To cope with increasingly demanding schedules and classes, many students resort to expensive tutors or spend extra time after school meeting with teachers for help. However, one resource that many students may not take advantage of is Khan Academy.
Khan Academy is an online database of over 2,600 free educational videos covering everything from arithmetic and physics to finance and history by the site’s creator, Salman Khan. Each video is 10-20 minutes long and covers key concepts thoroughly.
According to the site’s homepage, Khan Academy’s goal is to help people from all over the world learn anything, whenever they want, at their own pace.
The site’s foundation was laid in 2004 when Khan began tutoring his younger cousin who lived in New Orleans.
According to the Khan Academy website, Khan began tutoring her over the phone. When scheduling became difficult, Khan made YouTube videos for her to watch on her own time. She started preferring the videos to the real Khan. After the videos gathered thousands of views, Khan began the site in 2007.
CHS students have reaped the benefits of Khan Academy. Junior Chani Werely remembers using Khan Academy in Honors Pre-Calculus the night before a big test.
“There was this one unit that I just wasn’t getting,” Werely said. “It got me through it and I ended up getting a 97 percent on that test.”
Students agree that the site is not only helpful because of the way the concepts are explained, but also because, according to Khan, the videos can be watched and re-watched without the embarrassment of having to ask a real person to re-explain a concept.
“Part of it is that it is a relaxed environment, since you’re at home with your computer, and there aren’t any added stresses,” Werely said.
All of the videos are explained as they are understood by Khan, so they are engaging and actually make sense. Junior Cameron Tehranchi, who currently uses the site for AP Chemistry and BC Calculus, utilizes it as a supplement to his intensive classes.
“It’s nice because I can slow it down and replay things that I need to work on,” Tehranchi said.
