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Khan for Educators (US)

Course: Khan for Educators (US) > Unit 4

Lesson 1: Encouraging student motivation
Khan for Educators
Khan for Educators (US)
Implementing Khan Academy with students
Encouraging student motivation
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Celebrate class progress with the LearnStorm Tracker (Beta)

Google Classroom
Take motivation and engagement off your to-do list with Khan Academy’s new and improved LearnStorm tracker. The tracker is available year-round and captures a broad range of student activity.

Celebrate class progress with the LearnStorm tracker (Beta)

LearnStorm is our classroom engagement tool that drives skill mastery AND gets kids dancing — plus it’s FREE for teachers and students! The LearnStorm tracker provides a fun visualization of the classes’ progress, showing students how their individual efforts contribute to class goals, without singling out any individual who is struggling.

How to use LearnStorm?

  • Teachers create Course Mastery Goals or Assignments from Mastery-enabled courses for students. When students work on these practice problems and level up their skills to Familiar or higher, their progress will be reflected on the LearnStorm tracker.
  • Teachers open the tracker page, click the “Check for progress” button in front of the whole class, and watch the rings grow on the tracker. This is the moment to celebrate!
  • If your class earns quite a few rings at a time and you wish to skip to the highest level instead of loading one at a time, simply refresh the browser while progress is growing and you will see the highest level instantly.

Accessing the LearnStorm tracker

From the Teacher dashboard, click on any of the classes on the left menu. Once on the class page, click on the LearnStorm tab on the left menu.
Note: If needed, learn how to create a class and add students to your class.

Key things to know about the LearnStorm Tracker

  • A full ring is earned once the equivalent of 1 skill level up per number of students in the class is achieved. For example, a class of 26 students will complete a full ring each time the class reaches 26 skill levels up. Note: only skill level ups past the Familiar level count on the tracker. If needed, here is a reminder about how Khan Academy's Mastery levels work.
  • There is no limit to how many ring levels classes can earn on the tracker - the more students level up on skills the more ring levels they unlock!
  • The ring movement and celebratory animation cannot be replayed so please be prepared to check it in front of students either in person or by sharing your screen remotely.
  • You can choose to clear the rings on the tracker page. It will reset the tracker but it will not remove any Mastery progress students have achieved in their courses.
  • This product is in Beta which means we’re releasing it early to classrooms to get their feedback!
Questions? Reach out to our support team.

Top implementation tips from teachers:

  • Find a routine time for students to work on assigned skills weekly. Roughly 15-30 minutes of practice will yield 1-2 skill level ups per student. Here is an example of how to use LearnStorm for a daily warm-up, and here's an example of how to use LearnStorm for independent practice.
  • Ring Reveal day is always special! As the teacher, you can project the computer screen to a large monitor in front of your class, and load the progress tracker with your students watching. This format is the one that makes it possible to watch students joyfully jumping up and down!
  • Set short term and long term goals. For example, a short term goal could be "we are at level 10 now, can we make it to level 11 today? We just need everyone to level up on 1 skill!" A long term goal could be "can we reach level 50 or 100 in a month?" Be flexible, and adjust goals as needed to keep students feeling confident.
  • If you’re looking for more ways to offload the “make class fun” part of the job, consider following the lead of Ms. Cox in Phoenix with rewards like 10 minutes of free time at level 10, a piece of candy at level 15, and a class party at level 20!
  • Other incentives teachers have successfully tested include spirit days, visits to a mystery box of prizes, and a favorite foods party!

FAQ

MAKING PROGRESS
Q: How do classes move from one level to the next?
A: A full ring is completed once the equivalent of 1 skill level up per number of students in the class is achieved. For example, a class of 26 students will complete a full ring each time the class reaches 26 skill levels up. Note: only skill level ups past the Familiar level count on the tracker. If needed, here is a reminder about how Khan Academy's Mastery levels work.
Q: Is there a limit to # of levels reached?
A: There is no limit to how many rings your students can achieve! Keep going after the challenge is over and see how high it can get before the last day of school! Your students will be so proud of themselves!
Q: How do I know if we've earned enough progress to reach a new level?
A: At the moment, there's no direct way to know if you're earning progress before you've checked the tracker. So check the progress in front of your class regularly!
Q: What if my students do less or more than is required for a new level to be unlocked?
A: Whether your students have leveled up more or less than required for a new level, the tracker loads based on the actual number of level ups completed since the last time you checked the tracker. If fewer, then the ring fills up partially and stops. No celebratory animation will appear. If more, then the ring fills up for a new level followed by celebratory animation, and the next ring continues to fill up either partially or fully depending on the number of level ups completed.
Q: Can I replay the ring movement and celebratory animation?
A: Nope, at the time there is no way to replay so be sure to wait until all eyes are watching!
Q: How do I show the progress tracker to my students?
A: You should project the computer screen to the large monitor in front of your class, and load the progress tracker with your students watching every few days/once a week.
LEARNSTORM IN THE CONTEXT OF KHAN ACADEMY WORK
Q: How is LearnStorm different from Khan Academy?
A: It's not! LearnStorm simply visualizes the progress your students are already making when working on anything you've assigned that's mastery-enabled on Khan Academy. During the National Challenge, you have the option to share prize information with your students and claim class and teacher prizes from the Khan team as well, and share in the joy that is an entire world of students working towards learning goals together!
Q: What will my students work on?
A: Any mastery-enabled content you assign!
Q: How much time per week does participating in LearnStorm require?
A: We recommend you set aside 15-30 minutes a week in order to drive at least 1-2 level ups per student and see progress made if you check weekly. A recent study found that students who spend 30+ minutes on Khan Academy make greater-than-expected learning gains.
Q: How does deleting an assignment from my coach dashboard impact my class progress on LearnStorm?
A: Any work completed before you deleted the assignment will be recorded and will count toward your class progress. However, any work completed AFTER you delete the assignment will no longer count.
Q: What happens if students work on material that I haven't assigned? Will it count in LearnStorm?
A: No, only assigned content work that is mastery-enabled will count towards LearnStorm progress. This ensures students are working at their learning edge and on material that is relevant for your class.
Q: YouTube is blocked for my district. What should I do?
A: Khan Academy’s backup video player will be used automatically to play videos on the website if your district blocks YouTube.

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