Digital Delights

Also, Forbes magazine talked about the Khan Academy and the “flipped classroom” being one of the most important stories of 2012.  Whether it was inspired by Salman Khan or by educators, it has certainly stirred a movement:

Entire school districts are now reworking their curriculum, pedagogy, classroom structure and technology around Khan Academy videos. The net result of these changes is that students in Khan-centered schools don’t watch Khan videos in the classroom. They watch them at home. They use classroom time to do homework under the active supervision of their teacher (who serves as more of a learning lab tutor/coach) and fellow students (who, in technologically advanced classrooms, are digitally flagged when a classmate needs help). In perfectly melding with the collaborative learning ethos of the iGeneration, the Khan Academy has not only flipped the classroom, it’s flipped how we look at education.

As I see how passionate educators are regarding this idea, I can definitely see why it has merit.  I also believe that this is something for some of our students, not all.  I think back to hearing about the importance of “hands on” activities for learning, yet I know many students where that is not the best way that they learn.  Even the notion that all students have to have “collaborative” skills in our world, yet there are many careers now and in the future where someone can work outside of a “group” environment.  There is some important in students being able to have choice.  It seems that we are too often looking for a “standardardized” solution for a “personalized” problem.  Students need to have options and choice.