Kahn Interview

1. How did Khan Academy begin? It began as Kahn making videos that he thought would be able to be used to help his cousins, and people who would want to do extra research and learn on their own. 2.What is Khan Academy? Kahn Academy is an online database that contains help videos that show how alternative approaches to classical educational material. It offers extra help for students who either want to learn on their own, at their own pace, or who may need more explanation of a topic. 3. According to Salman Khan, what is wrong with the current high rates of per-pupil spending in public schools? According to Kahn the issue is that the schools are collecting plenty of funds per student, however the funds are not equally distributed. The funds are not being used to directly pay teachers the amounts that they deserve, nor are students seeing the amount of money that they should in order to promote further education. Instead of going to these crucial places, funds are being distributed amount the higher-ups within the school system, such as administration and principle faculty. 4. What are some qualities of the education system that have not changed in the US since the 1800s? The ordering of what students have learned for the main part has stayed the same, Kahn mentions for example that physics has for years been what one learns in their final years of school. Another example is that many schools require the learning of another language, these are both standards that were created in the 1800s. 5. What is “Flipping the Classroom?” How does it change the routine of the school day? Flipping the classroom is when students watch the lectures at home and then work on what is classically considered homework during the school day. This enables students to be able to have the help that they need when it comes to actually grasping the content material. 6. What does Khan mean about the “de-coupling” between credentialing and the learning experience?? Kahn talks about the “de-coupling” between credentials and the learning experience that one receives in the sense that in times past a person was more willing to pay the money to receive an education from a prestigious school just to be able to say that they attended that school rather than to achieve the education they provided. Khan feels as though more students are going to start attending college for the education rather than for the prestige of an Ivy League school reputation. He also feels that whether a person receives an education on the job verses a college degree doesn’t matter, it’s all a matter of whether a person actually is able to perform the tasks required of them within a certain skill set or job. 7. What is keeping change in the education system from occurring faster? What does Khan say about the pace of change in the system? The rate of change for is alarmingly fast as it is, there is a chance that the entire system can change in 5-10 years.