Experiment in Las Varas, Mexico
Las Varas is a small agricultural town of under 25,000 people near the west coast of Mexico. It is not a tourist destination and therefore does not benefit from tourist goodwill and donations.
A small private school el Colegio Patria, (dedicated to better education in this low income pueblo) decided to run an experiment using Khan Academy to teach math. Over the summer break of 2012, the directors built a computer lab and folks from Canada donated some computers. In all, the experiment involved the use of Khan Academy to provide personalized learning and support to 20 kids, aged 10-12, over a period of 3 weeks.
To use online resources successfully meant a significant adjustment on the part of teachers. One teacher worked over the year and after school hours to get the computer lab functioning, to familiarize himself with the site, to enroll students in the Khan Academy and to coach them in the project. Thank you Maestro Alfredo, and also Maestro Hector.
El Colegio Patrio just finished their experiment to use Khan Academy to provide its students a personalized and challenging way to learn. According to Diane Douglas, who is from Canada and has been volunteering for the project, “The kids are hooked. I deem it a success. MASSIVE.”
more: kanayarit.wordpress.com