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Spartan News
The 75th Anniversary & Lessons from Khan Academy
Recently, I received a call from a Miami Herald reporter asking me what it meant for Miami Country Day to be celebrating its 75th anniversary. I explained how much we were looking forward to celebrating Country Day’s wonderful rich history. I also explained that the 75th provided a unique opportunity for Country Day to chart its future course and continue to meet the needs of its students.
Coincidentally, the interview reminded me of an article I had just finished reading on Sal Khan, who founded Khan Academy. With the interview fresh on my mind, I picked up the Sal Khan article again and realized a connection:
What will learning look like in the future?
Most of us recognize the name, Sal Khan. In 2004, he responded to a request from his nine-year-old cousin in another part of the country to help her with math. An M.B.A. with degrees in computer science, math and engineering, working as a hedge fund analyst, Khan created some video tutorials for her and posted them on Yahoo’s Doodle notepad. His postings proved quite helpful. So, Khan created a few more and word spread to other cousins and friends, and he eventually began posting his lessons on YouTube. Fast forward several years later, and what began as a handful of math tutorials, has grown to over 4400 instructional videos on a wide variety of subjects. Khan’s initial audience has grown from family and friends to over 6,000,000 students of all ages. As the popularity of Khan’s online classroom grew, he gave up his analyst job in 2009 devoting all of his attention to developing Khan Academy. With funding from Google and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this e-school now offers an education program that provides courses in a variety of subjects for free.
Khan Academy is not meant to replace the education students receive in traditional schools, rather to provide a powerful learning tool that meets a variety of learning needs. Some schools have formally adopted Khan Academy by integrating the tutorials into their required classes. An individual student can go online and use one of the tutorials to master a particularly challenging concept. Adult learners returning to school have a resource by which to refresh and review. Individuals who just enjoy learning can explore subjects that interest them at no cost. The possibilities are pretty amazing!
The continued success of Khan’s approach to education presents some interesting lessons about 21st century education and where we might be headed in the future. In my upcoming post, I will share a few lessons from Khan’s success that point us in the direction where I believe learning at Country Day is headed in the next 75 years.
This blog post is the first edition of a two-part series. Check back here on Monday, September 9th for the second edition of "The 75th Anniversary & Lessons from Khan Academy."
