As the founder of Khan Academy, American educator and mathematician Salman Khan started his life in Louisiana where he lived and attended public schools before graduating as the valedictorian of his high school. Khan attended the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received a bachelor’s degree in math and a master’s degree in computer science. Armed with his degrees and an excellent work ethic, he then set out to work as a hedge fund analyst.
It wasn’t until his cousin needed help in mathematics that Khan realized that there was a massive need for high quality, free educational materials online. By the time he quit his day job, his YouTube channel had passed the million views mark and Khan was determined to turn his newfound hobby into his full-time occupation by creating the Khan Academy website. Khan Academy is an online learning platform built on top of a YouTube channel. The channel has over 5 million subscribers and over 7 thousand videos. Students go to Khan Academy with a topic that they want to work on, watch a series of video tutorials, and finally do curated exercises to reinforce their learning and reevaluate their level.
Today, Khan is the executive director of Khan Academy and is working on his latest project, the Khan Lab School. The Khan Lab School is a brick and mortar school where students receive a conventional education, while also spending time practicing on Khan Academy to supplement their education.
Sources:
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-07-16-sal-khan-test-prep-is-the-last-thing-we-want-to-be