The internet is a valuable source of information and it is very accessible. You can find practically any information you need online. Do you want to know what’s going on with the rest of the world? How about the latest fashion trends? Or perhaps you’d like to catch up on the hottest celebrity news. You can find all of these on the net. Whether you need to know the prevailing market trends, or want some guidelines regarding getting the best phone service (i.e. RingCentral) for your small business, easy web surfing can give you the information you are looking for.
The problem is that the internet is also full of junk; there are so many websites that pretend to be informative but do not really offer substantial information on their featured topics. Some websites provide misleading data and if you are not careful about choosing the sites you visit when you want to learn something, you can actually learn the wrong things. This is one pitfall that you must avoid by practicing great judgment regarding the content of the sites you go to.
Fortunately, there is a nonprofit yet educational website that you can visit for reliable information. Khan Academy which was launched in 2006, was established to provide well researched, accurate, and clearly presented informative content for anyone who wants to learn. Its founder, Salman Khan, is an American educator who earned degrees from Harvard Business School and MIT. Khan Academy runs with the vision to give high quality education to people from all over the world. Thus, the site’s content is viewable for free, made available for anyone who is eager to learn.
The academy has about 4,000 “micro lectures” in its library. These are presented mostly as short video clips that average a length of 10 minutes. The library contains videos covering a wide range of topics. There are videos that discuss medieval history, algebra, calculus, statistics, astronomy, health and medicine, organic chemistry, computer science, and programming. You can learn the basics about hypertension, the periodic table, inflation, interest and debt, taxes, and even ancient cultures.
What makes these videos different from those in other educational websites? Salman Khan says that he made it a point to teach people the way he wished he was taught – by explaining the concepts to them in a simple but fascinating way. He has been successful in fulfilling this mission, as the videos on the site are very easy to understand and remember.
Khan Academy includes exercises to help its visitors test their learning. It also has interactive knowledge maps that make learning more fun. Its math knowledge map, for example, is arranged like a Christmas tree. The most basic lesson is at the top, followed by the more difficult lessons at the succeeding “branches,” with the lessons progressing in difficulty as one goes down the map. Problems and exercises integrated in the map determine one’s readiness to move on to the next level. To encourage learning, the exercises are programmed with a reward system that awards credits and points to the user.
Khan Academy takes note of all user activity to keep track of what the users have learned and on which topic, problem set, or video the users spent more time on. The users get to see a summary of their statistics, too, helping them monitor their progress.
The academy has helped many students worldwide. The video lessons and exercises help students with their journey to gain more knowledge no matter what their learning style is. In addition, the site does not discriminate against users; anyone can have access to it whatever their financial capability, race or background, location, and even age. On top of all these, the students get to study at their own pace. Khan Academy is truly a breakthrough in education.