The Khan Academy and Learning Styles

Khan Academy is an educational website. Its tagline promises to help you “learn almost anything—for free.” You can choose from over 2,400 videos explaining the principles of maths, science, and economics. Between 7 and 14 minutes long, the videos consist of a voice-over by the website's creator, Salman Khan. All you see is hand-scribbled formulas and diagrams as they appear on your screen. There are no fancy graphics and the videos are not interactive.

And yet, many teachers and homeschooling parents turn to the Khan Academy videos to aid with homework and exam preparation. The advantages, they say, are that the students can move at their own pace and rewind the bits they get stuck on.

The disadvantages lie in the students' learning styles.

Not everybody is suited to learning optimally through an online course. Kinesthetic learners who enjoy working in a group are better off in a face-to-face interactive workshop.

However, if you have a preference in 4 or more of the following, e-learning is for you:

• visual (reading)
• visual (watching)
• tactile
• learning alone
• stationary
• internal motivation.

Are you a good candidate for E-Learning? Find out.