GenV Campaigns

Bill Gates’ Favorite Teacher – Tech4BtrWorld

Posted on 16. May, 2011 by Rob in Technology

How Bill Gates’ Favorite Teacher Wants to Disrupt Education

Today’s post was written by Tech4BtrWorld campaign volunteer Clem Auyeung [@clemauyeung]

When I first bought my black-and-white-screened iPod mini, I was the envy of my friends. Its sleek outer physique, intuitive controls, and easy portability won the hearts of millions of consumers and now it seems like everyone has one.

The iPod disrupted the music industry but have you ever thought that we could use technology to address our most pressing social issues?

Sal Khan did it with You Tube.

Khan is the founder of Khan Academy which produces videos to tutor students in math.

Before Khan Academy turned education upside down on its head, it was just Khan’s humble effort at remotely tutoring his younger cousin, Nadia, on improving her math skills. After Nadia’s math ability shot up a few grade levels, other family members and friends requested his help.

Khan had been on a fast-track to making millions of dollars as a hedge fund manager, so why did he quit his job on Wall Street and concentrate on making You Tube videos? How did he start and grow his educational venture from an upstart to an educational heavy weight?

After Khan started posting math lectures on You Tube, the audience exploded and Khan received feedback on how his videos helped them achieve better grades.

What Khan’s You Tube math tutorials addressed was that every student learns at his or her own pace. Have you ever felt embarrassed to ask a question in math class because you thought that “it was a dumb question?” Were you ever frustrated that you didn’t “get it” while it seemed like everyone else did?

Now, you can watch go home and review or re-learn mathematical concepts or even skip ahead – all on Khan Academy You Tube channel – without fearing judgment from your peers.

After logging tens of millions of views per day Bill Gates took notice. So did the Google Foundation. Khan quit his secure, day-time career on Wall Street to fully concentrate on making videos. Thus Khan Academy was born.

With investments from Gates and Google, Khan is expanding learning options for millions of students. Sal Khan helped revolutionize personal education and it all started with putting his lessons up on YouTube.

Technology is now bringing you closer to the world and the world closer to you. Do you have any ideas how to tackle some social problems? If you do, apply to the Technology for a Better World Campaign by May 9th!