A little over a decade ago, while attempting to help his cousin Nadia with math, Salman “Sal” Khan stumbled upon the idea to upload a few tutorials onto YouTube for a more interactive learning experience. This was the beginning of Khan's free online education delivery system. Known globally as Khan Academy, this nonprofit organization's mission is to provide a world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy has more than 10 million users per month, including students, teachers, and parents.

With over 9,000 10-minute “micro-lectures” to date, subjects include math, finance, physics, history, biology, astronomy, economics, and computer science. Khan controls the online instruction and creates the videos and their content. More than $20 million in funding has been provided by technology philanthropists and their foundations, including Bill and Melinda Gates, Netflix's Reed Hastings, and Google. Khan's goal of access to secondary education for everyone has been accomplished globally and locally. In remote rural areas, learning opportunities have been made available through the distribution of tablet devices. Offline versions of Khan's lectures have been distributed to rural areas in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

In an effort to help low-income families, Khan Academy has leveled the field for college admissions. In a partnership with the College Board and Law School Admission Council, Khan Academy will bring free SAT, ACT, and LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) test prep software to the masses. More recently, Khan Academy created a collaboration with Disney & Pixar Animation Studios to launch Pixar in a Box, whose goal is to teach the public about techniques used to create Pixar animated films and to apply academic theory learned in the classroom to the making of these films. For example, one topic covers how Pixar's images are painted using simultaneous math equations.

Khan's initial intention to help his cousin with math has sparked a worldwide learning revolution. As Sal Khan continues to produce more homemade videos, he is, according to Bill Gates, “my favorite teacher and ‘educator to the world.’”

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. Sal Khan's free lectures demonstrate technology's ability to eliminate economic barriers that can prevent educational opportunities. Discuss additional ways Khan Academy creates a more level playing field for access to education, including college test preparation, for the masses.

2. Some teachers using Khan Academy have changed the way their class works. Lectures have been replaced with Khan's videos, which students can watch at home. In class, the focus is on problem solving and discussion. Compare and contrast the merits of a traditional face-to-face approach to teaching with teaching methods using Khan Academy materials. What are the benefits of each?