Salman Khan is the founder of the Khan Academy, a nonprofit with the mission of providing free, high-quality education for “anyone anywhere” in the world, and the author of The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined. Khan graduated from MIT in 1998 with two bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering/computer science; and a master of engineering degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He first worked in technology in Silicon Valley, after which he attended Harvard Business School, where he earned a masters degree in business administration in 2003. Khan became an analyst at a Boston-based hedge fund, and as a side project, began tutoring his young cousin in math. When others expressed interest, he began posting videos of his hand-scribbled tutorials on YouTube. Demand took off, and in 2009 he quit his day job to commit himself fully to the not-for-profit Khan Academy. Khan was recently listed in Fortune’s annual “40 Under 40”, as well as Fast Company’s list of the “100 Most Creative People in Business.” He was also named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 by TIME. PHOTO: BRAD SWONETZ
Why Long Lectures Are Ineffective
If students can only focus for 15-minute intervals, shouldn’t we devote precious class time to something more engaging?