Khan Academy Video Learning

Christopher J. Devers, Allie Alayan, and Cody ReavesIndiana Wesleyan University

Why Research Video Learning?

• In the fall 2011 term alone, approximately 6.1 million students nationwide were taking at least one online course• Many of these courses used videos as part of their curriculum

(Lytle, 2011)

Khan Academy: Background

• Developed by Sal Khan in September 2006• Four different degrees

• Three from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology• Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University

• Not-for-profit• Change education

Why Research Khan Academy?

• Media Attention• Implications for online learning• Law of demand

• Visual and audio explanation

• Over 4000 educational videos• K-12, Higher Ed• Translated into several different languages

Design: Overview

• Single variable, within-subjects design• Pre and post-test

• Ten questions in length• 15 minute time limit

• Measured the impact of watching the Khan Academy video on learning

Design: Past Research

• Online videos provide an innovative medium through which learners of all ages can engage and interact with material in ways much different than the traditional classroom setting• Video learning is not new or revolutionary, and at times has been

found to be more memorable than traditional text-based instruction

(Cennamo, 1993; Chu & Schramm, 1974; Kozma, 1986; Krendl & Watkins, 1983; Choi & Johnson, 2005)

Design: Hypothesis

• Our hypothesis was that watching the Khan Academy video will result in students scoring higher on the post-test than the pretest.

Video: Khan Academy Economics

Participants: Overview

• Total: 14• Male: 4• Female: 10

Results: Significant?

• Data analysis did reveal a main effect of time of test taking• Pretest (M=4.00, SD=1.04) • Post-test (M=4.57, SD=0.85)

• Paired samples t-test• Watching the Khan Academy

video significantly increased test scores

Discussion: Overview

• Hypothesis confirmed—participants experienced a positive change in learning (by scoring higher on the post-test than the pretest) through watching a Khan Academy video on microeconomics• Meaningful results that guide future research• Positive effects on learning when using online videos in well-designed

educational settings • Guiding the curriculum of online classes at universities

Discussion: Limitations

• External Validity• Small sample size

• Difficulty of Questions• Confounding Variables• Subject Matter

• Content of video

• Variations

Discussion: Future Directions

• Self-explanation• Group explanation• Concurrent vs. retrospective• Khan style vs. pure self-explanation• For self vs. others• Authentic audience vs. virtual audience• Low quality self-explanation vs. high quality self-explanation• Khan vs. MIT vs. Educator.com

References

Cennamo, K. S. (1993). Learning from video: Factors influencing learners' preconceptions and invested mental effort. Educational Technology Research and Development, 41(3), 33-45.

Choi, H.J., & Johnson, S.D. (2005). The effect of context-based video instruction on learning and motivation in online courses. The American Journal of Distance Education, 19(4), 215-227

Chu, G., & Schramm, W. (1974). Learning from television: What the research says. Washington, DC: National Association of Educational Broadcasters.

Kozma, R. B. (1986). Implications of Instructional Psychology for the Design of Educational Television. Educational Communication and Technology, 34(1), 11-19.

Krendl, K. A., & Watkins, B. (1983). Understanding television: An exploratory inquiry into the reconstruction of narrative content. Educational Communication and Technology Journal, 31, 201-212.

Lytle, R. (2011). Study: Online education continues growth. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2011/11/11/study-online-education-continues-growth

Questions

• christopherdevers@gmail.com

• alliealayan@gmail.com

• codylreaves@gmail.com

• EdProfessor.com