He may not be your typical Math Genius or Science Whizz Kid but Jordan Khan sure knows how to push the envelope when it comes down to tackling the tough subject of mathematics.
Call it the ‘Field of Dreams’ if you will, Jordan’s Maths project is gathering momentum as he reaches out across the region to help students tackle the subject. He is the creator and developer of www.CXCMathtv.com, an interactive and very stimulating on-line tutorial program.
He was born in Jamaica but moved to Saint Lucia with his parents at an early age. He was attending the Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School when he left for Trinidad & Tobago where he spent most of his teenage and adolescent years. His mom is a Trinidadian and his dad is the prominent Jamaican insurance business executive, Leathon Khan. The family has been based in St. Lucia for some time.
This enterprising 21 year-old Caribbean-bred native has launched an innovative on-line tutorial project aimed at helping students enhance their knowledge of mathematics.
It was while studying in the United Kingdom that young Jordan became concerned about the dismal performance of many Caribbean students in mathematics. He felt the urge to rally to the cause.
Saint Lucia is blessed with two distinguished Nobel Laureates in the persons of Sir William Arthur Lewis and Hon. Derek Walcott. As the island celebrates its 35th Independence Anniversary it highlights the outstanding works of these regional statesmen showcased in the annual celebration of Nobel Laureates Week.
Jordan could not have chosen a better time to embark on such a noteworthy project, especially as more young people are preparing to go in search of employment in a very competitive business environment. He describes the program as a ‘private online community’ of students from across the Caribbean learning and preparing for the exams together.
He was only 18 when he launched the program with little web development experience but he said he “believed with a deep sense of conviction that I needed to do something.”
Moreover, Jordan was the top mathematics student at the Harmon School of S.D.A in Tobago and he also won the award for “Best Science Student of 2009” at his graduation. “I helped friends and other students with their homework and assignments and I aced the CXC mathematics exam with a distinction,” he says.
Jordan has recently launched a brand new product called “The Ultimate 5 Week Mathematics Exam Training eCourse“, which he has been developing over the past few months.
He sat down with Dazzle magazine and took us through the ropes of his project.
Dazzle: Tell us briefly about your passion and how you got involved in this on-line tutoring exercise.
Jordan: I had a few passions; firstly I wanted to be a chef and had enrolled in a Culinary Arts course while I worked in the industry for a while. Then I wanted to get into film making and went to England to pursue studies. I still enjoy them both today but they’ve become hobbies rather than a profession for me.
While in the UK I came across an article about the pass rate of Caribbean students in mathematics. At the time, the pass rate was a minimal 33 percent among students in the region. I figured out there was a downward trend and the grades kept declining every year. I had been very good at maths during my school days and I felt that I could definitely contribute something. I might not be able to change the percentage rate but I figured that I might be able to help at least some people better their grades. I felt that I could pass on my knowledge.
Dazzle: How much of a challenge was it for you to develop this program?
Jordan: I had no formal training in web development and decided to do the training on my own. The biggest challenge was explaining to friends and family what I had planned to do. Everything else came with learning the technical skills and basically I took off with the project from there. I gave up 100 percent of my time and I was totally committed to pursuing this venture however with that being said, I still got major love and support from my family and my girlfriend Hannah especially.
When I first started I did it full-time but things did not take off as I had planned. So with limited resources I had to kick back and get a part-time job. I did that for a while but eventually left to continue with my project full-time. Right now it is my main source of income.
Dazzle: What has been the response thus far?
Jordan: A big part of my market is on Facebook and I try to leverage the power of social media. After I managed to figure out and implement effective strategies, in one month we had over 900 students registered for the new program and this has been my biggest feat so far. It has been approximately 18 months since I established this website and though the first 15 months were kind of difficult, I have been able to pull through.
My biggest step forward since I started has been the launch of ‘The Ultimate 5 Week Mathematics Exam Training eCourse’, which is a huge breakthrough for me. Now over 1,500 students from across the Caribbean have registered for the eCourse. We’ve also got a growing community on Facebook with over 3,300 fans and counting.
The eCourse was recently introduced to the form 5 students of the Babonneau, Entrepot and Castries Comprehensive Secondary Schools and the responses were great and the teachers were very supportive.
As the name suggests, the “Exam Training eCourse” is a digital 5-week program that guides users through a series of automated, scheduled lessons which show them how to answer exam style questions via video tutorials and detailed solutions.
The eCourse also features interactive CXC style practise quizzes on each exam topic which automatically marks their answers and provides step-by-step solutions at the end.
Dazzle: Do you have plans to upgrade this program in the future?
Jordan: Definitely, although these recent developments mark a significant milestone for me, it is still in essence, just the beginning of what I plan to achieve. I can already envision releasing several editions of the eCourse as well as working with professional teachers and expanding into other subject areas in the near future. One step at a time though.
Dazzle takes the opportunity to wish Jordan all the best with his endeavours and resounding success as he reaches out to students across the region.
