[applause]

- SO WELCOME TO THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

OF NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER

AND TO THE DIRECTOR'S COLLOQUIUM SUMMER SERIES.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

KNOWLEDGE IS FREEDOM.

THE ONLY THINGS THAT YOU TRULY OWN

IS WHAT YOU LEARN

AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE WORLD.

SO KNOWLEDGE IS THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE

AND RECEIVE.

THE KHAN ACADEMY MAKES KNOWLEDGE ACCESSIBLE

TO EVERYONE,

KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES

AND THE WORLD.

TODAY'S TALK IS ENTITLED

"KHAN ACADEMY: EDUCATION REIMAGINED"

AND WILL BE PRESENTED BY SALMAN KHAN.

MR. KHAN IS THE FOUNDER OF THE KHAN ACADEMY,

A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WITH A MISSION

OF PROVIDING FREE, HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION

FOR ANYONE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

HE GRADUATED FROM MIT

WITH TWO BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES--

ONE IN MATHEMATICS AND ONE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

AND A MASTER'S OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.

HE ALSO HOLDS A MASTER'S OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FROM HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL.

FOR HIS WORK, SALMAN HAS RECEIVED MANY PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS

AND HONORS.

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING SALMAN KHAN.

[applause]

- THANKS SO MUCH.

SO VERY EXCITING TO BE HERE.

I ALWAYS LIKE TO START THESE CONVERSATIONS

REALLY JUST GETTING A SENSE OF WHO'S IN THE ROOM.

HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE--

ARE USERS OF KHAN ACADEMY IN SOME--

OH, GOOD. YES. HOW MANY OF Y'ALL--

HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE EXISTING STUDENTS?

OKAY, HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL?

OKAY. OH, THERE'S A GOOD CROWD HERE.

HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE IN COLLEGE?

OH, WOW. GRAD SCHOOL?

A FEW. OKAY, VERY-- THIS IS--

MIDDLE OR ELEMENTARY, ANY? [laughter]

OH, VERY GOOD. OH, YEAH. OH, LOOK. OH, THERE.

VERY GOOD, AND HOW MANY OF Y'ALL ARE PARENTS WHO--

OKAY.

AND HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KHAN ACADEMY IS?

GOOD. I'M GONNA BE TALKING TO YOU TODAY.

[laughter]

SO AS--

IT SOUNDS LIKE MOST OF Y'ALL ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR.

KHAN ACADEMY IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED

WITH A COLLECTION OF VIDEOS THAT I STARTED MAKING,

NOW, YOU KNOW, A DECENT NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.

BUT AS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT OVER THE COURSE

OF THIS CONVERSATION IS

IT'S NOW MUCH, MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN JUST VIDEOS.

IN FACT, IN MY MIND, THE VIDEOS ARE A SMALL PART

OF WHAT KHAN ACADEMY IS AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.

BUT TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE,

AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE GENTLEMAN WHO DOESN'T--ISN'T FAMILIAR

WITH KHAN ACADEMY, I WILL SHOW A QUICK MONTAGE

OF VIDEOS.

ALL THESE INTERACTIONS ARE JUST DUE TO THE GRAVITY.

- THIS IS AN AGE RIGHT AFTER ISAAC NEWTON--

- I'M TOLD THE HUMIDITY MAKES IT FEEL HOTTER.

WHY IS THIS?

- EXCELLENT QUESTION, LEBRON.

- AND YOU CAN JUST SEE THE PLEASURE HE HAD.

- CAN YOU DETERMINE WHICH LIGHT BULB IS BEING SWITCHED?

- THINGS ACTUALLY CAN INTERBREED,

ALTHOUGH FOR THESE TWO IN PARTICULAR,

IT SEEMS LIKE THE MECHANICS WOULD GET KIND OF--

[laughter]

- KEEP PLAYING AROUND WITH THESE NUMBERS

AND SEE WHAT KIND OF COLORS I CAN COME UP WITH.

- IF THIS DOES NOT BLOW YOUR MIND,

THEN YOU HAVE NO EMOTION.

[laughter]

- HAD A FEELING THIS CROWD WOULD APPRECIATE EULER'S IDENTITY.

BUT AS I MENTIONED, IT'S NOT JUST VIDEOS.

THIS RIGHT OVER HERE, THIS IS OUR COMPUTER SCIENCE PLATFORM.

IT'S A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GO, YOU CAN CODE.

AND OUR WHOLE GOAL HERE IS, YOU KNOW,

FOR ALL OF US WHO HAVE EVER PROGRAMMED,

WE ALWAYS GOT INTO IT SAYING, "HEY, I WANT TO CREATE A GAME.

I WANT TO CREATE A SCREENSAVER. I WANT TO CREATE AN ANIMATION."

AND THEN WE JUST LEARNED WHAT IT'D TAKE TO BUILD

THAT ANIMATION, WHICH ISN'T HOW IT'S TRADITIONALLY TAUGHT.

TRADITIONALLY, IT'S LIKE,

"HEY, THIS IS A FOR LOOP. THIS IS A VARIABLE."

AND SO WE REALLY WANTED TO GIVE THAT CREATIVE SPIRIT

THAT I THINK ALL PROGRAMMERS ORIGINALLY GOT INTO IT FOR

TO THE LEARNER, AND THEY CAN HAVE PROFILES,

AND THEY CAN BUILD, AND THEY CAN GET PEER FEEDBACK

BASED ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

THIS IS WHAT MOST OF OUR TEAM IS FOCUSED ON.

I GUESS YOU COULD CALL THIS THE MEAT OF KHAN ACADEMY.

IT'S OUR INTERACTIVE MATH EXPERIENCE.

AND THE IDEA HERE IS A STUDENT CAN GO, LOG ON,

THEY'LL TAKE A DIAGNOSTIC, AND ALL THIS IS FREE.

IT'S ALL AVAILABLE.

AND BASED ON HOW THE STUDENT'S PERFORMING,

IT'LL BUILD A STATISTICAL MODEL OF WHAT THEY KNOW

AND DON'T KNOW, AND THEN BASED ON THAT,

GUIDE THEM THROUGH EXERCISES, GIVE THEM FEEDBACK.

IF THEY HAVE A TEACHER OR A PARENT,

IT CAN GIVE THE TEACHER OR THE PARENT REPORTS

ON HOW THEY'RE DOING,

AND OBVIOUSLY, A WHOLE SERIES OF GAME MECHANICS

TO HOPEFULLY KEEP THE STUDENTS AS MOTIVATED AS POSSIBLE.

SO THIS IS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.

KHAN ACADEMY IS BEING USED IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM

IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY ON THE PLANET.

OVER 300,000 EDUCATORS

HAVE REGISTERED AND ARE USING IT IN SOME WAY.

10 MILLION UNIQUE STUDENTS EVERY MONTH

ARE USING THE SITE.

AND THEY'VE DONE OVER 2 BILLION EXERCISES,

AND YOU SAW A LITTLE SAMPLE OF WHAT THOSE EXERCISES LOOK LIKE.

BUT BEFORE KIND OF GOING MORE INTO WHERE WERE GOING,

I WILL TAKE A STEP BACK, AND I CAN SENSE

THAT MANY OF YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS.

BUT I'LL GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF TEXTURE

OF HOW ALL OF THIS GOT STARTED.

AND IT'S EXCITING TO SPEAK HERE,

BECAUSE IT ALL GOT STARTED, FRANKLY, NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE.

IF YOU REWIND TO SUMMER OF 2004,

SO ALMOST EXACTLY TEN YEARS AGO,

I WAS A YEAR OUT OF BUSINESS SCHOOL.

I HAD JUST GOTTEN MARRIED,

AND I WAS BASED IN BOSTON AT THE TIME.

AND I HAD A BUNCH OF FAMILY VISITING ME FROM NEW ORLEANS.

THAT'S WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED, AS WELL.

AND IT JUST CAME OUT OF CONVERSATION

THAT ONE OF MY COUSINS, NADIA--

HER MOM TOLD ME THAT NADIA WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH MATH.

AND SO WHEN NADIA CAME INTO THE ROOM,

I ASKED HER, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

SHE SAID, "WELL, I TOOK A--

YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN A DECENT STUDENT.

I'VE BEEN GETTING B-PLUSES, A-MINUSES."

BUT THERE WAS A PLACEMENT EXAM AT THE END OF SIXTH GRADE,

AND IT HAD UNIT CONVERSION ON IT--

YOU KNOW, OUNCES TO GALLONS, MILES TO KILOMETERS--

AND ACCORDING TO NADIA, SHE JUST, YOU KNOW,

COULDN'T PROCESS IT.

SHE'S JUST NOT GOOD AT UNIT CONVERSION.

AND SO I TOLD HER, "LOOK,

I THINK YOU COULD EASILY OVERCOME THAT."

I THINK SHE THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF AN EMPTY PEP TALK.

SO I SAID, "NO, NO, SERIOUSLY. WELL, IF YOU'RE UP FOR IT,

HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU GO BACK TO NEW ORLEANS,

WE'LL GET ON THE PHONE AND WHATEVER ELSE WE CAN USE

AND I'LL TUTOR YOU?" AND SHE WAS UP FOR IT.

SO SHE WENT BACK, AND SO STARTING AUGUST OF 2004,

EVERY DAY AFTER SCHOOL FOR HER,

EVERY DAY AFTER WORK FOR ME, GOT ON THE PHONE.

WE EVENTUALLY FIGURED OUT A WAY TO SEE EACH OTHER'S SCRAWLS ON--

YAHOO! INSTANT MESSENGER HAD A LITTLE DOODLE FUNCTIONALITY

AT THE TIME.

AND SO WE JUST STARTED WORKING,

AND, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST MONTH WAS TOUGH.

SHE ESSENTIALLY HAD PSYCHED HERSELF OUT.

SHE HAD CONVINCED HERSELF THAT SHE'S JUST NOT GOOD AT MATH.

BUT SLOWLY BUT SURELY, SHE STARTED TO ENGAGE,

SHE STARTED TO REALLY KIND OF OWN AND TACKLE THE PROBLEMS.

AND THEN SOMETHING CLICKED,

AND SHE NOT ONLY GOT UNIT CONVERSION,

SHE STARTED TO ACTUALLY GET A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF THE CURVE

OF WHERE YOU WOULD EXPECT A SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT TO BE.

AND AT THAT POINT, I BECAME WHAT I CALL

A TIGER COUSIN. [laughter]

SO I CALLED UP HER SCHOOL, AND I SAID,

"YOU KNOW, I REALLY THINK NADIA RAHMAN

SHOULD RETAKE THAT PLACEMENT EXAM FROM LAST YEAR."

THEY SAID, "WHO ARE YOU?" [laughter]

I POINTED OUT THAT I'M HER COUSIN.

AND SOMEWHAT SURPRISING,

THEY DID ALLOW HER TO RETAKE THE PLACEMENT EXAM,

AND SHE WENT FROM BEING TRACKED IN THE REMEDIAL CLASS

TO NOT JUST THE AVERAGE CLASS, BUT INTO THE ADVANCED CLASS.

AND, YOU KNOW, AND I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT NADIA.

I MEAN, THAT SAME NADIA, JUST TO FAST-FORWARD A LITTLE BIT,

WHO, YOU KNOW, AT AGE 12,

THOUGHT SHE COULDN'T GET UNIT CONVERSION,

BY AGE 14, WAS TAKING CALCULUS

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE JUST--

YOU KNOW, AND I'VE SEEN MORE AND MORE

THE MORE THAT KHAN ACADEMY HAS GROWN.

BUT AS--REWIND BACK TO FALL OF 2004,

I WAS EXCITED.

IT WAS THIS KIND OF VERY SMALL THING THAT I DID WITH MY COUSIN.

IT SEEMED TO REALLY HELP HER OUT,

SO I STARTED WORKING WITH HER YOUNGER BROTHERS.

THEN A FEW THINGS HAPPENED OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.

THE FIRST IS I WAS AN ANALYST

AT A SMALL INVESTMENT FIRM, AND--

VERY SMALL, IT WAS ME, MY BOSS, AND HIS DOG, AND--

[laughter] THE DOG WAS THE CHIEF ECONOMIST.

AND WE-- [laughter]

WE ACTUALLY HAD CARDS PRINTED.

AND HIS WIFE--

MY BOSS' WIFE, NOT THE--

BECAME A PROFESSOR AT STANFORD LAW SCHOOL.

SO WE MOVED THE FIRM OUT HERE.

AND SO I WAS NOW BASED OUT HERE

IN PALO ALTO AND THEN MOVED TO MOUNTAIN VIEW.

AND THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENED

IS WORD GOT AROUND IN THE FAMILY THAT FREE TUTORING WAS GOING ON.

[laughter]

SO I WAS WORKING EVERY DAY AFTER WORK

WITH ABOUT 10 OR 15 COUSINS, FAMILY FRIENDS

ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

AND TO HELP SCALE THAT UP A LITTLE BIT,

YOU KNOW, I WAS WORKING WITH--

EVEN WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH NADIA, BUT THEN ESPECIALLY

AS I STARTED WORKING WITH MORE AND MORE COUSINS,

I SAW THAT EVEN THE ONES THAT WERE PRETTY GOOD STUDENTS,

THEY ALL HAD GAPS IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE.

AND I WANTED THEM TO BE ABLE TO PRACTICE MORE,

AND FOR ME, AS THEIR TUTOR, TO SEE WHAT THEY KNEW

AND WHAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW,

SO I STARTED WRITING A LITTLE-- A QUIZZING PIECE OF SOFTWARE,

A WEB-BASED THING THAT WOULD GENERATE PROBLEMS FOR THEM.

AS THEY MASTERED ONE CONCEPT,

IT WOULD MOVE THEM ON TO THE NEXT ONE.

AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE GENESIS OF KHAN ACADEMY.

IT WAS LITERALLY-- I REMEMBER THE DAY,

I WAS LIKE, "OH, WHAT DO I CALL THIS THING?"

AND I LOOKED FOR, LIKE, FIVE OR SIX DOMAIN NAMES.

COULDN'T--AND ALL OF THEM WERE TAKEN.

I'M LIKE, "WHAT ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY?"

AND IT WAS AVAILABLE.

AND--BUT AT THAT TIME, IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH VIDEOS.

BUT THEN YOU FAST-FORWARD TO FALL OF 2006,

I WAS AT A DINNER PARTY RIGHT HERE IN SAN MATEO,

AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS SHOWING THIS SOFTWARE OFF

TO A BUNCH OF MY FRIENDS.

AND THEY ALL KNEW I HAD THIS CRAZY PROJECT

WITH MY COUSINS.

AND THE HOST, I GIVE HIM FULL CREDIT,

ZULI RAMZAN,

HE SAYS, "WELL, YOU KNOW, SAL, THIS IS COOL AND EVERYTHING,