The founder of digital education nonprofit Khan Academy told CNBC Monday that online instruction cannot completely replace the in-person class, but said there are ways to maximize the benefit for students.
“We are not going to replicate the school, even when the school is doing a perfect job, so people shouldn’t expect that,” Sal Khan said in “Closing Bell” as districts across the country devise plans for classes for autumn during the coronavirus. pandemic.
But Khan dismissed the notion that remote instruction is a futile exercise, arguing that there are clear strategies that should allow children to continue learning, “especially in the core subjects of math, reading, and writing, so they don’t stunt their skills.”
Khan explained that for a school that will start operating in the fall, a math class could be structured with two or three videoconference lessons per week. That way, instead of prerecorded instructional videos, teachers can work with students at the same time, Khan said.
“Ideally, it’s interactive. Teachers are asking students to answer questions, to work with each other in virtual sessions,” said Khan, whose nonprofit organization is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “And the teachers are also there to answer any questions, help students set goals.”
And then each day, students spend 30 to 40 minutes, depending on their age, working on their own through sample programs using a digital learning tool like the Khan Academy, which offers its services for free, he said. .
Whatever the online program, Khan said it is important that it gives teachers the ability to monitor student progress – how much time they spend in trouble and what they are doing right or wrong.
Major U.S. public school districts have recently announced their plans for the fall as the nation’s Covid-19 outbreak accelerates in certain states. For example, the districts of San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles have said they will begin the fall with remote instruction.
New York City indicated earlier this month that it plans to welcome most students to schools two or three days a week, employing a so-called hybrid or blended learning model that includes remote classes the other days.
In announcing the plans, Mayor Bill de Blasio said online learning “was not perfect,” but city officials argued that the plan is necessary to allow for social distancing in classrooms. The nation’s largest public school system, with 1.1 million students, awaits state approval.
President Donald Trump has been pressuring districts to reopen entirely, threatening to withhold federal funds from schools that do not resume classes in person this fall. Trump and others point out that open schools are important to the social development of children, as well as to the economic recovery of the United States.
“Schools have to open,” Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Fox News. “Young people have to go to school, and there are problems when you don’t go to school either.”
Young people are less likely to become seriously ill if they are infected with the coronavirus. But a key piece in the debate over opening schools for in-person instruction is their role in contributing to the spread of the virus throughout the community. White House health adviser Dr. Deborah Birx said further studies are needed to determine the transmission of the virus among children.
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