Khan of Khan Academy at TED (video)
I've heard countless people rave about Salman Khan and his teaching methods - both here and away from HN. The truth is, I had no idea why he and his teachings were such a big deal...<i>until now</i>. I had seen some of his videos before and read some of the articles about the Khan Academy, but had never given them my full attention. To me, it was just another guy with his own teaching methods.<p>But when I see him talk at TED, it makes perfect sense. Not only is he a superb speaker, he gets his points across clearly.<p>Probably the best point of all is this one:<p><pre><code>  "What I do is I assign the lectures for homework and, what used to be
   homework, I now have the students doing in the classroom."
</code></pre>
As radical as that may seem, this idea has TONS of potential. Do we really need teachers there in person if they are just lecturing? The real use of being there in person as a teacher is for interacting with the students. What better way to do that than by helping them with the work (i.e. homework) and letting the Khan Academy lecture when little interaction is needed.<p>I am definitely going to hop on the bandwagon now and join everyone else in following Khan while appreciating his pure genius. In fact, the best way to describe him is to combine all the great things people here on HN have to say about him:<p><pre><code>  > He's amazing. (joshu)

  > I really do think Sal Khan will revolutionize teaching. (solarmist)

  > Hero material. (MikeCapone)

  > Future of education. (omfut)

  > Really wonderful reminder of what just one person can set in motion. (runevault)

  > Simply amazing that a guy armed only with a tablet and a microphone can have this
  much impact. (keiferski)

  > He is a big inspiration for anyone looking to change the world. (omfut)
</code></pre>
The list could go on forever. And it's not every day you hear people talking about someone and their ideas in such a way like they are now about Khan and the Khan Academy.<p><i>If people are saying it is amazing, then there's a pretty good chance that it truly is amazing.</i>