Latest news with #KhanAcademy
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.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Forbes
AI Agents In Education: The Rise From Chatbots To Companions
connects students with dynamic video AI tutors who interact using speech and with the ... More ability to display images, videos, and a whiteboard. Imagine a student in a rural town exploring the dynamics of the solar system with a multilingual AI tutor that feels more like a friend than a computer. This will be the experience of 10,000 students in Israel this May as deploys a large-scale test AI agents in the guise of its digital tutors. As AI tools integrate into education, they're evolving from chatbots to conversational avatars with distinct personalities, transforming student engagement. This transition reflects a change in role and form. It suggests a psychological shift in how students are expected to interact with AI, which is becoming a digital companion accompanying them on their learning journey. Three notable examples– digital tutors, Tavus's Conversational Video Interface, and Khan Academy's Khanmigo–highlight this trend in agent-centered AI and its potential to transform student engagement with digital learning. At the forefront of this trend is an innovative AI company specializing in highly interactive digital avatars explicitly tailored for education. Unlike traditional chatbots, avatars mimic human tutors, using real-time visuals, virtual whiteboards, and natural voice conversations, which results in a very similar experience to a typical online tutoring session. A key feature of is its natural voice communication capability. 'Students text friends but prefer voice for tutoring—it's more engaging,' says CEO Alan Bekker. The avatars can engage students through fluid conversations, creating an intuitive and personal environment. The technology seamlessly integrates multilingual functionality, instantly adapting to students' preferred languages for input and output, thereby breaking down linguistic barriers often impeding learning. The AI tutors are designed with distinct, varied personas, resembling candidates from a casting call for young professional educators. This variety of personas enables educators and students to select avatars that best resonate with their personalities and learning styles, further enhancing student comfort and engagement. Marking a significant milestone, on April 22, 2025, announced a groundbreaking collaboration with Israel's Center for Educational Technology to deploy its personalized AI tutoring system nationwide. Beginning in May, the pilot program will engage over 10,000 Israeli students, representing the first large-scale national implementation of AI-driven tutors globally. Harvard University will serve as the program's academic advisor, providing guidance on educational frameworks and rigorously assessing its impact. Israel's tech-forward education system and teacher shortage make this project an ideal testing ground. This pilot aims to validate the effectiveness of personalized AI tutoring at scale and see whether it can produce the same significant improvement in student learning as a good personal tutor can. If successful, this pilot could significantly improve educational equity and access worldwide, offering personalized tutoring to millions. While focuses on natural conversational speech interaction, speech is not the only way AI agents interact with students. Tavus's Conversational Video Interface allows real-time interaction between students and digital agents, complete with voice and video capabilities. Hassaan Raza, CEO of Tavus, describes the 'human layer' AI agents need to realize their full potential as teachers. Agents need to be relatable and able to interact with students in a manner that shows not just subject-domain knowledge but empathy. A robust interface for these agents will include video, allowing students to look the AI in the eye. Significantly, such technology facilitates highly realistic human-like behavior in spoken interactions and imbues the AI with the ability to observe the user and engage based on what is seen. It can recognize emotional cues from students and adjust its responses dynamically, further enhancing the authenticity and depth of interactions. If a student frowns, the avatar might say, 'Let's try another example,' adapting in real time. This type of ability can be essential when a student might be confused and unable to articulate their confusion. In such cases, a good tutor will observe the confusion and ask probing questions until it becomes clear what the confusion is or the lightbulb goes off and the student understands. In contrast to the anthropomorphic avatar approaches of and Tavus, Khan Academy's Khanmigo uses a minimalist geometric figure with expressive eyes, like a friendly cartoon character. It can interact textually or via speech and successfully captures a unique personality that resonates deeply with students. Rather than providing straightforward answers, Khanmigo is designed to be a Socratic guide, steering students toward discovering solutions independently, fostering critical thinking, and deep engagement with the material. Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive. Many describe interactions with Khanmigo as akin to working with an actual tutor. Khan Academy reports that students learn more effectively with Khanmigo, with student satisfaction notably higher than traditional learning methods. The personal tone and thoughtful interaction style help students feel supported and motivated, despite lacking a visual or auditory persona. Khanmigo's thoughtful guidance makes it a faithful learning companion, not just a tool. One challenge presented by systems embracing anthropomorphic agents is the phenomenon commonly called 'the uncanny valley,' where near-human likeness causes discomfort. Moderate anthropomorphism, as seen in Khanmigo's simple design, builds trust without unease. The challenge for developers is balancing the quality of the simulated tutors with the level of personality required to make the agent engaging. Being too human-like without making it to the other side of the valley can quickly shift perceptions negatively, undermining the effectiveness of otherwise advanced technological solutions. Thus, AI developers must carefully calibrate the realism of their avatars, balancing the benefits of relatability with the risks of evoking the uncanny valley. By 2026, AI agents could be as standard in classrooms as textbooks. By offering features such as visually rich interactions, emotionally intelligent video conversations, and supportive textual dialogues, the tools move AI from disembodied knowledge to embodied personalities that approximate the types of learning interactions characteristic of the best teacher-student interactions. As these tools evolve, developers must remain mindful of the psychological dynamics. Addressing challenges like the uncanny valley will be pivotal in ensuring AI agents become widely accepted and genuinely beneficial tools within education rather than just being the source material for blooper reels and memes.
Forbes
21-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
Homeschooling To College: 4 Tips For The College Admissions Process
Homeschoolers find success in the college admissions process. May 1 is just around the corner. Known as National College Decision Day, that is the date by which high school seniors must pay their enrollment deposits and commit to one college or university to begin their freshman year this fall. My daughter is one of these seniors. A lifelong 'unschooled' homeschooler, who didn't take a formal class or test until she was 13, her unconventional education didn't hold her back from gaining numerous college acceptances, generous merit scholarships and invitations to selective honors-college programs to study mathematics. Homeschoolers have long found success in the college admissions process. As the population of homeschooled students skyrockets across the U.S., there are a few things to consider on the homeschooling-to-college pathway. Here are 4 tips for today's homeschooling families to help navigate the college admissions process: Today's high school homeschoolers often use a mix of curriculum and course resources, from self-study and online programs such as Khan Academy and ASU Prep Global, to classes offered at homeschool co-ops, microschools and similar creative schooling options, to programs hosted by local museums, libraries and cultural centers. Flexibility and the opportunity to customize education are hallmarks of homeschooling, and part of its broad and growing appeal. Homeschooling parents and students should keep detailed records of these learning experiences, including course descriptions, syllabi and assessment measures. They should also look ahead to some of the course requirements certain colleges expect high schoolers to complete, including, in some cases, four years of a foreign language or math through calculus. By the time senior year rolls around, all of these records can be synthesized into a crisp homeschool transcript to submit to colleges and universities. According to Rebecca Stuart-Orlowski, an independent college admissions counselor and founder of Orlowski College Consulting, colleges and universities take the homeschool transcript seriously, 'which is why parents should take the time to make it clear and understandable.' Stuart-Orlowski homeschooled her own three boys to college and works closely with homeschoolers and other nontraditional students throughout the college admissions process. 'When I work on transcripts with homeschool parents, I help them present their child's unique educational journey in a way that makes sense to admissions folks,' said Stuart-Orlowski, adding that parents should create a one-page high school transcript followed by course descriptions documenting a homeschooler's high school experience. She also suggests that homeschooled students reach out to colleges with application and transcript questions. 'Contact colleges. Their admissions team is there to help, and some universities even have homeschool-specific representatives,' she said. Many homeschoolers rely on dual enrollment courses to form the backbone of their high school transcript. For decades, homeschoolers have known about the benefits of dual enrollment classes, in which high schoolers take college-level courses through a community college or university. They gain access to advanced course content, build relationships with professors and accumulate college credits that can often be easily transferred when a student enrolls in a four-year Bachelor's degree program. Today, these low-cost dual enrollment programs are widely used by homeschoolers and conventionally-schooled students alike, with an estimated 2.5 million U.S. students participating in such offerings. For Kym Kent's homeschooled high school senior Samuel, dual enrollment classes have been valuable in building confidence academically as well as providing an opportunity for him to effectively manage a college course load and schedule. 'As a homeschooler, your student is immediately set apart from his or her peers, and dual enrollment further distinguishes your student, bringing a measure of academic confidence that cannot be overstated,' said Kent, who founded eXtend Homeschool Tutorial in Maryland. Kent has successfully homeschooled her older children to college, and Samuel now has multiple college acceptances that he is weighing ahead of the May 1 decision deadline. (Kent and I recently recorded a series of episodes on my LiberatED podcast about homeschooling to college.) As Samuel began applying to college last fall, Kent made certain that her son had a balanced college list, comprising a blend of schools with different acceptance rates. Recent research shows that the vast majority of U.S. colleges and universities admit the majority of their applicants, with less than three dozen schools reporting single-digit acceptance rates. It is actually easier than ever to get into college, but students and parents need to make sure their college list contains a range of options. 'Building a balanced list of colleges that typically includes schools with lower, middling and higher acceptance rates will likely ensure students have some good choices after the admissions results come in,' said Stuart-Orlowski. 'By having realistic expectations and a thoughtfully developed college list, students will almost always be very satisfied with their choices.' For Samuel, those choices range from his state's public university, to out-of-state public universities such as The Ohio State University, to an assortment of private colleges and universities. To narrow down his choices, he is evaluating different program offerings at each college, as well as the merit scholarships and financial aid awards he has received. Homeschoolers have an interesting story to tell. Learning outside the conventional classroom offers students the opportunity to undertake deep passion projects and pursue interests in imaginative ways, while leveraging a variety of robust academic resources. The college application process enables homeschoolers to share their distinct stories through the personal statement and numerous supplemental essays, and layer their application with a comprehensive transcript and teacher recommendations from external instructors and mentors. While many colleges and universities are now 'test-optional,' meaning that applicants can decide whether or not to submit SAT or ACT standardized test scores, these scores can provide objective validation for students who learn in unconventional ways. Families considering homeschooling through the high school years should take comfort in knowing that homeschoolers can have great success in the college admissions process, while enjoying the benefits of a personalized, flexible, family-focused educational option.'The rewards of homeschooling through high school, from the relationships you'll build with your kids to the social, emotional and academic successes you'll share are well worth your investment of time and energy,' said Kent. 'Homeschooling through high school will reap rewards that last well into your student's adulthood, and the memories you build together will last a lifetime.'
