Ranger Ready

Tech Thursday | 8 December 2016

Formative Assessment with Khan Academy

Teachers and students should access Khan Academy through the Clever website. Clever allows teachers and students to access many of the learning applications they use throughout the school day with a single username and password. Students have a shortcut "app" on their iPads that takes them directly to the Clever website.

Clever Login Details:

student username: s + student ID, ex. s123456

student password: network password (NPIN)

staff username: network ID, ex. absmith
staff password: network password

Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower students to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom.

Simple ways to use Khan Academy with Students

These two useful methods will help your students succeed on Khan Academy. Many students succeed when they learn at their own pace, are motivated to challenge themselves, and have access to high-quality resources.

Here's what you can do to help them get started using Khan Academy for math.

1. Let students know that they have a free math tutor available to them 24/7

Khan Academy can be a useful tool to help students take the reins of their own learning, especially when they don’t have access to a tutor or teacher at all times.

When students don’t fully understand a math concept or miss a few classes and want to catch up, they can search for relevant videos or exercises to get the instruction they need.
When students want to fill in any previous gaps in their learning, they can move through appropriate grade- or subject-level missions or search for specific skills they need help on.
And if students just want to explore beyond their regular coursework, they can try other math missions, or even explore the wonders of computer programming and art history!

2. Encourage students to use missions for individualized math practice

Students have diverse levels of comprehension and pre-existing math knowledge, despite being placed in the same class. Missions are individualized math experiences within Khan Academy which are grouped by specific grade levels and subject areas. Therefore, a 9th grade student can simply start the “9th grade mission”, and Khan Academy’s adaptive software and instant feedback can guide students on their individual learning path. This allows them to practice the skills, understand which ones they have truly mastered, and where they need to focus more effort.

While some teachers have students work on their missions in class, many coaches suggest that students use the missions as practice outside of their usual math class (i.e. at home, during an additional math period, computer lab hours). This allows students to move at their own pace and reinforce necessary math skills.

How do you know which mission is right for your students’ needs? Here are suggestions from some teachers:

Who need remediation: If you have students who are performing below grade-level, missions such as Early Math, Arithmetic, or Pre-Algebra can help solidify their math foundations first.
Students who are at grade-level: These students can use their corresponding grade-level or subject-level missions to reinforce what they’re learning in class and move at their own pace through the year’s curriculum.
Students who are above grade level: If these students want to make sure that they are prepared for their grade-level or subject-level exams, they can do so by working through the appropriate grade-level or subject-level missions. If they want to challenge themselves to learn more advanced material, then they can explore missions above grade level. And, they can always work on multiple missions at once!

Linking Khan Academy & College Board

It is important that students set up and link their Khan Academy and CollegeBoard accounts correctly in order to make sure their information is synched properly. This helps create a more personalized learning plan for each student.

Watch the College Board & Khan Academy Setup and Linking video for a step-by-step demonstration.