Tag: Khan Academy

Khan Academy, Second Week Observations

This is my second week of working through Khan Academy classes on computer programming. Today, I was looking forward to possibly getting in some extra time watching classes this weekend.

I’ve watched lots of online classes. It’s not unusual for me to like a subject so much I look forward to learning more. But I didn’t expect that to happen with computer programming classes, especially not after only two sessions of classes.

I sat and thought about that reaction for a while.

My Observations, After Two Weeks and a Few Hours

There’s a bit of gamification with badges on my user profile. It’s not an oppressive or annoying amount, but it’s enough to be a little extra bit of fun.

There’s lots of opportunities to interact with other students. There’s a questions section below most of the lessons and it’s fairly active.

Khan Academy is very good about providing opportunities to practice what was learned. There are frequent challenges to create various programs and functions. I think that programming is like many other skills where there’s a big difference between learning the theory and applying it. So I appreciate the challenges and projects. I really appreciate that the programs are run within Khan Academy’s own site. With programming, it’s easy to go through a teach-yourself book or video and get sidetracked or stumped by system-specific problems on the local system.

I’m going to assume the discussion areas are moderated. There’s also a bit of friction to be able to comment on other user’s posts. I think it’s the account has to be at least three days old and has to have a minimum number of points. Points are earned by finishing videos, projects, and challenges. After years of being on different forums, there’s something pleasant about the atmosphere on forums where it takes some work to be able to post. It’s as if the requirement for time and work to be able to post results in a more thoughtful and deliberate user base.

Khan Academy, First Impressions, First Lessons

I mentioned a while back that I wanted to learn more about how websites are built and how they work. And that I’d chosen Khan Academy as a place to start.

Well, I signed up. After spending an hour going through some beginner lessons, here are my impressions.

  • It’s easy to sign up as an adult. They do ask for birth date. I’m assuming for younger ages there may be more restrictions or requirements for signing up.
  • It’s free, although they do politely ask for donations.
  • They have a lot for adult learners, but it’s clearly aimed at school and college students.
  • Their lessons on website programming are under “Computer Programming,” not under anything with “web” or “internet” in the name. (Is this because they felt a good way to get kids interested in programming in general was through website construction?)
  • Their Computer Programming course starts with Javascript. That surprised me. After going through some lessons, I can see why it would be a good introduction for kids and new learners. They focus on using Javascript to draw, with ellipses, rectangles, and arcs. And they use that as a way to introduce concepts such as syntax, parameters, checking documentation, and relying on documentation instead of personal memory.
  • They regularly have exercises to use newly learned concepts. The exercises do have some hints for students who might not be sure how to start. (Memories of C/C++: a semicolon has to go at the end of every line. It’s nice to be told right away that a semicolon is missing, not after the entire thing is written out and compiling is attempted. That used to irritate me greatly with C/C++.)

Overall, I’m very favorably impressed.