Bill's loving it
Adding the world’s richest man to your list of fans is quite a compliment. Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy can do just that, with Gates referring to Khan’s site as ‘unbelievable’. Khan has created over 1,000 10 to 15 minute videos explaining key maths and physics concepts. The bite size modules cover topics ranging from basic addition to solving differential equations. Since its creation in 2004, it’s reached 200,000 students and has received 18 million pages views.
So why’s it so popular? I’d suggest that the brevity, modularity and accessibility appeals. It’s timely too, as people can find an answer at exactly the time they need it. Oh and it’s free. An interesting point that Khan makes is that the content is enduring – the process of addition and subtraction are unlikely to change any time soon, so there’s little need to update the core content.
But does it work? Asynchronous e-learning (where content is pre-recorded) has its critics. The debate boils down to the motivation and learning style of the participants. If a learner is motivated and enjoys reflection it’ll work – as will reading from books, perhaps the oldest form of asynchronous learning. If your learners are all interaction-loving extraverts whose only reading is the back of cereal boxes, it’s probably not for them. So individual learning journeys are critical – one size fits no one. One study suggests that building relevant interaction into web-based learning is key. This chimes with what we see happening in the marketplace, with greater demand for our virtual offer.
No comments yet