* Salman Khan uses Internet to reinvent education

Even in the Big Apple, there are some who put people above profit. Salman Khan, a Bangladeshi-American and former hedge fund analyst, is one. In 2004, Khan, an alumni of MIT and Harvard, started Khan Academy, a free online platform with home-made video tutorials in maths and science. This sparked a revolution in education in the US with even Bill Gates, who calls Khan a "pioneer", using the videos to teach his children. Indian students, too, have used his videos to untangle IIT JEE problems.



Khan began these informal tutorials to teach maths to a cousin. He first used just a Yahoo Doodle notepad for scribbling equations over which he recorded his explanations. These easy-to-understand, conversational videos were uploaded on YouTube and quickly became an internet rage. Soon, students were writing in asking for more tutorials on topics like calculus and trigonometry. Adults who need refresher lessons in maths followed suit.

For Khan, this is a kind of catharsis. He says, "I had worked in companies where no one told me they found my work useful. That is when I thought that this could be something I could do full-time." The turning point came in 2009 when traffic to his website became impossible to ignore. He quit his job to work on his tutorials full time, carving out office space in his walk-in closet. And the Khan Academy was born.

Since then, he has worked hard to build an extensive library of more than 3,000 video tutorials, over 240 exercises and a data-rich interactive dashboard platform for teachers and students. Big names began taking notice. Gates mentioned him at the Aspen Ideas Fest and gave him $5m. Another $2m came from Google.

In November, the website recorded 3.7m visitors and 42m page views. Khan's approach is a radical shift in education. He has 'flipped' the classroom model by allowing students to watch the video at home and doing exercises in the class, effectively overturning the idea of 'homework.' Students then tutor their peers as do teachers. Another innovation is helping teachers use performance data to precisely assess students' understanding of topics.

Khan says, "I imagine the school of the future being one, two or three classrooms with mixed age groups working at their own pace, tutoring each other and with teachers mentoring them." He insists this is not radical. "In real life, that is how people learn. The teachers and students are on the same side, not on different sides of the equation."

However, critics say he does not have any teaching credentials and that his chatty videos may undermine a teacher's expertise. "That's like me telling Bill Gates he shouldn't do business because he doesn't have an MBA," says Khan. "Our primary goal is to create resources that make education more engaging."

He also has gurus on art, finance and medicine and art talking about the subjects they love. Topics discussed are as diverse as the French Revolution and the economics of a cupcake factory.

All this content is free. "Every day I feel better about it. For one, we wouldn't have got the traction and the goodwill if we were running for profit. Today, it's clear to everyone what the intention is - not to get rich but teach your child. And that's why we have support," says Khan. "I am happy because I make a living out of my life's passion."

Of course, sharing the same name as the Bollywood superstar has its advantages. He says tonguein-cheek, "Frankly I wouldn't underestimate how many young South Asian girls did a web search for 'Salman Khan' and inadvertently ended up learning maths."