Recently, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) interviewed Alp Koksal, the program lead for STFA’s efforts to bring Khan Academy to Turkey.
In a live radio interview, Alp spoke about education reform and Khan Academy’s role, and shared Khan Academy’s story, what KA provides to students and teachers; as well as why Khan Academy is different.
Half an hour on national radio was an important opportunity to reach new audiences in cities and in rural areas. Those stuck in busy city traffic heard Alp’s talk as they made their way through cities. Plus, national radio has traditionally been the mainstream information source for the many living in rural Turkey, an audience rarely reached through social media.
Alp Köksal at the Radio Station TRT Radyo 1
The interview is available in Turkish.
About Khan Academy’s efforts in Turkey
There is a very active group supported by STFA in Turkey working to bring free education to the country. Already, they have translated over 2500 KA videos into Turkish and delivered over 1.5 million lessons in a short time. Translations of the exercises and the full platform are almost finished and expected to be available this summer. In addition to a small team of dedicated full time personnel, a group of part time supporters and more than 250 voluntary translators have contributed to Khan Academy Türkçe so far.
Khan Academy Türkçe has a motto: “Equal opportunities for all in Turkish education”. The Turkish Khan Academy videos are planned to be used in the nationwide massive education reform project in Turkey run by the Turkish state, which aims to hand out tablet computers to each and every student in the country. Khan Academy Türkçe has already become an important actor in Turkish education reform.
Khan Academy Türkçe is an active participant in education events throughout Turkey and is working on five solid pilot schools implementations that use Khan Academy.
About Alp Koksal:
Having studied in Turkey and the United States at high-school and undergraduate levels, Alp has a global and multicultural perspective on education. With a BA in management and MA in European Studies, Alp has worked as a doctoral level researcher at the prestigious Boğaziçi University and he is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations there. Alp says “As a good observer and researcher, I have brought my interest in multicultural education, non-profit work and academic background together when I joined the STFA Group as the director of Khan Academy Türkçe.“ Alp manages the effort of translating, localizing and introducing Khan Academy to Turkey and the Turkish speakers in the world. As director of the Turkish team, he is also an active speaker on Khan Academy and the efforts in Turkey.