Future Now
The IFTF Blog
California Pioneer Sparks Education Revolution
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My kids and I are students at the biggest school in the world, that started in Sal Khan's home in Mountain View, California.
Khan has created over 1800 video lessons, no longer than 10 minutes each, that clearly and passionately teach topics from Differential Equations to Photosynthesis to the Economics of a Cupcake Factory. You watch them at your own pace, test your understanding by answering practice questions, and fill in badges along his Knowledge Map.
It's called Khan Academy, and it's taking the world by storm, with over 30 million views of his videos on YouTube. The project recently won a $2 million award from Google, and has attracted the attention of the Gates Foundation, as well as students worldwide who once hated math and now see how easy it is if explained properly.
Khan Academy is an example of one citizen in California taking it upon himself to contribute his highest value to the world. Imagine if brick-and-mortar schools were replaced by modular, on-demand, asynchronous learning platforms. Imagine if students loved to learn again, and could do it for free, on any topic, from anywhere.
I love this dream, for the future of California and for the world. So that's Sal Khan's dream. What's yours? Tell us at the California Dreams contest site, and you could win the $3,000 Roy Amara Prize for Participatory Foresight. Enter today!