Why is Khan Academy unique?
Khan Academy has a huge library of pre-made courses that teachers can assign to their students and track their progress. The goal is to help students reach proficiency in a course or course unit.
Khan Academy pricing
Khan Academy is completely free for both teachers and students. The platform makes money through donations.
Feature 1: User experience of course builder
As soon as I signed up, the platform took me straight to where to choose my class.
Next, it took me to the dashboard and it didn’t feel like anything I had tested previously because the user interface was scanty. However, I noticed that I can create a new class, add students to a class, or start a class right away.
I found options to add students to a class via Google Classroom and a shareable link. I can also create a student account and share the password with anyone I want in my class. But that option is only available to teachers using the platform on behalf of a school.
I added two students to my class and then got lost on how to create a course.
It seems the platform has already prepared courses, so all I have to do is assign them to my students and set a due date. I can also assign assignments to students and track their progress.
The platform was a bit tricky to figure out at first. I think it would be helpful if the creators added some more visual clues and guides to make it more intuitive.
Feature 2: Learner engagement tools
Assignments offer the most straightforward learner engagement.
I also observed that students can track their learning progress and leave comments. However, the latter is only active after three days of signing up.
Feature 3: Marketing and payment features
Khan Academy is not a monetized online course platform, so it doesn’t have native marketing and payment features. Teachers can only add students they want in their classes.
Feature 4: Scalability
I don’t know how scalable this platform is. I am not sure how many students a teacher can add to a class or the number of courses they can create. But I think Khan Academy doesn’t put a limit on either.
Feature 5: Affordability
It didn’t cost me anything to use the platform.
Feature 6: Unique features
Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI-powered guide caught my attention. I couldn’t test it because the platform has yet to roll out the feature worldwide. But it promises to help instructors take their teaching to the next level with AI-guided lesson planning and insightful student feedback.