A review of the Khan Academy website.
Watch short videos that cover many subjects, that explain concepts in a great and easy to understand conversational manner.
Over 1800 videos, it is easily the most exhaustive collection of
instruction on the internet
Learners can fill in almost any of their "gaps" from class with
the content on this site
The content is in 10-20 minute videos especially made for
viewing on the computer
Great conversational style of the videos – not what people
expect when receiving maths and science instruction
You can access exercises by logging in – if you have a Gmail or
Facebook account you simply sign in with these when prompted after clicking on“do exercises” at the top of the page. You can watch the relevant video and then
attempt to complete the exercise, and submit your answer online
Classroom use
The videos do not follow a curriculum
The author believes that someone who truly understands the
core concepts will thrive academically regardless of the curricularcontext
Because of the granular nature of the 10 minute videos, the
content can be mapped to almost any state's or nation's standards
Khan Academy videos can be downloaded and saved to a
flashdrive
Teacher and user comments
I think resources like the Khan Academy have a lot more
potential in higher ed than things like lecture capture systems. I’d much ratherhave my students watch a few of these videos before class, then work through
more problems and questions with me during class... I would imagine that many ofmy students would get more out of these videos than they would reading the
textbook. I can’t see these kinds of videos replacing classroom instruction, butfor giving students first exposure to topics and for providing them with
reinforcement after class – yeah, they’ve got lots of potential.
(External Link)
I saw the piece on this wonderful teacher on PBS. Most of us
strive to create an environment where the learner can be exposed to a variety ofexplanations about the phenomena we study. These certainly would be part of that
mix as long as we fully credit the importance of the author's/teacher's work toour students. One day, we will hopefully teach ourselves out of our jobs
(External Link)
I am now in college and learning more than I ever have in my
life. But an inadequate math background has been holding me back. I found theKahn Academy in June of 2009, right after I completed Math 141 ( a college
algebra course). I have spent the entire summer on your youtube page. And I justwanted to thank you for everything you are doing. You are a Godsend. Last week I
tested for a math placement exam and I am now in Honors Math 200. No questionwas answered incorrectly. My placement test holder was so impressed by the
breadth of my knowledge of math that he said I should be in Linear algebra. Mr.Khan, I can say without any doubt that you have changed my life and the lives of
everyone in my family. I wish you and the Khan Academy the best of luck.
(External Link)