How do you use Khan Academy in your homeschool?

[abrightmom]

It looks fantastic and I'm investigating HOW I might implement it in our homeschool as a math supplement. Will you share how you are using it with your kids? :001_smile:

[TaraHen]

This will probably be the least helpful reply you'll get, but here goes...

 

I just load the web page and let my kids watch his videos. That's it. They're supervised on the computer so I know what they're up to, and I let them pick and choose and explore whatever they want from his site.

 

My ds adores them and has learned an insane amount from them. He speaks of Sal Kahn as if he's his hero/personal mentor. And he enjoys comparing the way Khan does something to how Prof B does it, or Fred does it, etc....

 

That's the real reason I replied-- while I haven't done anything formal with it, I think the videos are an amazing resource. They're great reinforcement for what is being learned/taught and they can also introduce new ways to approach the same material/concepts. So, if I was going to be more structured about it, I'd probably just target them to the child's interests, and/or the curricula they're using.

 

HTH a little, anyway,

 

TaraHen

[Staceyshoe]

We're doing Singapore Math 3 right now, which Khan Academy recently started a video series about. If ds reads the textbook and isn't 110% sure about it, he watches the video. He also gets 30 minutes of free time per day and sometimes chooses to work on their software for math. I keep hoping they will come up with similar software for science . . .

[fatfishes]

I watch it so I can help my 15 year old with her maths.

[AngelBee]

I set up accounts for each of them 1st grade and up. Then they can go on and earn achievements and such. I just request that they go on 3 times a week. :)

 

As their "coach" I can see how much time they have logged and what areas they are struggling or proficient in.

 

Easy and a GREAT addition to our school. We are very grateful for the resource. :)

[Mandy in TN]

My middle ds used the Khan Academy chemistry videos last year as a coach/ supplement.

 

According to the first little badge that he earned on the first day, my youngest began logging on at http://www.khanacademy.org/about 95 days ago. Then, we didn't use it at all in June or most of July. When we started T4L on 7/25, we began using Khan Academy again. I just open up two tabs in IE and log him into T4L on one and Khan Academy on the other.

 

I pretty much let him do whatever he wants from the exercise dashboard. Once he opens the exercise, if he doesn't understand what to do, he can click on the video link in the need help section. My little guy has spent time perusing the badges, knows what he needs to do to earn them, and occasionally becomes motivated to do so. From 7/25-7/29 he averaged a whopping 6 minutes/day on Khan Academy. 8/1- 8/5 he averaged 14 minutes/day. That may mean that one day he was on for a minute and another he was on for 30. He likes the site and I want to keep it that way, so I let him do whatever he wants for however long he wants.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Hedgehogs4]

We use it as a math warm-up. He has to work for 15 minutes or complete one streak, whichever comes first. I allow him to choose whatever he wants to learn because he is interested and curious about other math concepts that we haven't yet covered. Every once in a while I will go back and have him work some harder multiplication / division problems or review something he hasn't covered as thoroughly. I will have him work with it at least 3 days a week during the school year, though during the summer we have done quite a bit of Khan, since we have done less of conventional curriculum.

[Running the race]

We've used it this summer as math practice. I have found that my 5th grader has run out of topics that are review for her right now. She doesn't do well learning them on her own.

 

I plan to keep having the kids working on it at least 1x per week during the year as review, even if it's just for a few minutse.

 

My 13yo loves earning the badges and energy points. They motivate him.

[WeeBeaks]

I just load the web page and let my kids watch his videos. That's it. They're supervised on the computer so I know what they're up to, and I let them pick and choose and explore whatever they want from his site.

 

TaraHen

 

This is exactly what we do. DS will often then ask me to get more resources for him on a topic of interest.

[Beth in SW WA]

Today dd8 watched Sal's videos on multiplying and dividing fractions -- followed by 3 pages in Key To Fractions (book 4) of the same topics.

 

We live KA! :001_smile:

[SilverMoon]

Unless we're looking up a video for a particular concept that's not getting sunk as well as I'd like, I have my kids who've beat all four levels of XtraMath play around on Khan Academy for twenty minutes or so a day. I don't tell them where or what to do. They are trying to beat my scores or pass me, though. :)

[Just Beachy]

I set up accounts for each of them 1st grade and up. Then they can go on and earn achievements and such. I just request that they go on 3 times a week. :)

 

As their "coach" I can see how much time they have logged and what areas they are struggling or proficient in.

 

Easy and a GREAT addition to our school. We are very grateful for the resource. :)

 

I have been trying to set up accounts for my kiddos, but I'm having problems doing so because they are not yet 13.

 

May I ask how you set up the accounts.

 

Thanks.

[cassiemc]

This summer we used Khan's pre-algebra for our oldest. I had a feeling that I could move him into Algebra 1 from TT7, but I wanted to make sure. He watched all the videos and did the practice problems. After he finished, I had him take the TT placement test for Algebra 1 and he passed it. I think in the future we will use it if someone needs help understanding something. It helps to have it explained another way.