tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post7288332670683223386..comments2024-03-22T06:06:19.716-04:00Comments on Devlin's Angle: “Can’t we all get along?”Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-68151878364436061192015-05-04T08:24:43.503-04:002015-05-04T08:24:43.503-04:00to necro an old blog (I was led here by a betterex...to necro an old blog (I was led here by a betterexplained article), the only reason some people (like myself) use KA is for the free practice problems. The interface for it is quite good, and in many places better than pricy, paid practice services. Plus it has tracking and the mastery system, so it will ask me things I have practiced to a passing rate several times after set periods of time have passed, so I can gauge if I retained the knowledge. His videos are ok, but I have not used them very much. The ones that explain the "why" behind things are few and far inbetween, and I usually need that, not a demonstration of mechanics. Just my 2 cents from a KA user over the past 6 months, trying to dust off my mathematical skills in preparation for returning to college after a lengthy absence. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01541821184442343552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-10776676812593167772012-09-02T11:35:01.575-04:002012-09-02T11:35:01.575-04:00I agree with you and endorse on all your points! (...I agree with you and endorse on all your points! (Though I still wish he would work with professional mathematicians and math educators and clean out the math errors and improve the pedagogy.) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-27743897402480876392012-09-01T14:15:19.482-04:002012-09-01T14:15:19.482-04:00I use Khan Academy to help my GED students get val...I use Khan Academy to help my GED students get valuable, free, accessible practice in the basics they missed out on in school. Salman Khan is able to do what is difficult for most math teachers: take the fear out of math. Salman Khan is NOT an ordinary mortal considering he grew up under difficult circumstances and got three degrees from MIT and somehow managed to become an incredibly kind and generous person to boot. His commencement address at MIT this past June brought me to tears. Long live the Khan. :)Audreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531543678735994467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-68729175497751834572012-07-04T11:02:35.498-04:002012-07-04T11:02:35.498-04:00One more reference that just came out: a very well...One more reference that just came out: a very well reasoned assessment of KA from Chronicle of Higher Education blogger David Talbert, saving much the same thing as me: http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2012/07/03/the-trouble-with-khan-academy/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-78186986679544720632012-07-04T00:04:27.353-04:002012-07-04T00:04:27.353-04:00"If each party recognized that the others had..."If each party recognized that the others had something of value to offer, and if we could get beyond the squabbles and the name-calling, we could produce something that benefits the people we all care about: the students."<br /><br />Your post summed up exactly how I've felt about this whole issue. Thanks!Mr Krafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10308503886516396943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-470496122883942182012-07-03T22:48:17.870-04:002012-07-03T22:48:17.870-04:00I should have added a note at the end of my articl...I should have added a note at the end of my article about comments. Given the history of debate about KA, and my own desire to encourage more positive, productive discourse about an issue I care deeply about, we'll only publish comments that are (i) constructive, (ii) add something new to the discussion, and (iii) are from contributors who clearly identify themselves in a way that allows readers to contextualize their comments. There are plenty of other places for folks to simply sound off. Sorry, but this topic has a bad track record, and the MAA is a professional organization.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2516188730140164076.post-5015570403579957762012-07-03T19:01:10.300-04:002012-07-03T19:01:10.300-04:00David Coffey, one of the MTT2K parody makers, sent...David Coffey, one of the MTT2K parody makers, sent me a tweet pointing me to his blog explaining the history behind their making the video. Interesting reading: http://deltascape.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-did-you-do-it-part-i.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com