Salman Khan TED Talk 2011 (from ted.com)

Khan Academy is famous for its video collection, covering a wide range of topics from math and science to history and economics. The videos provide engaging explanations and demonstrations that make learning enjoyable.

Salman Khan discusses the extensive video library on various topics, from basic arithmetic to vector calculus. The site has a million monthly users watching 100,000 to 200,000 videos daily.

The speaker began his journey while working as an analyst at a hedge fund in Boston. He started creating YouTube videos to tutor his cousins in New Orleans remotely, initially just as a supplement for their learning.

My cousins preferred the automated version of me on YouTube to interacting with me in person. They could pause, repeat, and review without feeling like they were wasting my time. Watching at their own pace was more convenient for them.

The speaker uploaded videos to YouTube without making them private, allowing others to stumble upon and watch the content. This led to receiving comments, letters, and feedback from people around the world.

A student experiences a sense of joy and accomplishment after successfully solving a derivative for the first time. This positive experience leads to an elevated mood and feeling of empowerment, akin to knowing Kung Fu.

The video content has had a significant impact on individuals with autism, particularly in helping them understand and learn math concepts. A letter from a parent of an autistic child highlighted the positive effect of the video in teaching decimals and fractions.

An analyst at a hedge fund experiences the novelty of engaging in something with social value, which is unusual for him.

Isaac Newton's excitement and determination to continue creating content that could help people now and in the future, emphasizing the timeless value of his work.

Initially skeptical about video lectures, I received letters from teachers who used my videos to flip the classroom. Students watch lectures at home and do homework in class.

Teachers using technology to provide self-paced lectures at home and interactive work in the classroom, humanizing the learning experience. This approach removes 'one size fits all' lectures and allows students to engage with each other, transforming a dehumanizing experience into a more interactive one.

After transforming Khan Academy into a not-for-profit organization, the focus shifted to elevating education. The approach involved creating exercises that generate questions until mastery is achieved, unlike traditional classrooms with fixed exam-based progression. This new paradigm ensures comprehensive understanding before moving on.

Students often start failing algebra and calculus despite being smart and having good teachers. This is due to Swiss cheese gaps in their foundational knowledge. The traditional model penalizes experimentation and failure, but does not expect mastery. The new model encourages experimentation, failure, and expects mastery by learning math like riding a bicycle.

Khan Academy offers a free knowledge map with over 90 modules that cover basic arithmetic to precalculus and beyond. The map guides learners from simple addition to advanced concepts, allowing for individualized learning at their own pace. This approach has been successfully implemented in schools, freeing up time for interactive activities and personalized teaching.

In a data-centric reality, teachers are armed with extensive student data to diagnose and improve interactions. This includes information on students' daily activities, video watching habits, exercise focus areas, and more. The goal is to make teacher-student interactions as productive as possible by providing the necessary insights.

Visualizing Student Progress The inner circle displays the videos that students are focused on, providing granular data to show exact problems answered right or wrong. Red indicates wrong answers, blue indicates correct ones.

Learning Progression The leftmost question is the first attempted by the student, followed by watching a video. The progression of getting 10 consecutive correct answers reflects visible learning and improvement in speed.

Self-paced learning, also known as differentiated learning, allows students to work at their own pace. In a classroom setting, some students race ahead while others progress more slowly. Traditional models label these students as gifted or slow based on snapshot assessments. However, with self-paced learning, the same 'slow' students can excel once they grasp a concept and move ahead.

The goal is to use technology to humanize education on a global scale, not just in specific districts like Los Altos. The focus should be on the "student to valuable human time with the teacher" ratio rather than student-teacher ratios. Technology can enable teachers to spend 100% of their time working directly with students, thus humanizing the classroom.

Empowering Adult Learners The platform provides valuable learning opportunities for adult learners who may feel embarrassed to go back and learn. It allows them to remediate, get up to speed, and not feel embarrassed about what they do or don't know.

Global Peer Tutoring Network The system enables peer-to-peer tutoring beyond the classroom, connecting students globally. This creates a global one world classroom where students from different parts of the world can tutor each other using game mechanics like badges and leaderboards.

Salman Khan talks about the unexpected collaboration with Los Altos, where students work at their own pace using a dashboard. The district is excited to track student progress beyond the classroom.

Empowering Teachers with Feedback Teachers are able to track student progress and provide feedback through the platform. The design loop involves teachers' input, leading to features like the focus graph. The platform is ready for widespread use in classrooms across America.

Tutoring and Mentorship Opportunities The platform allows users to connect with volunteer tutors based on their reputation. Audience members are encouraged to become mentors or tutors using the teacher dashboards available on the site.