Khan Academy Aims to Transform Classroom Instruction

At Tadween Publishing we always search for new and innovative tools of knowledge dissemination. This is why we would like to highlight the work of Khan Academy, which employs the Internet and communication technology to provide new ways of learning.

In an attempt to move beyond the traditional idea of how a classroom should operate, Khan Academy strives to offer unique educational tools for everyone. It is a nonprofit organization that primarily focuses on providing an education for students of any age, inside and outside the classroom. The organization’s website features over 3,000 instructional videos and exercises on a variety of topics, including math, science, history, economics, and so forth. Its blog even includes such practical information as the difference between 401(k)s and IRAs.

Salman Khan, the organization’s founder, was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people for his efforts to reform education in order to make it accessible to all. In an interview with Wired, Khan said, “The worst time to learn something is when someone is standing over your shoulder going, ‘Do you get it?’” Khan’s organization aspires to step away from the formalities that have been engraved into classroom instruction, formalities that often fail to reach students, by allowing the student to navigate their own education.

The videos and exercises are not flashy, but rather demonstrative and coupled with a voiceover in order to guide the student through the chosen topic. They are user-friendly and easy to navigate, allowing teachers and students to locate the appropriate level.

One of the ideas behind Khan Academy is to customize the classroom in order to fit each student’s learning needs. Classrooms often teach to one level, usually at the middle, bypassing students who are at a higher or lower level of learning. Khan Academy aims to address all levels of learning and pinpoint a student’s interest, whether it be in art history or biology. The site even tracks student progress and provides statistics on their progress in order to support the individual learning process.

Khan Academy is currently in the process of creating videos in multiple languages so that the organization can implement its educational model among a broader audience.