Latest news with #KhanAcademy
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
The best-case scenario for AI in schools
I'll be honest: I find the ways in which AI is changing our world to be a bit scary. It's getting harder to tell what's real and what's fake. It's unclear what jobs will exist in a few years. But more than anything, I worry about our kids – and whether a full-on embrace of AI could harm their ability to read deeply, write clearly and think critically. A lot of parents I know are talking about AI and education. They see the same headlines that I do: some students are using it to cheat, some teachers are using it to increase efficiency and some school districts are fully embracing it, even though we don't have a ton of reliable data on whether chatbots help or harm students' learning. So, amid my worries about AI in the classroom, I called up Sal Khan, author of Brave New Words. Many of you may know him as the founder of Khan Academy, an educational nonprofit that's grown into an empire of online videos and tools which many students (my own children included) use when they're struggling to understand a topic in class. I wanted to talk to him because he's one of the most prominent voices making an optimistic case for how AI could improve our classrooms in a meaningful way. He's not blind to the fears that many parents have, but hearing him make a positive case for this technology was eye-opening. I really enjoyed our conversation – if you have a moment, you should watch (or read) some more of it below. Below is an excerpt from our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. Katty Kay: For parents, there is quite a lot of fear that their kids' brains are going to get outsourced and that everything will be done by ChatGPT. Paint the picture of how you envision AI as an enabler in education. What are classrooms going to look like in 10 years time? Sal Khan: First of all, those fears are real. They're legitimate fears. What I always like to do before I go into what's going to happen with the technology is to think about what some of the goals of writing and reading were in the first place. I think if you talk to an English teacher, they'll say it's important to be able to communicate and structure your thoughts. I think when you break it out like that, you can start to think of ways to not only address some of the fears with AIs, but maybe even do things better than you did before. The example I'll give is one where I actually won't talk about technology at all. Imagine if your child's school district just discovered $1bn (£743m) and they decided to hire some amazing graduate students to hang out in the classroom. These graduate students are going to be on call for your teacher to help grade papers, to help bounce ideas and think of really creative lesson plans. When class starts, those grad students, along with the teacher, are going to be able to walk around and help your children when they need it. They don't have to wait for that help. And then, they'll report back to the teacher and say, 'Hey, I noticed Katty is not as engaged as she was yesterday' or 'Sal's really engaged today. Did you know that he's really into baseball? Let's make the next example about that just for Sal.' And then, they're able to distill all of that and communicate to the parents. It's not once a term. It's almost real time. I think that would be everyone's dream. The students would love it, the teachers would love it and parents would love it. And that's essentially what's going to happen with AI. Obviously, it's not going to be human teaching assistants; it's going to be artificial intelligences that are assisting the teachers that are able to observe the classroom and intervene while keeping the teacher in the loop. KK: We are talking about a world where AI takes over the roles of doctors and other jobs. So, why will a teacher's role in a classroom still even be something that we would seek to retain in a world where AI can do almost everything better? SK: I think we're in a world where we're going to be able to raise the floor and create a much better high-scale, low-cost, automated safety net for the world. Take your doctor example. If you're in a rural village in India, you'll hopefully get an AI doctor that maybe can even help prescribe medicines and things like that. It won't be as good as the doctors you or I might be able to go to, but it'll be a lot better than what they had before. Similarly, your children might be able to get access to an AI tutor or AI assessments. The reason why I don't think that is the end all and be all is the same reason why a lot of parents, including myself, feel the need to send their kids to a physical school with other kids and with a social environment, etc. We often focus a lot on just the standards of what happens in school: Can kids factor a polynomial? Can they grammatically correct a sentence? Those skills matter. But to some degree, the more important skills are: Can you deal with conflict? Can you be held accountable? Can you communicate? Can you know how to navigate social pressures? I think teachers, as a human being in the room, are going to be super-important actors as a physical human being to hold students accountable, but also just to be able to unlock that person-to-person connection. KK: Is it possible that because the tools will be so much better, we will unlock in all students that kind of joy of learning that most of us don't really feel when we're in middle school? SK: I think we'll do much, much better than we have in the past. I think the reason why most students disengage is because things are going over their head or it's not really connecting to their experiences in life. AI will get us a much better chance of personalising to those students. When you interact with content, you're much more likely to learn and remember the content. We have activities on our AI tool, Khanmigo, where you can talk to AI simulations of historical figures or literary characters. That literally brings history to life in ways that we couldn't have imagined before. To your question, about five, 10 years in the future, this sounds very Star Trek-y, but virtual-reality glasses are probably going to become mainstream in about 10 years. It literally would be like a magic school bus ride where the teacher is going to be able to take the class into the circulatory system, or we're going to be able to go to ancient Rome together. I think that will be a much, much richer way to learn. KK: So, is it that AI could actually enhance our ability not to learn for learning's sake, but that it could also make us more creative? Is that how you see this? SK: I think it will amplify whatever your intent already is. There are people who are just trying to do things as quickly as possible and cut corners. They will find ways to do that with AI. Now, those people usually aren't the highest performers and when you amplify that with AI, they still won't be the highest performers. But for those that are looking to do something novel and creative, I think it will amplify that, as well. I have a commencement address that I have to give and I am using AI – not to write the address, but I just dictated all my thoughts onto my phone and AI transcribed it. Then, I started tweaking it. I went paragraph by paragraph and was like, 'Is there another way of saying this?' I'm not using 99% of what the AI might suggest, but just having that partner there is very powerful. I'm also bouncing ideas off of my 16-year-old son and my wife. They're not always around! Imagine you're someone who gives great speeches, like Barack Obama. As president, he had an army of speechwriters. But I believe that he also came to the table with his own point of view. So, he was able to prompt those speechwriters so it would be in his voice, but also edit it himself so that it would truly be authentic to himself and his ideas. I think these technologies now give us all that power that President Obama had. But if you don't write well, if you don't communicate well, it's going to have diminishing returns. --
GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
DepEd: Students should develop critical thinking to fight 'AI fakes'
Education Secretary Sonny Angara stressed the need to strengthen critical thinking skills among students in a bid to fight AI-generated 'fakes' online. 'Magaling talaga ang AI. So, kailangan maingat ang tao ngayon. Kailangang maging mapanuri at iyan ay gusto rin naming ituro sa eskwelahan. Iyan ay bahagi ng tinatawag nating critical thinking,' Angara said in an ambush interview on Wednesday. (AI is really good, so people need to be careful now. They need to be critical, and that is what we want to teach in school. That is part of what we call critical thinking.) The Department of Education (DepEd), meanwhile, is now working on establishing a dedicated AI research center to help Filipino learners understand and navigate the rapidly evolving digital landscape. 'Hindi mo dapat bibigyan ng AI kung di pa siya marunong magbasa. Unahin muna ang pagbabasa,' Angara said, explaining that strong foundational skills like reading must come first before deeper technological integration. (You shouldn't give AI to him if he can't read yet.) He added that AI is already being used in schools through platforms like Khanmigo, which streamlines lesson planning for teachers. It is an AI-powered learning assistant developed by Khan Academy and made freely available to public school teachers and learners nationwide. Launched in the Philippines in December 2024, Khanmigo is helping students with math, reading comprehension and even personalized learning pathways. "Yung dati, dalawang araw, isang oras gawanan niya yung buong lesson plan,' he said. 'We (also) gave AI tutor to our teachers also so they can check if what they're teaching is correct. They can check themselves,' Angara added. The DepEd's push comes amid growing concerns about misinformation and disinformation campaigns that leverage realistic AI-generated content. With the school year underway, Angara emphasized that protecting students from digital deception is just as important as ensuring access to classrooms and basic learning resources. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Carnegie Mellon University announces partnership with Sal Khan's Schoolhouse.world
As part of his visit to Carnegie Mellon University to give the keynote address at commencement on Sunday, Sal Khan, founder of the renowned nonprofit educational platform Khan Academy, and CMU announced a new partnership between the school and one of Khan's other ventures. CMU and a digital platform that offers free educational services worldwide with a focus on high school-level curricula, are partnering, which will allow CMU students to have both expanded access to the platform and gain experience as tutors. 'Carnegie Mellon University is deeply committed to fostering access and opportunity, and we also applaud Sal Khan's record of creating innovative and high-quality educational experiences that are broadly available to learners around the world, including Khan Academy and CMU President Farnam Jahanian said in a statement. 'Our new collaboration seeks to unite our institutions around our shared commitment and further democratize learning, benefiting Carnegie Mellon students, high school students around the world and society at large.' Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Fast Company
13-05-2025
- Fast Company
Sal Khan's new Dialogues program teaches students how to have civil, thoughtful discussions
In recent years, Khan Academy founder Sal Khan has been most visible promoting the organization's AI learning assistant, Khanmigo. But a second nonprofit he founded, called Schoolhouse, focuses on connecting students with their peers for human-centered educational interactions. Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schoolhouse has connected students with trained and certified volunteer tutors, often around their own age, who help them understand a variety of academic subjects. Now, through a pilot with the College Board, these tutors also help students prepare for the SATs. 'It was a very utopian idea that frankly a lot of people were very skeptical of—that you could attract volunteers, and vet them, and train them, and give high-quality tutoring at scale for free to other folks,' says Khan, who is also CEO of Schoolhouse. 'But we built that first prototype, summer of 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, and it worked.' As of Tuesday, Schoolhouse is publicly launching a new program called Dialogues, which connects students aged 14 to 18 via Zoom to respectfully discuss a variety of often-controversial cultural and political topics. Developed with experts in civil discourse, the program offers students discussion guides on subjects like immigration, gun control, climate change, universal basic income, and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, though, it relies on students to engage respectfully and learn from one another. 'It's not a debate,' Khan says. 'You don't have to convince the other person, but you do want to be able to give your point of view in a thoughtful way, and you want to be able to listen and be able to understand the other side's point of view.' During sessions, students are identified only by their first names and last initials. While video is optional, Schoolhouse reports that about 75% of students in the pilot opted to keep their cameras on. After each conversation, students complete surveys reflecting on their experiences. Dialogues offer not only insights into differing perspectives but also teach students how to maintain respectful, productive conversations. 'I often end up being the one who sort of leads the question, as in answers first,' says Claire, a participant in the program. (Schoolhouse requested that Fast Company only identify student participants by their first names, in keeping with Dialogues' privacy practices.) 'And I've learned how to do that in a way where I'm not running over the other people—where we really share our own different thoughts, and we dig a little bit deeper.' More than 600 students have participated in the pilot phase, holding over 2,000 Dialogue sessions. Participants can also start Dialogues clubs through Schoolhouse to help organize sessions. 'It's our dream that one day, Dialogue Clubs will be just as common as Debate Clubs,' Khan wrote in a blog post. Students can also receive official portfolios from Schoolhouse documenting their participation and peer feedback. By connecting students across geographic regions, Dialogues expose them to viewpoints and ideas they may not encounter in their everyday lives. 'In my daily life, I really thought I met a lot of different people, and I was kind of tapped in with a bunch of different areas of the community,' says David, a participant. 'But once you go into Dialogues, you realize that there's a lot more breadth to the world around you.' Zoom offers a more intimate, one-on-one setting than typical internet message boards—without the cost and complexity of travel. 'We had two American students talking to two Chinese students in China about free speech,' Khan says. 'I don't know how you pull that off in person without some super-expensive exchange program.' Several colleges—including the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, MIT, Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Colby College, Northwestern University, and Washington University in St. Louis—have said they will officially consider Dialogues portfolios as part of admissions applications. Students who volunteer to tutor through Schoolhouse can also build similar portfolios. Khan says his team has, with student permission, shared transcripts and recordings of Dialogues with school officials to help them understand the program, and the response has been positive. 'Their consensus is, this is incredible,' he says. 'Like, these are kids that we would want to accept.'
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Forbes
The Rise Of Intentional Education Is Reshaping The School Landscape
The landscape of K-12 education is rapidly evolving as new educational models emerge, driven by the convergence of communications technology, educational technology, and artificial intelligence. Virtual classrooms, enabled by platforms like Zoom, connect students across the globe, while adaptive learning systems such as Khan Academy and Lexia deliver lessons tailored to individual paces. AI further enhances this by providing personalized feedback, addressing unique student needs with precision. Together, these innovations seem to have birthed 'intentional education,' a student-centered approach prioritizing critical thinking, personal growth, and practical skills over traditional, standardized curricula. Leading this movement are three pioneering schools, all rooted in Austin, Texas: The Socratic Experience, Acton Academy, and Alpha School. The Socratic Experience, founded by Michael Strong, is a virtual school serving students in grades 3–12. It centers on Socratic dialogue, where open-ended questioning fosters intellectual autonomy and critical thinking. Students engage in 3–4 hours of daily synchronous classes, including discussions of classic and contemporary texts, writing workshops to hone analytical essays, and adaptive STEM programs like Beast Academy. Afternoons are dedicated to student-led projects, such as coding apps or researching historical contexts, supported by weekly one-on-one coaching. Strong's philosophy, outlined in The Habit of Thought, emphasizes nurturing each student's 'unique genius,' blending classical education with self-directed exploration. Students are given great flexibility, including the opportunity to take university courses while in middle school. For instance, 8th graders have completed Harvard's CS50 course, showcasing the program's rigor. Tuition ranges from $12,600 to $14,400 annually, reflecting its personalized approach. Acton Academy, established in 2009 by Jeff and Laura Sandefer, began in Austin and has grown into a network of over 300 microschools worldwide. Built on the 'Hero's Journey' philosophy, Acton inspires students to discover their calling through curiosity and character development. A typical day includes 2–3 hours of academics using adaptive tools like Khan Academy, followed by Socratic discussions and project-based 'quests,' such as launching a mock business. Students in mixed-age studios set personal goals and demonstrate mastery through public exhibitions, not tests. Parents report that their children 'love school,' with some 5th graders advancing multiple grade levels in math. Each Acton Academy operates independently, leading to varied experiences as the network has scaled, with some campuses being more highly regarded than others. Tuition at the Austin Westlake campus is $13,200 annually. Alpha School, co-founded by MacKenzie Price in Austin, leverages AI to redefine learning efficiency. Its '2-Hour Learning' model condenses core subjects—math, reading, writing—into two morning hours using AI-driven platforms like Lexia. This approach, which claims to improve efficiency, leads students to learn up to twice as fast, enabling afternoons to be used for workshops in coding, entrepreneurship, or public speaking. Small class sizes and 'Guides' (not traditional teachers) ensure tailored support, with frequent check-ins to align learning with students' interests. For example, students might design a startup pitch or practice financial literacy. Tuition at the Austin campus is $40,000 annually. Alpha is expanding, with new campuses being planned in cities like Miami and Houston and a virtual campus in Arizona. Remarkably, all three schools trace their origins to Austin, Texas. The Socratic Experience, although virtual, was shaped by Strong's work in the region; Acton Academy launched its flagship campus there; and Alpha School established its first location in Austin. The city's entrepreneurial culture and tech ecosystem likely foster such experimentation, positioning Austin as a leader in reimagining education. The newly established University of Austin further substantiates Austin's status as ground zero for education innovation. Despite their distinct approaches, these schools share four operational principles that define intentional education, with tuition reflecting their high-touch models: The intentional education movement appears poised to expand, as technological advancements and innovative funding models like Educational Savings Accounts make alternative schooling more accessible without the operational drawbacks of charter schools. Alpha School will launch a virtual charter school in Arizona in Fall 2025 and is exploring private micro-schools in states with ESAs. Efforts to establish physical charter schools have faced resistance, but Alpha's strategic focus on virtual and micro-school models aims to broaden its reach. Virtual platforms enhance accessibility for schools like The Socratic Experience, while AI and adaptive tech, as seen in Alpha, continue to refine personalization. However, scaling poses challenges, particularly regarding quality maintenance. Acton Academy's growth to over 300 schools showcases the potential for replication but also highlights the pitfalls of decentralized management. While some campuses produce students who launch businesses or leap grade levels, others face criticism for lacking structure, as noted in online discussions. This suggests that robust training and quality control are critical for scaling to occur without diluting impact. The rise of intentional education, exemplified by The Socratic Experience, Acton Academy, and Alpha School, shows that the moment is finally at hand for the long-standing promise of educational technology to prioritize individual learning. It is not surprising that this is occurring outside the confines of the traditional educational establishment because the technology and instructional models come with a reimagining of roles and structures–something difficult to achieve when positions are defined by district-wide contracts. What is clear is that by prioritizing efficient time use, independent exploration, meaningful connections, and personalized guidance, these schools are demonstrating how significant increases in learning can be achieved within the traditional school-day framework. As technology advances and access grows, new approaches like these will continue to emerge and expand. Whether these types of schools become the norm will ultimately depend on their ability to maintain quality and culture as they scale.
