Geonz
08-28-2012, 04:00 PM
You need further distractions from important things in life? (I'm thinking this probably should go on "thread drift" but it's too late now ;)) So, I spend most of my day helping folks figure out basic math stuff. Most people survive math classes and think of it as a mess of procedures that don't really connect with everything.
It occurred to me today that the math of math courses is kinda like a Dvorak keyboard. Yea, it's what the math teachers are comfortable, and it is an effective way to communicate in symbols... but it's so unfamiliar to the rest of the world that getting facile with it is unlikely, especially when you're supposed to crank stuff out as fast as the teacher is...
So, I've always thought we could do better with technology at making this stuff make sense. In 1998 I spent a year studying educatinoal technology, thinking I'd design stuff... life intervened... [long story shortened] ...
... I heard about the Khan Academy, which has a zillion videos, went and watched them and decided to go back to taking classes because on my worst day I could do better.
After a class in 2D animation, I played around with a video lesson... and then heard about a contest in an educational magazine to make a video ... that spoofed the Khan Academy.
Golden opportunity it is -- get folks in the educational community to see what I'm playing around with!
Welp, the contest judging is supposed to happen in September but I've been a little disappointed in the paucity of discussion. They tweet with each otehr but have never answered mine... perhaps my little video is so "out there" that it just doesn't make sense and they're assuming I'm an alien of some sort ;)
The link to it from the contest is here: http://edtechresearcher.org/mtt2k-contest/ -- scroll 'way down to "khanspoof 815 " (I can't find the page where they're on a neat list with our names!) ... the "contest" part takes up the first four minutes (the spoofy critique of the Khan Academy exponent lesson) but then I give my rough draft animation. If anybody has 'way too much time on their hands, I'd love impressiosn :)
(Per the contest, if they actually judge based on the criteria they listed -- enlightening, entertaining, and with talking robots -- I should win hands down. I'm pretty sure I am the only entry with talking robots. I'm also pretty sure I'm the only entrant who was actually taking animation classes and had access to the software to do it...)
It occurred to me today that the math of math courses is kinda like a Dvorak keyboard. Yea, it's what the math teachers are comfortable, and it is an effective way to communicate in symbols... but it's so unfamiliar to the rest of the world that getting facile with it is unlikely, especially when you're supposed to crank stuff out as fast as the teacher is...
So, I've always thought we could do better with technology at making this stuff make sense. In 1998 I spent a year studying educatinoal technology, thinking I'd design stuff... life intervened... [long story shortened] ...
... I heard about the Khan Academy, which has a zillion videos, went and watched them and decided to go back to taking classes because on my worst day I could do better.
After a class in 2D animation, I played around with a video lesson... and then heard about a contest in an educational magazine to make a video ... that spoofed the Khan Academy.
Golden opportunity it is -- get folks in the educational community to see what I'm playing around with!
Welp, the contest judging is supposed to happen in September but I've been a little disappointed in the paucity of discussion. They tweet with each otehr but have never answered mine... perhaps my little video is so "out there" that it just doesn't make sense and they're assuming I'm an alien of some sort ;)
The link to it from the contest is here: http://edtechresearcher.org/mtt2k-contest/ -- scroll 'way down to "khanspoof 815 " (I can't find the page where they're on a neat list with our names!) ... the "contest" part takes up the first four minutes (the spoofy critique of the Khan Academy exponent lesson) but then I give my rough draft animation. If anybody has 'way too much time on their hands, I'd love impressiosn :)
(Per the contest, if they actually judge based on the criteria they listed -- enlightening, entertaining, and with talking robots -- I should win hands down. I'm pretty sure I am the only entry with talking robots. I'm also pretty sure I'm the only entrant who was actually taking animation classes and had access to the software to do it...)