One man without a PhD teaching 10-minute YouTube lectures. What could go wrong? 

Former financial analyst Salman Khan has found a growing following among college students with his homemade lecture videos. The low-tech lessons – originally made to tutor his faraway cousins – are gaining popularity for their concise teaching format.

Reasons for the popularity:

• They’re short:  At 10 minutes each, they’re easier to digest than traditional hour-long lectures.
• They’re free: Khan offers the videos for no fee, though viewers have been happy to donate via a PayPal link, and
• There’s a learning curve: Though he’s well-versed in math and engineering, his lectures on less familiar subjects like history and science have required him to take a few crash-courses himself, meaning he and his “students” learn together.

While critics say this learn-as-you-go approach is a poor substitute for a real college classroom, it does offer a counterpoint to the accepted “right” way to teach students. Khan’s 1,400 lectures are informal and encourage student interactions by challenging them to offer their corrections in comments.

Is Khan’s YouTube Academy the start of a paradigm shift or just an extra teaching tool? Sound off in the comments thread below.

Tags: Salman Khan Academy, YouTube videos