MIT alumnus Salman Khan free education site for all
This MIT alumnus's free website is transforming online education.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Salman Khan? Bollywood actor, bad driver, hair weaving, chest waxing: it could be any of those, but a teacher is surely not one of them. The Salman Khan behind the Khan Academy is a different individual, a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School. One who is transforming online education.
To see how, you must visit Khan's website at www.khanacademy.org, started in 2009. According to a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek, khanacademy. org gets an estimated two million visitors every month. Over 56 million have been watched his lessons across the globe.
Khan is not the first one to provide online education. There are a host of start-ups in India trying to do the same. The problem for many of them now will be to measure up to Khan's website, which delivers easyto-understand online modules on a whole host of subjects all for free, using the power of YouTube. Visitors to Khan's website are not just students looking for lessons or online tuitions in a particular subject. Many of the videos are very good refresher courses. Even Bill Gates acknowledges their value in a video for the site.
I will be very honest. There are some concepts in finance and economics that I am not all that comfortable with. But the videos on this website have really helped me. And everybody I have shown the website to has become a fan, especially those who have children.
The best part about the website is that it is free, and Khan does not intend to ever start charging. In some schools in the United States, where these videos are used as teaching aids, there is also software for teachers to monitor the progress of students viewing them.
Admittedly, not all subjects are covered. Algebra, biology, calculus, cosmology and chemistry are among those that are gone into in some detail. The ambit of the lessons in a particular subject may not be wide enough for an entire course, but it is more than sufficient to help a student understand the concepts being taught in class. The commentary accompanying the videos is full of enthusiasm, which, as any student will testify, matters a lot in case of online courses.
There have been several business plans with the same idea. Others have spoken about solutions where videos are hosted online. Many Indian colleges have been talking about this for years. But the Khan Academy website has set the benchmark. And what a benchmark with its ease of use and emphasis on concepts.
To see how, you must visit Khan's website at www.khanacademy.org, started in 2009. According to a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek, khanacademy. org gets an estimated two million visitors every month. Over 56 million have been watched his lessons across the globe.
Khan is not the first one to provide online education. There are a host of start-ups in India trying to do the same. The problem for many of them now will be to measure up to Khan's website, which delivers easyto-understand online modules on a whole host of subjects all for free, using the power of YouTube. Visitors to Khan's website are not just students looking for lessons or online tuitions in a particular subject. Many of the videos are very good refresher courses. Even Bill Gates acknowledges their value in a video for the site.
I will be very honest. There are some concepts in finance and economics that I am not all that comfortable with. But the videos on this website have really helped me. And everybody I have shown the website to has become a fan, especially those who have children.
The best part about the website is that it is free, and Khan does not intend to ever start charging. In some schools in the United States, where these videos are used as teaching aids, there is also software for teachers to monitor the progress of students viewing them.
Admittedly, not all subjects are covered. Algebra, biology, calculus, cosmology and chemistry are among those that are gone into in some detail. The ambit of the lessons in a particular subject may not be wide enough for an entire course, but it is more than sufficient to help a student understand the concepts being taught in class. The commentary accompanying the videos is full of enthusiasm, which, as any student will testify, matters a lot in case of online courses.
There have been several business plans with the same idea. Others have spoken about solutions where videos are hosted online. Many Indian colleges have been talking about this for years. But the Khan Academy website has set the benchmark. And what a benchmark with its ease of use and emphasis on concepts.
