KHAN Academy... new Free School

 Teaching is one of the most difficult, underpaid, and rewarding jobs in the history of the world.  Right now, however, technology (e.g., the web, video, Google) has allowed children to learn a little different than in the past.  The truth is, everyone that has access to a computer learns very different than the past.  A relatively new company called Khan Academy.  It is a free website to either aid in education or be the main core in education.  The creator Salman Khan was invited to TEDtalk in March 2011 to talk about his new company.  Take a look!

So what do I think.  He talks about a new paradigm: We encourage you to experiment and encourage you to failure, but expect MASTERY!  That is what this blog is about.  A new paradigm from a convoluted one.  I have been familiar with the site for some time but recently made an account on the site.  I hope to use the site with my family.  The coolest thing is all of the data that is available to the teachers/coaches.  There is no asking what the student doesn't understand because the data is presented so the teacher can see what the student struggles with and address that directly with teacher-student time.

A comment made at the end of the video is, "I think you just got a glimpse of the future of education."  I think so as well!

PREZI: the new way to present

While in my junior year at college, I was in a Shakespeare class because I thought I would like it and would be very different from my mostly math and science based classes within my Civil Engineering major.  The class was set up so there were seven groups and each group was assigned a play.  Each person in the group would then choose a question to answer in a presentation.  I saw a fellow student use a "Prezi".  I'd heard of it before but this was the first time I had seen it.  I then decided to give my presentation using the same online software.  My group was assigned the play Timon of Athens, a masterpiece written towards the end of Shakespeare's career.  I presented on how history influenced the play Timon of Athens.

Timon of Athens on Prezi

My second Prezi that I made was for technical presentation in an engineering competition known as Concrete Canoe.   It went well and our team got 2nd in that competition.  As a school was got 4th overall in our region.

Concrete Canoe - INVISCID on Prezi

Its a great alternative to Power Point especially if you have group presentation.  The remote group live editing is wonderfully amazing.  Its a new look and will keep the crowd interested for the entire presentation.  And showing an overview or answering questions with the Prezi itself is easy.  No more looking for the right slide to show because the whole thing is on one slide in the first place.