{"id":16889,"date":"2016-11-18T13:45:35","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T18:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/how-is-technology-disrupting-education\/"},"modified":"2016-11-21T16:52:57","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T21:52:57","slug":"how-is-technology-disrupting-education","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/how-is-technology-disrupting-education\/","title":{"rendered":"How is technology disrupting education?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Education is a big deal. It\u2019s #2 of the UN\u2019s Millennium Development Goals and as the world invests more than $3 trillion dollars annually into the sector[1]<\/a>, it is pertinent that education outcomes improve. The US government spends more per student than most of its OECD peers[2]<\/a>, yet education outcomes have lagged behind other countries, such as Ireland and Canada. One has to wonder why the $70billion[3]<\/a> that the US spends annually is not translating into tangible outcomes. An argument is that the “factory model\u201d[4]<\/a> of schooling \u2013 lecture-style instruction, periods delineated by patronizing bell ringing and classes fenced in by subjects, is fast becoming irrelevant in the digital age. This school of thought has created a plethora of innovative approaches to education, be it in the form of a chartered school or an ed tech company. With funding from big names such as Bill Gates and Google, one organization that unanimously requires a mention is Khan Academy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Khan Academy is a nonprofit that provides free instructional\u00a0video content to students in the K-12 space. Since its inception in 2006, Khan Academy has evolved from teaching mathematical concepts in the K-12 curriculum to providing content in other topics such as art history and mars exploration. Given\u00a0the enormity of the education problem, Khan Academy\u2019s \u00a0business model is focused\u00a0on improving two weaknesses of the current system \u2013 standardized learning and measurability.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Firstly, one of the main criticisms of the existing system is that it deploys a \u201cone size fits all\u201d and \u201cteaching to the average student\u201d approach that essentially fails all students \u2013 the smarter students are bored and the struggling students become increasingly disengaged. \u00a0Khan Academy, using essentially a library of instructional Youtube videos, provide a cheap and scalable option of adaptive and personalized learning. Students can watch these videos at their own pace, on-the-go and need not move on until they are comfortable with the concepts. In essence, the convenience and accessibility of the content improves student engagement and alleviates teachers from some of the classroom pressures.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Secondly, Khan Academy\u2019s application of \u201cbig data\u201d or \u201clearning analytics\u201d to education is meaningful. Whilst the learning content for student is adaptive to the student\u2019s mastery of concepts, the teachers are empowered as interventionists. The website supplements the video content with a dashboard application and other teaching tools[6]<\/a> that can highlight student challenges to their teachers. As students do the exercises, the progress \u2013 number of problems solved and time, is tracked at split-second intervals and populates the dashboard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Khan Academy\u2019s growth has been aggressive \u2013 it has evolved their offering \u2013 adding free SAT prep and partnering with organizations, such as MIT and NASA to add content breadth, expanded into developing nations such as India and China and opened its first Montessori-style school in the US.[7]<\/a> I wonder if this is simply too much, too fast. \u00a0My view is to focus on refining its core product \u2013 online content, which has room for improvement and opportunity for scalability. Specifically, there are three areas to look at:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Expanding into 21st<\/sup> century skills. <\/strong>Although broadening its subject offering considerably, Khan Academy has limited content in preparing students for the 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century. In fact, much of the criticism has been grounded that their rote-learning style videos stifle creativity and human interactivity. Expanding content is necessary to ensure students can obtain a comprehensive education. For example, Khan Academy could plug one of its subject gaps, creative writing by utilizing a peer review system or group students to enable project-learning, which can foster leadership and teamwork skills.<\/li>\n
  2. Training the teacher. <\/strong>Taking Khan Academy\u2019s model to the extreme, one could argue that the teacher role becomes redundant. In this scenario where the teacher is disintermediated, how do you ensure that the teacher is encouraged to participate in evolving Khan Academy\u2019s products? As technology develops and the products become more sophisticated, it is crucial that Khan Academy not only redefines the teacher role but brings existing teachers with them. Teachers need to be taught how to use the technology efficiently[8]<\/a> and unlearning how to be a \u201cteacher\u201d but transitioning to being that of a coach, a facilitator of the personalized learning.<\/li>\n
  3. Investing into machine learning. <\/strong>While we need to be aware of reducing human beings to a data point, there is considerable merit in collecting and analyzing student data. Considering the its popularity, Khan Academy is sitting on a treasure trove of data on how people learn. Investing into understanding the data will have repercussions on both improving the personalized learning model and potentially changing how curriculums are put together. Compared to opening up a new school, this will have more scalable impact, especially in developing nations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    Words: 784<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> McKinsey & Co, \u201cHow the world\u2019s best performing schools come out on top\u201d http:\/\/mckinseyonsociety.com\/downloads\/reports\/Education\/Worlds_School_Systems_Final.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a>Forbes, \u201cWhy are Education and Healthcare Outcomes so bad in the US?\u201d http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/modeledbehavior\/2016\/01\/03\/why-are-education-and-healthcare-outcomes-so-bad-in-the-us\/#18dc24ca5cba, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a>National Priorities Project, \u201cFederal Spending: Where does it all go?\u201d https:\/\/www.nationalpriorities.org\/budget-basics\/federal-budget-101\/spending\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, \u201cA factory model for schools no longer works\u201d http:\/\/archive.jsonline.com\/news\/opinion\/a-factory-model-for-schools-no-longer-works-b9943187z1-213602131.html<\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> NPR Ed, \u201c\u2019A bit of a Montessori 2.0\u2019: Khan Academy Opens a Lab School\u201d, http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/ed\/2016\/01\/05\/461506508\/sal-khan-on-learning-coding-and-why-virtual-ed-is-not-enough, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a>Wired, \u201cHow Khan Academy is Changing the rules of Education\u201d, https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2011\/07\/ff_khan\/, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> Khan Lab School, http:\/\/khanlabschool.org, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Information Age, \u201cTeachers may not like like how tech will disrupt education, but transformation is necessary\u201d, http:\/\/www.information-age.com\/teachers-may-not-how-tech-will-disrupt-education-transformation-necessary-123460311\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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