The next big thing in education isn’t a Promethean board or an iPad — it’s Khan Academy, a website designed to teach students through YouTube tutorials.
Salman Khan founded the Khan Academy in 2004 after videos he made to help his cousins with math gained popularity on YouTube. His videos are now the most popular open course video library on YouTube, surpassing tutorials from MIT and Stanford.
Once the videos gained popularity, Khan quit his job as a hedge fund analyst to work on the Khan Academy full time. Although he orinigally used his savings fund to develop his project, Khan now receives money through grants from Google and the Gates Foundation.
In the videos, Khan himself is never actually seen; rather, the viewer hears his deep voice explaining the topic while he works through problems on a virtual blackboard.
The Khan Academy has over 2,600 videos, with topics ranging from basic concepts like algebraic functions to more complex topics like integrals. The videos aren’t limited to math — there are also videos about astronomy and accounting.
Khan envisions the Khan Academy website as an education revolution, according to the Huffington Post. Two schools in Los Altos, Calif., began implementing Khan’s lesson plans in some classrooms last December to allow for more flexibility in the curriculum. In these classrooms, students are able to watch videos multiple times until they feel comfortable in the curriculum. A traditional classroom setting doesn’t allow for that kind of personal flexibility.
The Khan Academy helps students by reinforcing concepts they learn in class, especially for students who learn visually or who have trouble taking notes from lectures, math teacher James Kuhn said.
“It’s a good learning tool to reteach and to fill in some gaps,” Kuhn said.
Senior Chandini Jha, who used the website to study for the biology SAT II, said she heard of the website through word of mouth. She was surprised by how much was offered by Khan Academy.
“The website helped me understand specific concepts,” Jha said. “It’s helpful not just for grades but also with understanding the subject thoroughly.”
iggy • Oct 16, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Although the Khan videos have limitations, so do the Whitman/Pyle teachers. Some teachers are excellent but some are poor and the Khan videos are better.
Jeremy Steinberg • Sep 27, 2011 at 7:39 am
Videos like this serve as opportunities for teachers to teach their students without actually teaching anything. Unfortunately, they do not provide for one-on-one assistance nor can you ask them questions. Otherwise, I would suggest we get rid of teachers altogether. As it is now, teachers should either rely nearly exclusively on these videos or not use them at all, as having multiple teaching styles in one classroom can confuse students.
A.Parent • Sep 26, 2011 at 8:28 am
Great Resource. Thanks for sharing it.