At my school, Math Extra Help is provided twice a week after school. Always the same days, always the same times. However, despite this consistency, advertisements of it around the school, and teacher recommendations to specific students, this resource is never used as much as it should & could be by students.
Then came along the Online Extra Help. All the students need is an OEN ID number, and they have access to live help, between certain times, online. Nice and accessible from virtually anywhere. When asking my students however, only 1 has ever tried accessing this resource.
Why, if there are multiple ways of accessing help, are students not seeking it out? Especially those who need it most? Think back to your least favorite subject in highschool. Did you not count down the minutes of class time left, every single day? Would you ever consider re-visitng that subject after school, just to better succeed? These students aren't always looking to succeed, they are just looking to survive through the semester.
This is why Khan Academy is an effective resource to not just "suggest" students to use, but to embed it into your lessons. By embedding these resources into the lessons, it makes the student access them in order to complete an expectation of a teacher. Removing the voluntary aspect of "extra help", and putting it into an activity, it will be an effective way of ensuring each students' needs are met.
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