Khan Academy

Khan+Academy

  Imagine being at home stuck on a math problem. There is no way to reach your teacher until the following Monday. When you go online you come across a website, that helps you with the math problem step by step as if you were in the classroom. This is exactly what Sal Khan is doing for millions of people on his website, Khan Academy.

  Khan Academy presents digital lessons and simple exercises. It works at any student pace, and it has proven to be very successful. What makes Khan Academy so special? It is worldwide, which means any child around the world can access it.

  Khan has three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Masters from Harvard.

  The idea started in 2004, when Khan was a hedge fund analyst living in Boston. His niece, Nadia, lived in New Orleans, a seventh grader at the time who was having trouble in math.

  Sal began to make YouTube videos explaining the math problems to her. Other people started tuning into his lessons as well. Khan then came up with his website shortly after, quit his job as a hedge fund analyst, and devoted his time fully to Khan Academy.

  He records his entire lessons and you hear his voice. Khan Academy is a non-profit organization. The goal for Khan Academy “Is to educate children as well as possible”. The website has an estimated of 3000 lessons starting from simple Algebra all the way to Calculus.

  Google and Bill Gates have donated money to Khan’s organization. Gates mentioned in a 2009 interview that his children used Khan Academy as well.

  Since then, Khan has been able to hire the expert engineers and designers. The most current goal for the organization is to create new learning software. The software is being tested in 50 schools, and Khan wants to be able to reach out to high schools and colleges.

  In San Francisco, California, Los Altas Middle School students use Khan Academy in the classroom. It resluts in less lecturing and more class work. The teacher is there to monitor the students while they work on different sections, allowing everyone to work at his own pace.

  Some teachers are against online assignments, and others complain that Khan Academy is flipping the classroom. Khan explains that the whole point is to flip the classroom to have assignments in the classrooms and lectures at home.

  Khan does not plan on changing his lessons any time soon. Khan Academy is still developing, but continues changing the way education is delivered to children and students.