The Khan Academy, which started as a way for Sal Khan
to help his cousin do math homework, has blossomed into nearly 3,600 teaching videos
that have been viewed more than 210 million time worldwide. Now, Khan is
expanding his reach with the creation of an iPhone app for viewing the
tutorials.
The new app will
not allow users to download videos for offline viewing on their phones, as is the case with the iPad app already in use.
However, the iPhone app will make it possible for busy students to watch the
lesson while on a bus or in a car.
“This might make the app seem undercooked—and in a way
it is—but it could actually be a smart move given the limited form factor,”
wrote Rip Empson in his TechCrunch blog.
“Stuffing the entire Khan Academy experience onto the iPhone’s screen would
likely diminish the experience of its visualization tools, interactive
transcriptions, and some of its better gamification and progress-tracking
features.”
With an Android app to surely follow, the strategy
should also expose a lot more potential learners to the Khan videos.
