Khan Academy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Khan Academy

Type of site	501(c)(3)
Available in	Multiple languages
Owner	Khan Academy, Inc.
Founder(s)	Sal Khan
Launched	2006; 19 years ago (2006)

Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational group. It was started in 2006 by Sal Khan. Its main goal is to create free online tools to help students learn.

The organization makes short video lessons. Its website also has practice exercises and materials for teachers. Khan Academy has over 10,000 video lessons. These videos teach many school subjects. This includes mathematics, sciences, literature, history, and computer science. All of these learning tools are free for anyone to use on their website and app.

How Khan Academy Started

Sal Khan presenting during TED 2011

In 2004, a person named Salman "Sal" Khan began helping one of his cousins with math. He tutored her online using a tool called Yahoo! Doodle Images. Soon, other cousins wanted his help too.

Because many people wanted his lessons, Sal Khan decided to put his videos on YouTube. This way, more people could watch them. He used special drawing tools to create his video lessons. In 2008, he officially started Khan Academy. He even quit his job to work on it full-time.

On September 15, 2014, Sal Khan also opened a school called Khan Lab School. This school is connected to Khan Academy. It is located in Mountain View, California.

How Khan Academy Gets Money

Khan Academy is a non-profit organization. This means it doesn't try to make money for owners. It mostly gets money from donations. These donations come from groups that want to help others.

Many important organizations have given money to Khan Academy. In 2010, Google donated $2 million. This money helped create new courses and translate content into other languages. In 2013, Carlos Slim helped create Spanish versions of the videos.

In 2015, AT&T gave $2.25 million. This helped make mobile versions of the content. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has also donated to Khan Academy. On January 11, 2021, Elon Musk donated $5 million through his foundation.

What You Can Learn

The narrator writes to an electronic blackboard during a recorded lecture.

Khan Academy's website wants to give a free, good education to everyone. It uses videos that are hosted on YouTube. The website also has other helpful tools. These include tracking your progress, practice exercises, and teaching tools. You can also use the learning materials on mobile apps.

The videos let students learn at their own speed. This idea is called mastery learning. Teachers also use these videos to teach in a "Flipped Classroom" style. In this method, students watch lessons at home. Then they do homework and activities in class.

The videos show drawings on an electronic blackboard. This is like a teacher giving a lecture. The person speaking explains each drawing. They show how it relates to the lesson. As you learn, you can earn badges and energy points. These can be shown on your profile.

Khan Academy offers videos for all school subjects. They cover all grades, from kindergarten through high school. The website also shares content from other educational YouTube channels. These include Crash Course and the Museum of Modern Art.

It also has online courses to help you get ready for important tests. These include the SAT, AP Chemistry, Praxis Core, and MCAT. Khan Academy has also worked with Code.org to offer coding lessons.

In July 2017, Khan Academy became the official practice partner for the College Board's Advanced Placement tests.

Khanmigo: Your AI Learning Buddy

Khanmigo is a special chatbot that uses GPT-4 technology. It is designed to help you with many subjects. These include math, science, humanities, and coding. It can also help you learn these topics better.

Khan Academy launched Khanmigo on March 14, 2023. You can get access to it for a small monthly fee. Users who want to sign up must be over 18 years old.

Learning in Many Languages

Khan Academy videos have been translated into many languages. There are almost 20,000 subtitle translations available. Most of these translations are done by volunteers. They also get help from international groups.

The Khan Academy platform is fully available in many languages. These include English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese. It is also partly available in 28 other languages.

Official SAT Practice

Since 2015, Khan Academy has been one of the official websites to prepare for the SAT test. Studies show that if you study for at least 20 hours on Khan Academy, your SAT score can go up by about 115 points on average.

Pixar in a Box

In 2015, Khan Academy worked with Pixar to create a new course. It is called "Pixar in a Box." This course teaches how skills you learn in school help the people who create Pixar movies.

Other Test Preparation

Khan Academy also offers free practice for other important tests. These include the PSAT/NMSQT, LSAT, Praxis Core, and MCAT.

Khan Academy Kids App

In 2018, Khan Academy made an app called Khan Academy Kids. This app is for children aged two to eight. It helps them learn basic skills. These skills are mostly math and language arts. It prepares them for grade school.

How Teachers Use Khan Academy

Teachers can set up a classroom inside Khan Academy. This lets them give lessons from Khan Academy's collection to their students. Teachers can also see how their students are doing as they complete the lessons.

Awards and Recognition

Khan and Khan Academy have received many awards. They are recognized in the US and around the world:

• In April 2012, Sal Khan was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
• In 2012, Khan Academy won a Webby Award for Education Websites and Mobile Sites.
• In 2013, Sal Khan won a Heinz Award for his work on the "Human Condition."
• In 2016, Khan Academy won a Shorty Award for being the Best in Education.
• In 2016, Sal Khan received the Padma Shri. This is one of the highest awards for civilians in India.

Images for kids

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  The narrator writes to an electronic blackboard during a recorded lecture.

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  Sal Khan presenting during TED 2011

See also

In Spanish: Khan Academy para niños