I am one of those rare breeds these days that actually enjoy learning. I could spend countless hours on sites such as Wikipedia or TED just soaking in new information. In an attempt to quell my thirst for knowledge, I recently decided to study for a degree through Open University, and as I have not done any formal studying since I left college, I started with a ‘openings course’. Whilst perusing the forum for students on this particular course, one of my peers recommended that we check out a site called Khan Academy as it will help us with our studies. As I’d never heard of the site, I decided to check it out. What I found was possibly one of the best websites I’ve ever come across when it comes to ‘free’ education.
The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.
All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
The website is amazing, with an easy to use interface and levels of learning from the absolute basics to advanced topics. The idea of the site is that you create a free account, open a learning log (which tracks your progression) and then you can either watch video tutorials on specific subjects or practice questions if you feel ready. There are over 3000 videos to choose from, and the tutors break down the topic in a very easy to understand way. Plus, as it’s a video you can just play it again if need be. Your profile contains all kind of stats and graphs to help you plot your desired learning and also to give you the option to brag about your achievements on the site. One of the more exciting features is that you can receive personal coaching and, if you feel comfortable enough, offer yourself up to be a coach in specific areas. Then, through the stats pages, you can track your students progression.Currently, they offer in-depth resources in Math, Science, Finance & Economics and Humanities, however there will be more added in the future. They also have a section of talks and interviews on a range of subjects featuring some of the fields experts.
Khan Academy was started in 2008 by Sal Khan, an MIT and Harvard educated, former hedge fund analyst who made it his mission to provide free, world-class education to anyone with an internet connection. As the company is ‘non-profit’, they rely on donations and have received large sums from both Google and Bill Gates. When asked about his decision to make the company non-profit, Khan responded:
When I’m 80, I want to feel that I helped give access to a world-class education to billions of students around the world. Sounds a lot better than starting a business that educates some subset of the developed world that can pay $19.95/month and eventually selling it to some text-book company or something. I already have a beautiful wife, a hilarious son, two Honda’s and a decent house. What else does a man need?
Overall, I can’t fault what they are trying to achieve. I mean, how can you knock someone who has turned his back on a highly paid job to focus on bringing free education to billions of people world-wide. I would certainly recommended the site to anyone who fancies doing a bit of free learning, maybe refresh your knowledge on a certain topic or just to see what the fuss is about. I guarantee you’ll be impressed.