Innovative Use of Technology and Media for Global Education: Focus on the
Success of Khan Academy
Sowmya Challa
Indiana State University
United States
sowmya.challa@gmail.com
Abstract: Given the information overload through numerous means today, students often are
overwhelmed with the input presented to them. Learning happens to be continuous and does not
stop at the school gates. However to stimulate meaningful and purposeful learning, innovation in
teaching and delivery of relevant knowledge is necessary. Some of the most creative teachers
around the world are using and making the most of what technology and media has to offer. This
paper intends to explore the creative idea adopted by Salman Khan of Khan Academy. His
innovation may be useful to a much wider audience than he currently serves. Also, the success of
his model is inspiring for schools and universities across the globe to enhance their teaching
methods and eventually the educational outcomes of the institutions at large.
Introduction
Education today is more challenging than ever before due to the availability of information everywhere.
Using the available information at relevant occasions often becomes a challenging pursuit. If Education is defined as
having adequate information, we can claim the world to be educated with respect to its technological advancement
and media availability. Having internet makes anyone educated in such a situation. But gaining knowledge that will
enhance one’s life and add value to one’s existence is the essence of true education. Forced meaningless information
overload in today’s world is often seen everywhere. Children may not enjoy the information presented to them at
schools but rather enjoy watching videos online or playing interactive games. These in turn thrust information that
may be irrelevant to the child. To make schools and the educational setting more appealing to children and students
of all ages, education needs to be delivered in a new format that not only gives freedom to the child but empowers
them with the power of choice. Such an attempt was made by Salman Khan through his Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization started and run by a MIT and Harvard graduate Mr.
Salman Khan. It started as an idea encouraged by his cousins to teach online through videos and social media. His
motto was to make high quality education available for anyone anywhere. Khan Academy efficiently uses YouTube
to broadcast its educational videos. It is appreciated and funded generously by Bill and Melinda Gates foundation
and Google. The story of Khan Academy opens gates for an educational system that has no boundaries and no
restrictions for its students. Its success originated from its happy and enlightened students who wanted to learn more
each day. Khan academy serves as an example for creative ways of learning that today’s students appreciate.
Teaching and Learning makes sense only when the knowledge is transferred from the teacher to student efficiently.
This is achieved by Khan Academy by breaking the “dehumanizing concept of classroom” (Khan, 2011) and making
it a pleasant and humanizing learning atmosphere. Students learn at their own pace by watching videos and interact
with the teachers when and if needed periodically. This gives them the choice to call for a teacher only when they
really need them.
Khan Academy’s approach has evolved over a period time into an institution that serves students of all ages
across countries delivery about 227 million lessons. It now teaches subjects including Mathematics, history,
healthcare, medicine, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, economics, cosmology, and organic
chemistry, American civics, art history, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and computer science (Spencer, 2010).
The paper further investigates the success story of Khan Academy and its greatest contributions to global education.
Bibliography
Khan, S. (2011, March). Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education. Retrieved from TED, Ideas worth
Spreading: http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
Spencer, M. (2010, February 22). Khan Academy: How to Calculate the Unemployment Rate. Retrieved January 28,
2013, from PBS Newshour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/02/khan-academy-how-tocalculate-the-unemployment-rate.html