The School of One and the concepts of Khan Academy certainly are a new vision of education. They really do present a tangible way that education may be revolutionized. As I watched the video presented by Salman Khan and listened to the podcast on School of One, I saw the benefits to the programs. I see the evidence that supports their ideas in the standardized tests versus those of traditional educational programs. I do love the idea of the differentiation and individualization of the curriculum. However, I have several concerns about if these programs would really be reaching all students, the universal access of the programs, and if they really do build community within the classroom. Schools are not only teaching kids facts and how to read, write, and do arithmetic; we are teaching how to be a part of a democratic society and be able to function within society. Khan mentioned how he had feedback how his program was humanizing the classroom, but when the pictures came up, students were always on the computer and not actually discussing or communicating. With the School of One, I didn’t hear anything about the factor of community and the programs were so individual, that I couldn’t see a place where students would be working together or interacting with one another in anything other than a virtual situation.
My other concerns were about the teachers that were working within the individualized framework. With School of One, there is supposed to be an option for individual tutors and virtual tutors. How do we get qualified and well trained teachers for all of the individualized lessons that School of One guarantees? Although it does seem like an alternative to the traditional one teacher per thirty students who they can’t possibly reach, we are learning in our program that we are pulling away from the traditional classroom anyway. In this MAT program we are being challenged to plan for the individual students and differentiation just as adamantly as Khan Academies or School of One.
My last and most adamant concern is the universal access. I realize that School of One, right now at least, is an after school program where students go to the schools to use the computers. However, with Khan Academies, one teacher reported that her students went home to watch the lectures and then came back to school the next day for the practice of what they had learned. This is a red flag to me, especially with the knowledge that a large part of the Native Alaskan families do not have a computer or Internet access within their homes. I wonder how many low-SES families don’t have access when their students might be required to use them on a daily basis.
With all of these concerns, I do see the technology-based programs as having a future in education; be it remedial services, extra tutoring, or the basis of a classroom. Every class is different and each teacher has to decide for their class what is best for the group as a whole. Some students might be lost without this new design and some students might need the hands-on manipulatives to really understand a concept. As technology is ever growing, I think we will see more of these ideas emerging and being used nation and worldwide.
