Flipping the Classroom – Khan Academy

Here’s an example of one person changing the world – the world of education.

Salman Khan holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: a BS in mathematics, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, and an MS in electrical engineering and computer science. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Salman was working as a hedge fund analyst when he started tutoring members of his family in mathematics using Yahoo Doodle notepad over the internet. He began to record his tutorials and post them on YouTube. The ‘Khan Academy’ channel. The views on his videos grew rapidly, but it was the comments from viewers that changed his life.

After reading the comments from views across the world and the impact his videos had on their lives, he decide to quit his hedge fund analyst job on focus his efforts full time on the Khan Academy.  In 2009 he envisioned the following ‘With so little effort on my own part, I can empower an unlimited amount of people for all time. I can’t imagine a better use of my time.’
Fast forward to today, his success skyrocketed when Bill Gates said his kids used the Khan Acadmey.  Bill Gates saw the potential of this ‘free school’ and it’s ability to reach individuals globally.

Teachers in Mountain View CA, tested this new teaching tool.  The teachers ‘flipped’ the education process.  Instead of lecturing during the class time and homework after school, the teachers have the students review the material (outlined in a curriculum) the night before class at their own pace.  During class time, the students work on exercises with the help of peers and the teacher.  Salman has created a dashboard that helps the teacher determine the individual students progress.

Check out this video from the TED conference in 2011: