Khan Academy has been a great educational tool for my family for the past five years of homeschooling but for the past two years they have REALLY stepped up and become a RESOURCE for everyone to take advantage of learning online!
Right now I am very pleased and excited to announce their newest class:
Pixar in a Box
Pixar in a Box is a new online resource that explores the academic concepts behind Pixar Animation Studios’ creative process. Through a series of video lessons, interactive exercises, and hands-on activities, students will discover how academic concepts enable Pixar filmmakers to create new worlds, animate unique characters and tell stories through animation. Although designed especially for students in middle and high school, these resources are available to learners of all ages, completely free of charge.
“Learning makes us beginners again,” said Ed Catmull, President of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. “In my experience, creativity involves missteps and imperfections, which is one more reason it is important for every one of us to keep learning – in order to remain flexible and keep our brains nimble. By working with Khan Academy on Pixar in a Box, we hope to encourage the excitement of learning and creative thinking for middle and high school students and to provide the tools to do it.”
Students can NOW access Pixar in a Box and learn:
- How combinatorics are used to create crowds, like the swarm of robots in WALLE.
- How parabolas are used to model environments, like the forest in Brave.
- How weighted averages are used to create characters, like Buzz Lightyear and Woody.
- How linear and cubic interpolation are used to animate characters.
- How trigonometry is used to create the worlds in which Pixar stories take place.
- How simultaneous equations are used to paint all of Pixar’s images.
“These lessons are the first phase of the project,” said Cruise. “While the first year focuses on math, future Pixar in a Box lessons will explore science, computer science, arts, and humanities.”
All Pixar in a Box resources are available free of charge at PixarInABox.org. The site will be updated as additional lessons become available.
