Something to Watch: Khan Academy

Learning is like exercise for the brain. Keeping this in mind, I try to learn new things as often as I can.

So, for years now, if there’s something I don’t know, I have one place I look for it first: Khan Academy.

 

The beauty of this site is that it’s composed of narrated drawing videos you can watch at your own speed. Most of the time the screen starts blank, there’s a short spoken word introduction, and your watch the thought process unfold as it is drawn out.

Pro tip: if you want to watch the videos at a faster rate, enable HTML5 in your YouTube account and it will be available in the bottom-right corner of your YouTube videos.

The founder, Sal Khan, started making videos as a way to teach his cousin overseas. It was so successful that it has grossly expanded and is even backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This site offers a cost-effective way to provide education to anyone. All you need is a computer with internet access.

 

Maybe you’re not studying for the MCAT or SAT, but they have tons of subjects to choose from.

I’ve personally used it to learn physiology, chemistry, physics, cosmology, and math. But they even have computer programming, art, and economics. Go check it out for yourself.

The site is also a great supplement to the normal curriculum your child gets at school. There are problems to work on and you get awards for doing things (e.g. watching videos, “mastering” a topic). You also have to ability to sign yourself up as a coach for your child so that you can follow their progress and choose what they learn next.

 

For an introduction to how Khan Academy started, here is Sal’s TED talk from 2011.

This stuff excites me beyond belief. I’m a lifelong learner and teacher, and Khan Academy makes learning easier. Give it a shot!

 

P.S. Here’s one of my favorite videos to get you going. I had always wondered why the Big Bang was a theory widely accepted by scientists, and there’s a whole series on the topic.