My name is KHAN

I’m reminded of Carl Sagan’s quote:

“The simplest thought like the concept of the number one has an elaborate logical underpinning.”

I love the idea of putting learning online. I believe that there’s a big advantage to having access to a teacher’s think-aloud at any time of the day, anywhere in the world. That is an extremely powerful idea, and it wasn’t available or possible a few years ago. So- Salman Khan began making his videos for his cousins, putting them on YouTube, and we all started to take notice.

Salman Khan, once a hedge fund manager, reaches more than six million students across the world monthly by providing free educational videos via the Internet. 

The Mission

Salman Khan talks about how and why he created Khan Academy. He asks teachers to consider changing the traditional classroom by allowing students to watch video lectures at home and complete "homework" in the classroom. The idea of learning with the Internet finally began to take shape with Khan Academy.

Sal brought used his conceptual skills to shape up his vision and thereby reinventing education.    

Salman Khan : Man behind KhanAcademy

The Khan Academy is not teaching concepts and ideas. Khan Academy teaches answers. 1 + 1 = 2 . The concepts and the ideas are really what we want our students to understand, not the rote knowledge. We need a good teacher to facilitate the discussion of what the concept of numbers can be. I like the idea of data tracking on the back-end that allows teachers to see the progress of their students.

The method of instruction emphasizes procedures — how to do math — but ignores the conceptual understanding that’s central to authentic learning: what math means. At its core, this is a function of ineffective instruction, which to a large degree is related to ineffective content.

But one glaring hole has yet to be undertaken: context.  Khan Academy is a symptom of a teaching profession where too many teachers are too shy or too old-school to jump into the publishing world. We need that to happen faster. Context is key.  Ever wonder why so many of those math videos are boring? You’re missing the context by which they occur in.

Not everyone agrees. Critics might argue that Khan’s videos and software encourage uncreative, repetitive drilling—and leave kids staring at screens instead of interacting with real live teachers. Even Khan would acknowledge that he’s not an educational professional; he’s just a nerd who improvised a cool way to teach people things.

Although I believe that a computer program can never and should never replace an actual teacher, I feel that Khan Academy is a great empowering tool to enable students to work independently. I would recommend this program especially to students who need reviewing but are embarrassed to admit that they are confused in class. Such students would be able to watch the same video as many times as they need to without feeling rushed. Others who need more of a challenge would also benefit from it, as they have the freedom to move ahead, and choose topics that spark their interests.
Thus bringing theory X and theory Y into use. 

Lack of financial resources and inaccessibility to cutting edge technology make getting quality math and science education difficult for many students. In some rural locations, finding skilled instructors to teach subjects like basic arithmetic, advanced mathematics and science is nonexistent. Khan Academy's free educational services allow learners to benefit from quality instruction no matter where they are.

For excellent learning to take place takes passion on the part of the student. Screens encourage passivity; it's already been documented in laboratory studies. Small classes with good teachers teaching what they're knowledgeable about - that's the ideal learning environment.