Kahn Academy

Whenever I see sites that offer fun, interactive ways to enhance learning subjects that I found difficult in school I get very excited. I wish there had been things like this when I was going to school. I might have become something different had I actually understood math!

I learned about this site from one of my favorite bloggers, Richard Byrne, on his Free Technology for Teachers site. I am always thankful for people like him who find or remind us of these wonderful resources.

The Khan Academy offers videos and lessons online and apparently now they have a mobile app that gives you the same access to the material. I took a quick look at the list of topics and was amazed at the areas covered. If you want to play the videos directly from the site, the only issue I see is that the videos are from YouTube which is possibly blocked at your school. So what to do? First, ask the tech manager of your building to unblock only the teacher station. If that isn't possible, you can also download individual videos as flv files (flash video). You will need a flash video player although the latest version of WMP should play your flv files. Alternately, there is an offline capable version available. See this link for instructions. You can also access most of the videos through iTunes U. This link will take you to a sample in the Algebra videos on iTunes.

This site is definitely worth the time and effort to use.