are given a practical demonstration of the same thing (Rossing et al. 2012). Therefore, it would be apt to say that the use of the combination of all these learning theories for the development of this particular e-learning application has contributed in a significant towards the success which it has attained in the recent times and has also helped it to impart quality education to the students from the different parts of the world who take the help of this particular e-learning application for the process of their education (Rossing et al. 2012).

Effectiveness of Khan Academy as an E-learning Tool

This e-learning application has gained a considerable amount of significance in the recent times not only because of the wide range of educational facilities it provides to the students from the different parts of the nation and also from the different parts of the world but also because of the quality of the education which it imparts to the students who take the help of this particular application for the process of their education (Collins and Halverson 2018). Therefore, it is seen that the various students in the present times instead of taking tuitions from the experts are increasingly taking the help of this particular application for the process of their education. Furthermore, it is also seen that the people who could not continue their studies because of financial reasons or other factors take the help of this particular application for the process of their education (Collins and Halverson 2018). In addition to these, it is seen that in the recent times this particular application offers a range different language learning options to the students which has been much appreciated by them. Furthermore, the application takes the help of recent technologies for the purpose of imparting education to the students which is much appreciated by the students. The competitive examination preparation which the application provides to the students has also helped many students to get effective results in these exams (Collins and Halverson 2018). Perhaps, the best part about this application is the fact that this particular e-learning application is completely free and the users can use it as per their own convenience.

Conclusion

To conclude, the use of electronic for the process of education has not only changed the way education is being imparted to the students from the different parts of the world and belonging to different age categories but as a matter of fact it has much simplified the lives of the students. Thus, the majority of the educational institutions of the world are taking of the electronic media to provide better quality education to the students. Furthermore, these educational institutions for the development of the various educational applications take the help of various kinds of learning theories. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the use of technology has not only simplified the leaning experience of the students but also improved their educational experience.

References

Allen, M.W., 2016. Michael Allen's guide to e-learning: Building interactive, fun, and effective learning programs for any company. John Wiley & Sons.

Evaluation of E-learning Applications

Alshwaier, A., Youssef, A. and Emam, A., 2012. A new trend for e-learning in KSA using educational clouds. Advanced Computing, 3(1), p.81.

Beetham, H. and Sharpe, R. eds., 2013. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for 21st century learning. Routledge.

Buabeng-Andoh, C., 2012. Factors influencing teachers' adoption and integration of information and communication technology into teaching: A review of the literature. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 8(1), p.136.

Carr, J.M., 2012. Does math achievement h’APP’en when iPads and game-based learning are incorporated into fifth-grade mathematics instruction?. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 11, pp.269-286.

Collins, A. and Halverson, R., 2018. Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College Press.

Ertmer, P.A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A.T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E. and Sendurur, P., 2012. Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship. Computers & Education, 59(2), pp.423-435.

Falloon, G., 2013. Young students using iPads: App design and content influences on their learning pathways. Computers & Education, 68, pp.505-521.

Hutchison, A., Beschorner, B. and Schmidt?Crawford, D., 2012. Exploring the use of the iPad for literacy learning. The Reading Teacher, 66(1), pp.15-23.

Keegan, D., 2013. Foundations of distance education. Routledge.

 Khan Academy. 2018. Khan Academy. [online] Available at: https://www.khanacademy.org/ [Accessed 26 May 2018].

Lai, C., Wang, Q. and Lei, J., 2012. What factors predict undergraduate students' use of technology for learning? A case from Hong Kong. Computers & Education, 59(2), pp.569-579.

Lewis, C.C., Fretwell, C.E., Ryan, J. and Parham, J.B., 2013. Faculty use of established and emerging technologies in higher education: A unified theory of acceptance and use of technology perspective. International Journal of Higher Education, 2(2), p.22.

Nickerson, R.S. and Zodhiates, P.P. eds., 2013. Technology in education: Looking toward 2020. Routledge.

Pereira, O.R. and Rodrigues, J.J., 2013. Survey and analysis of current mobile learning applications and technologies. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 46(2), p.27.

Rossing, J.P., Miller, W.M., Cecil, A.K. and Stamper, S.E., 2012. iLearning: The future of higher education? Student perceptions on learning with mobile tablets. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12(2), pp.1-26.

Salmon, G., 2013. E-tivities: The key to active online learning. Routledge.

Thomas, P.A., 2015. Curriculum development for medical education: a six-step approach. JHU Press.

Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Sang, G., Voogt, J., Fisser, P. and Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., 2012. Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology in education: A synthesis of qualitative evidence. Computers & Education, 59(1), pp.134-144.

Wang, J., Yu, W.C.W. and Wu, E., 2013. Empowering mobile assisted social e-learning: Students’ expectations and perceptions. World Journal of Education, 3(2), p.59.

Zaharescu, E. and Zaharescu, G.A., 2012. Enhanced virtual e-learning environments using cloud computing architectures. International Journal of Computer Science Research and Application, 2(1), pp.31-41.