Salman Khan, renowned voice from the amazing library of 1,400+ online videos posted at the Khan Academy, speaks at GEL 2010. His talk focuses on how his accidental approach towards teaching online has struck a chord with students. While teachers are quick to say that classroom instructors can’t be substituted for by online videos, Sal wonders if that is really true. Among the many reasons discussed, perhaps the one that goes unsaid most often in classrooms is the intimidation factor. Peer pressure, eagerness to impress, and desire not waste others’ time can inhibit students from taking advantage of the benefits offered by personal attention. Several other factors Sal mentions that have led to success include him not appearing in the videos, keeping the video durations to 10 minutes, and the ability for students to pause, rewind, and jump around to topics in any order they desire.

Richard A. Muller, physics professor at Berkeley, talks about the importance of educating everyone about physics. While he reaches about 1000 students a year, over the past few years he has been reaching thousands more through his class’s online web cast and popular book. Muller stresses the importance for policy makers to have an understanding of physics and his course teaches principals in an entertaining way that everyone can relate to.

Ms Brown’s class, now among many others around the country are allowing students to stand up at their desks if students choose to. Ms. Brown, with the help of Sunway, a local ergonomic furniture maker, designed the desks (named AlphaBetter) two years ago and it has been spreading every since.

Innovation isn’t about just one form of work. It’s about every sort of business.
-Sir Ken Robinson