Kate Casas, State Director, Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri
The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.
The Khan Academy provides 12 minute videos focused on math and science concepts. The concepts range in difficulty from simple addition and subtraction to very complex trigonometry and calculus.
It was started in 2009 when Salman Khan’s niece needed some help with her math homework and asked her MIT and Harvard educated uncle. He uploaded a video he made for her onto YouTube. The video became almost an instant internet sensation. As a result Khan, who has no previous teaching experience, decided to quit his job and start Khan Academy He wanted to give people everywhere access to a high quality education. In just two years, Khan Academy’s viewership has grown to 2 million unique viewers a month.
According to Khan these viewers include: students who are trying to master a concept they didn’t grasp when their teachers taught it, teachers trying to engage students in a new and interesting way, adults preparing to go back to school, and people who love to learn.
Bill Gates, one of Khan Academy’s biggest donors, says that the Khan Academy is changing, for the better, how education is delivered and received. This is virtual education at its best.
To learn more about the amazing work being done at Khan Academies, listen to Salman Khna’s interview on NPR’s OnPoint. If you are interested in brushing up on your multiplication tables or learning about multiplying and dividing rational expression, you can visit the Khan Academy website.
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