Not just math quizzes: Khan Academy’s tutoring bot offers playful features
With the new AI-powered Khanmigo, students can chat with simulated historical figures or co-write stories with the software.
Khan Academy, the popular non-profit online learning organization, has recently developed an experimental AI-assisted tutoring bot for schools called Khanmigo. Students can use it to take math quizzes, practice vocabulary words, or prepare for Advanced Placement tests in subjects like statistics and art history.
The tutoring bot also offers more playful free features. Students can chat with simulated fictional characters such as Lady Macbeth or Winnie-the-Pooh. They can collaborate on writing a story with Khanmigo. Or debate with the tutorbot on topics such as: Should students be allowed to use calculators in math class?
Khan Academy tests Khanmigo with school districts. I recently tried it out with several members of my family, one of whom is in elementary school.
Khanmigo’s answers have been edited for brevity.
We chat with ‘Benjamin Franklin’
The Khanmigo tutoring bot has a feature that allows students to chat with simulated historical figures. The choices include Abigail Adams, Harriet Tubman, Plato and Rembrandt.
We chose Benjamin Franklin and opened with a personal question: What is your favorite food?
We were thrilled when the Franklin Simulation was mentioned scrapple, fried slices made from leftover pieces of pork which early German settlers introduced to America. After all, the real Franklin believed that frugality, like not wasting food, was a virtue.
However, how often the inventor actually ate scrapple is unclear. In his autobiography, Franklin describes how, at age 16, he read a book about plant-based diets and began “refusing to eat meat.” The real Franklin periodically adhered to a vegetarian diet throughout his life.
After we asked “Franklin” to tell us about the famous kite experiment, the chatbot asked us about our scientific interests. So we asked about “the latest scientific discoveries” about quasi-stars, otherwise known as black holes.
Then we ran into the limitations of the system. The chatbot told us it could only provide information “until September 2021” – which meant that many of the details it gave about black holes seemed like old news.
We write an adventure story together with the Tutorbot
Another feature invites students to “co-write a great story” with the tutoring bot. We had a choice of genres including science fiction, romance and mystery. Students can also contribute their own ideas.
We suggested that Khanmigo write an adventure story with Stickman, a stick figure imaginary character.
Khanmigo was an encouraging, enthusiastic employee. “This is going to be a whimsical and imaginative story!” said the tutoring bot, adding a party emoji.
Spurred on by the tutoring bot’s recommendations on possible plot developments, we’ve postponed the arrival of an unnamed second protagonist. Khanmigo responded by creating that second character: a “friendly-looking ladybug” named Lila. Perhaps a children’s book called “Lilac the Ladybug‘ was part of Khanmigo’s training material.
We debate the Tutoring Bot on Big Tech
Khanmigo allows students to practice their debating skills. It offers various debate topics for elementary, middle and high school students.
These include: Is homework necessary or should it be banned? Are video games good or bad for kids? Should university be free?
I chose: “Should large tech companies be broken up?”
Along the way, I asked the tutoring bot to tone down its overwrought metaphors (“a beautiful point, like a shooting star in the night sky!”).
“I just try to make our debate fun and engaging,” Khanmigo replied, “like a colorful carnival of ideas.” 🤣🤦♀️