CK-12 Foundation

The CK-12 Foundation is a California-based non-profit organization which aims to increase access to low-cost K-12 education in the United States and abroad.[2] CK-12 provides free and customizable K-12 open educational resources aligned to state curriculum standards. As of 2022, the foundation's tools were used by over 200,000,000 students worldwide.[2]

CK12 Foundation
Founded2007
FoundersNeeru Khosla and Murugan Pal
FocusEducation
Location
Area served
Global
MethodDonations and Grants
Key people
Neeru Khosla, executive director
Murugan Pal, President
Miral Shah, CTO
Websitehttps://www.ck12.org
Headquarters location[1]

CK-12 was set up to support K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. It first produced content via a web-based platform called "FlexBook."[3][4]

History

CK-12 was established in 2007 by Neeru Khosla and Murugan Pal as a not-for-profit educational organization.[5] Teacher-generated content was initially made available under Creative Commons Attribution licenses so as to make it simpler, easier, and more affordable for children to access educational resources.[6][7] However, they later switched to a Creative Commons Non Commercial licence,[8] and then to their own "CK-12" license.[9]

Originally, the "C" in CK-12 stood for "connect", indicating that the material was the missing connection in K-12 education. Subsequently, it took on a more open meaning, variously standing for "content, classroom, customizable, connections, collaboration".[10]

In 2010, NASA teamed up with CK-12 to produce physics-related resources.[11]

In March 2013, Microsoft announced a partnership with CK-12 to provide content to Microsoft's Windows 8 customers.[12]

FlexBook System
Main article: FlexBook

The foundation's FlexBook website permits the assembly and creation of downloadable educational resources which can be customized to meet classroom needs. Some Flexbooks are even available in Spanish and Hindi. Content is offered under a Creative Commons licence, so removing many of the restrictions that limit distribution of traditional textbooks, and are available in various formats.[13][14]

Approach

The CK-12 Foundation's approach to supporting education in schools is by providing it as small, individual elements, rather than as large textbooks. As of 2012, some 5,000 individual elements were available in various formats such as textual descriptions, video lectures, multi-media simulations, photo galleries, practical experiments or flash cards.[15]

Other products

In addition to its 88 FlexBooks, the CK-12 Foundation also offers the following online resources to K-12 students:

  • CK-12 Braingenie -a repository of math and science practice materials.[16]
  • CK-12 FlexMath - an interactive, year-long Algebra 1 curriculum.
  • CK-12 INeedAPencil - a free SAT preparation website, founded in 2007 by then high school student, Jason Shah.[17]

Recognition
  • CK-12 has been listed in the Top 25 Websites for Teaching by American Association of School Librarians[18]
  • The National Tech Plan - The Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education – has mentioned the CK-12 model as “Transforming American Education – Learning Powered by Technology”[19]
  • Tech Awards-2010 listed CK-12 in “15 innovations that could save the world”[20]
  • In introducing Washington state bill, HB 2337: “Regarding open educational resources in K-12 education,” Representative Reuven Carlyle testifies to the benefit CK-12 materials can have for school districts around the country.[21]
  • Fortune Magazine described CK-12 as a threat to the traditional textbook industry, and wrote about CK-12's push towards concept-based learning.[22]
  • National Public Radio writes about CK-12, including its use of "Real World Applications" as teaching devices.[23]
  • Neeru and CK-12 have been featured in the New York Times,[24] the Gates Notes,[25] Mercury News,[26] TechCrunch,[27] Education Week,[28] EduKindle,[29] The Patriot News,[30] Getting Smart,[31] and Teachinghistory.org[32]

References
  1. Headquarters address from organization website Archived 2022-01-04 at the Wayback Machine; 2300 Geng Rd. Suite 150, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA. 37°26′6.11″N 122°6′34.59″W
  2. "The reinvention of Neeru Khosla". Silicon Valley Business Journal. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  3. Park, Jane (28 April 2009). "CK-12 Foundation's Neeru Khosla on Open Textbooks". Creative Commons. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  4. "All about FlexBooks". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  5. "Murgan Pal- Kamla Bhatt show". Archived from the original on 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  6. "About The Licenses". creativecommons.org.
  7. "The "Living Book" Movement: Free Education For All". MindShift.
  8. "Attribution Guidelines | CK-12 Foundation". 2016-04-08. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  9. "Attribution Guidelines". 2022-04-21. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  10. "What Does The "C" in CK-12 Stand For?". Help Center.
  11. NASA (21 September 2010). "NASA Teams With 'CK-12' Foundation on Physics FlexBook". prnewswire.com.
  12. "Microsoft emphasizes Student Privacy, partners with Knewton, Pearson". EDUKWEST.
  13. "FlexBooks challenge textbooks". schoolingtoday.com.
  14. "Assistive Technology Blog: CK-12 Provides Free Electronic Textbooks". 29 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  15. "CK-12 Vision ducument September 2012" (PDF). ck12.org. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  16. "Braingenie". ck12.org.
  17. "America's Coolest College Start-ups 2010: Jason Shah - Harvard University - Inc.com". Inc.com.
  18. "Best Websites for Teaching & Learning 2013". ala.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  19. "Search Results - ED.gov:flexbook". ed.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08.
  20. "Tech Awards 2010: 15 Innovations That Could Save The World (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post. 26 September 2010.
  21. "cable green". creativecommons.org.
  22. "Startups are about to blow up the textbook". Fortune.
  23. "Temple Run Meets Algebra: CK12's New Approach". MindShift.
  24. Lewin, Tamar (8 August 2009). "In a Digital Future, Textbooks Are History". The New York Times.
  25. Bill Gates. "Technology's Promise to Education: Reimagining Textbooks". thegatesnotes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  26. "Cassidy: Don't bet against Neeru Khosla's idea to save our schools". mercurynews.com. 22 January 2012.
  27. "Will We Need Teachers Or Algorithms?". TechCrunch. AOL. 15 January 2012.
  28. Ash, Katie (15 October 2012). "Education Week: Common Core Drives Interest in Open Education Resources". Education Week Digital Directions.
  29. "6 Reasons to Love the Textbooks from CK12". EduKindle. 25 October 2010.
  30. "Capital Area Intermediate Unit wants to test digital textbooks in midstate schools". PennLive.com. 18 February 2011.
  31. "Q&A: CK-12 Says OER & Tech Can Unlock Cheaper, Better Learning". Getting Smart. 12 April 2012.
  32. "Digital Textbooks: Has Their Time Come?". teachinghistory.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
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