The Communications department at Saint Joe’s is expanding with each semester. I have never taken a boring class, or seen a class title that I didn’t want to learn more about. No one outside of us Comm majors can even begin to understand our fascination with the subject. I’ll often find myself using the phrase “that’s so comm” when talking to other students. But what does that even mean? Creative. Innovative. Open-ended. Thought-provoking. These are just a few adjectives that can be used in a description of everything involved in my experience as a Communications major.

I try and fail every time someone asks me what exactly I learn in my classes because I can’t even scratch the surface in the time their attention span allows. Not to mention the person asking most likely couldn’t care less about my thoughts on net neutrality, the key commands I use for InDesign, or the HTML and CSS tags I’m struggling with. From different types of writing skills, photo and video editing, web and graphic design, presentation skills, and knowledge of technology — the education of a Communications major encourages students to take on many roles in the working world. In my three years of courses, I have focused on the marketing and journalism aspects of Communications Studies — content creation and design, branding, social media, and different styles of writing.

I am fascinated by what interests people. One blog post, tweet, or Instagram photo may be funny or inspiring to one person, but dull or meaningless to another. I started my freshman year thinking I would become a Psychology major for the same reason I am now a Communications major — I love to analyze people’s interests and opinions as well as the thought processes that got them there. Observing and practicing the use of social media contributes to these “analyses” of mine and has showed me that while it’s constantly used to call for action, the immediate responses from seemingly interested users rarely goes past an initial post, comment, or hashtag.

Whether you’re trying to sell a product, or promoting a cause that can save the world, social media has become an extremely powerful mode of advertisement. While I have learned about the potential of social media and its power to send messages, I cannot advocate for its ability to facilitate change as a standalone force. Civic media is centered on the reality that social change can now rely on social media to gain awareness, but it usually stops there. Movements and advertising that create a “call for action” and/or reflection require more than online posting. Social media is powerful, but passive. Caitlin Dewey, reporter for the Washington Post, writes about this in reference to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

That being said, I believe Facebook is more than a random friend’s political status you don’t care about. Twitter is more than an annoying girl subtweeting about her frenemy. Instagram is more than pictures of adorable dogs and delicious food. When used correctly, these platforms can give an individual or an organization so much information about what interests the majority of their audience and how to use that knowledge to be influential.

I experience this on a small scale as I have managed the social media platforms for every organization I’ve been a part of at Saint Joe’s. I was also a member of the Beautiful Social team that consulted the non-profit Project Home on how to market the programs they offer to people experiencing poverty in Philadelphia. I know what is important to different audiences and how to customize content for different platforms. Managing social media goes beyond sharing links, and coming up with “click-bait” captions. A successful post relies on many things including timing, content creation requiring graphic design, influential writing, and knowing exactly what your audience wants to see. I constantly bore my friends with my excitement when I see that more people than usual are clicking on the bit.ly link I posted, or when I finally get InDesign to do exactly what I want — but I can always find a fellow Communications major to share my excitement with.

With graduation approaching in the spring, I’m currently filling out job applications and so thankful for the diverse skill-set I’ve gained from my education and internship experiences. Each Communications class is both a group experience, and a personal experience. The individuals in every class have different strengths to contribute to the group, and skills they come into the classroom wanting to improve. I believe a degree in Communications is what you make it, and there are endless possibilities for that.

Elias Weiss Friedman lives my dream life.

I recently had the pleasure of talking to Elias Weiss Friedman, founder of The Dogist. The Dogist is a photo-based documentary based in New York City and has traveled all over the world fulfilling its mission to tell the stories of dogs everywhere.

“I started taking portraits of dogs and realized this was a thing to itself…I had that entrepreneurial epiphany — no one’s really doing this and this could be a great thing,” Friedman said. “I love to do it.”

Elias approaches owners walking in the city and photographs their dogs. He posts the pictures on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with captions including each dog’s breed, name, age, city, and an anecdote about the them. That means his job requires him to travel the world to meet dogs every day and take stunning photos to share — my dream lifestyle.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” he said. “I love this feeling that I can create something of my own.”

The Dogists’ posts on my newsfeeds absolutely make my day. Elias’ photos are beautiful and captivating. He has an ability to entertain and move viewers. As a dog lover, I admire his efforts to help shelter dogs get the extra attention they need. He does this with his “Give a Dog a Bone”program. People can purchase a bone that Elias will personally deliver to a dog in a shelter. He posts a photo of the dog to The Dogist with the idea that the image will catch the attention of his followers and increase chances of adoption.

“The overall mission of the project is to tell the story of dogs,” he said. “‘Give a Dog a Bone’ program allows people to sponsor adoptable dogs. . .a portion goes back to the shelter. Every dog that I’ve posted has been adopted.”

Elias’ book, The Dogist: Photographic Encounters with 1,000 Dogs, is available to order online. The book is a collection of The Dogist’s portraits with sections including “Puppies, Cones of Shame, Working Dogs, and Dogs in Fancy Outfits.” Elias is visiting cities all across the country on his book tour — on October 24th, he’ll be in Radnor, PA about 20 minutes away from Saint Joe’s campus!

The project can be followed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The Dogist’s website informs readers about how to donate to the project and why it’s important.

If you’re a dog lover, you want to follow The Dogist. Trust me.

Image credit: The Dogist

When picturing a music box, most people imagine a shiny or decorative box sitting on a little girl’s dresser. Tiny dancers may be twirling around to clunky music that lasts just a minute or so. Music boxes come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Each plays its own unique sound, the tempo gradually changing from fast to slow until it has to be rewound. A music box tells a story through a chiming melody. It sits silently in its place until the next time someone is interested in hearing it. My music box has its own story to tell about a Russian grand duchess named Anastasia and the Romanov dynasty.

The Romanovs

The Romanov dynasty ruled over Russia from 1613 until the start of the Russian Revolution in 1917. Tsar Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia, and the father of the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anastasia was one of five children; she had three older sisters and one younger brother. She was known for her sense of humor and fun personality. Anastasia grew up during a time of political change in Russia. By the time she was 16, the people of Russia began a revolution fighting against rule of a tsar. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to give up the throne and move his family into exile in Siberia as a result of the rioting.

After Tsar Nicholas II was exiled, the Bolsheviks took over the Russian government and imprisoned the Romanov family in the Ural Mountains in 1918. Soon after they were imprisoned, Bolshevik guards executed the family. Anastasia and her brother, Alexei, were rumored to have escaped the execution, but no one knew details about their whereabouts.

Over the next few years, many women claimed to be Anastasia; all of them were proved wrong. All except one, that is. Anna Anderson convinced even some of Anastasia’s surviving relatives that she was the real Grand Duchess. It was not until 1993, nine years after Anna’s death, that scientist discovered through DNA tests that Anna was not the real Anastasia. The true fate of Anastasia and Alexei is still a mystery today.

Anastasia (1997 Film)

The 1997 animated film by 20th Century Fox, Anastasia, is based on the execution of the Romanov family. It is not true to the real story of the Romanov execution and the Russian revolution. It is a fictional version of these events that is focused more on the legend of Anastasia’s disappearance than the actual history.

The movie begins with Tsar Nicholas II hosting a ball at the Catherine Palace in honor of the Romanov tercentennial in 1916. His mother, Marie, travels from Paris to attend the ball and gives Anastasia a necklace that inscribed with the words “Together In Paris”. This necklace is the key to a music box and symbolizes that their family bond remains strong in spite of the distance between them. The ball is suddenly interrupted by the villain, Rasputin, who was previously banished by the tsar. Rasputin places a curse on the Romanov family in retaliation of his exile. He takes over the palace and the Romanov family is never heard from again, the only survivors being Marie and Anastasia who receive help from a young servant named Dimitri. Dimitri leads them to a passageway that brings them out of the castle and into safety. Marie and Anastasia come across a moving train to board and escape from the start of the Russian revolution, but only Marie is able to make it aboard.

Anastasia grows up in an orphanage and the memory of her past is completely erased. She begins to use the name “Anya” and loses all sense of her true identity. After 10 years in the orphanage she decides to look for her family that she believes is in Paris. The only clue that she has is the necklace that she received as a gift from her grandmother 10 years prior, whom she does not remember. Meanwhile, her grandmother is also in search of her. Marie announces that she is offering money to anyone who can bring Anastasia to Paris safely.

On her way to find her family, Anya stops in St. Petersburg to find a train runs into Paris. While she is there, she explores an abandoned palace that was once her home. Still unaware of her real identity, Anya runs into the former servant that saved her, Dimitiri, who is trying to find a woman that closely resembles the real Anastasia to bring to Marie. Dimitri and Anya do not have any recollection of each other, and therefore do not realize that Dimitri was the boy that saved Anya and her grandmother from the siege of the palace. Dimitri is now a conman that is only interested in making money and notices Anya’s striking resemblance to the childhood portrait of Anastasia still hanging in the palace. After much convincing, Dimitiri takes Anya to Paris to present her to Marie. Anya only agrees to go when Dimitri offers her a free train ticket to the location she was already planning on traveling to.

Many conmen had already brought imposters to Marie, only in search of the large sum of money she was offering. When Marie meets Anya, she is extremely skeptical and is reluctant to believe that this girl is different from all of the other women pretending to be her granddaughter. But once Marie, Anya, and Dimitri spend more time together, memories of the ball in Catherine Palace come flooding back. Dimitri is sure of Anya’s true identity and presents the music box that Marie gave Anastasia as a gift on that same night. He gained possession of the music box after he found it abandoned in the palace during the siege. This was the final proof needed to convince Marie that Anya is truly her granddaughter, Anastasia.

This film was released four years after scientists discovered Anna Anderson was not the grand duchess Anastasia, but just another imposter. Anya’s character could be interpreted as a representation of Anna, the difference being that the movie ends with the viewer understanding that Anya is a true Romanov. The film touches on the truth that many women became Anastasia imposters and tried to fool the remaining Romanov relatives. The movie does not portray the true cause and result of the Russian revolution, but tells a dramatized story of the mystery of Anastasia’s survival.

Nicholas & Alexandra Anastasia Music Box

The Nicholas & Alexandra Anastasia music box is a beautiful replica of the music box in the animated film and plays the song “Once Upon a December” which Anya sings when she is trying to recall her past. There are two figures that twirl around to the tune every time the box is wound up, and they are supposed to represent Anastasia’s mother and father, Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra. This music box is a collector’s item made by the San Francisco Music Box Company. The music box does not come with the matching necklace that is Marie gives Anya in the movie.

The outside of the music box is decorated with faux pearls and gold paint. There are dark green floral details that surround the base and top of the box. When the box is opened, the top of the inside contains a very detailed painting of a white emperor swan enclosed by a glass cover and surrounded by a gold border. Black velvet covers the inside of the base where a spring holds the dancing figures.

How It’s Made

The Anastasia music box is an 18-note, hand-wound music box. Music boxes contain a musical comb that is tuned to play notes by adjusting the length of each tooth. Short teeth produce high notes and long teeth produce low notes. This metal comb is attached to a metal block holding a cylinder with tiny knobs that pluck each tooth when the handle is wound. A motor containing a coiled spring creates mechanical energy which allows the cylinder to continue moving after it has been wound.

Music boxes are timeless objects. It was first made in Switzerland in the 19th century and quickly spread to other parts of the world. They were originally items that were too expensive for a family home to afford. It has since been tweaked and modified to produce many different models and sizes.

There are many different types of music boxes. There can be up to 72 notes and they can include bells in addition to the tuned music comb. There are also digital music boxes, but these do not produce the same classic sound as the standard type. A music box can be as small as a pocket watch or as large as a grandfather clock and they range vastly in price.

My Music Box

I found the Nicholas & Alexandra Anastasia Music Box while I was browsing a thrift store in Philadelphia. I immediately recognized what it was and the story behind it since I watched the animated film many times growing up. I always admired the music in the film and the beauty of the box itself. Finding this trinket box inspired me to look into the history behind the movie and learn more about figures dancing to the tune. The story of the Romanov family execution is haunting and mysterious. Knowing this makes me view this music box as an enchanting object.

The music box now sits on my dresser and reminds me of not only of the animated film, but also of the legend and history that inspired it. To some this music box may be just a collector’s item, but it is so much more. It represents the fall of a dynasty, the start of a revolution, and a mystery that will most likely never be solved.

Sources

Anastasia (1997 Film)

Anastasia Music Box — Review

Images courtesy of Creative Commons

Music Box — How Does It Work?

Russia: A Primary Source Cultural Guide by Suzanne J. Murdico

The Age of the Music Box by John A. Pfirrmann

The Execution of Tsar Nicholas II, 1918 Primary source account by Pavel Medvedev

Just in the past few years, social media has become one of the primary mediums of advertising. That being said, these sites are not centered around advertising, but the conversations and relationships that evolve from posting. It is imperative to understand how to use the different platforms and all of their functions if you are trying to promote the good, hard work a non-profit organization does. The most popular social media sites that organizations use are Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest. An organization must come up with original and engaging content to post on each of sites to encourage the user to share the information. Each of these mediums is different, so an organization cannot post the same content across all five of them.

Social Media is the best way to personally interact with a customer or potential donors. It promotes sharing and conversation about posts. In modern times, a person’s first interaction or introduction to certain non profit organizations are likely to come across one of their social media page. By utilizing these platforms in the right way, you can set up a brand design and reputation. How your pages are run is a direct reflection of your organization, so it is extremely important to use them accurately.

Twitter -

Twitter consists of short, 140-character posts called “tweets”. There are over 284 million users and 500 million tweets sent out per day. It is a largely mobile site.

DO:

• Keep your posts short. Short tweets are more likely to be read. Tweet around 100 characters or less to leave room for commentary.
• Retweet and favorite! This shows engagement with your followers and other organizations.
• Tag users that you want to mention in a tweet using the “@” symbol
• Use hashtags appropriately. A tweet using two hashtags will get up to 20% higher engagement. If a trending hashtag relates to your organization, use it
• Encourage users to use a hashtag specific to your organization with a contest, question, or conversation topic to post about.
• Post questions in tweets to encourage response
• Tweet in the afternoon. Users are more likely to see posts put up in the afternoon because mornings are reserved for working.
• Post pictures! It is very important to give followers a visual
• If you are tweeting a link, put the link in first and compose your tweet around it because links take up a lot of characters. You want to compose a message that fits around the link.
• Join other conversations. Look for people who are talking about subjects pertaining to your organization and let them know what you think!
• Present it in a way that you are talking about your organization WITH them and not talking AT them. When promoting your organization, no one wants to read a typical sales pitch.
• Tweet what you know. Provide the Twitter world with the best, most accurate information about what your organization stands for and don’t stray to material that you’re not involved in. This will cause your following to see your account as influential.
• Use platforms like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite. These applications allow you to manage multiple twitter accounts as well as view all of the activity happening across the accounts. You can also use these programs to schedule when tweets are posted ahead of time.
• Say hello and give shout outs to your loyal followers!
• Use your twitter to tell your followers to also follow your organization on other social media accounts and vice versa.

DON’T:

• Promote only yourself. This is why retweeting is important — by promoting your followers and other organizations, you will create personal and business relationships.
• Use too many hashtags. Hashtagging every word is obnoxious. Make sure to have content in your tweet besides a hashtag in order to explain its meaning and purpose.
• Think too much about what you’re writing or about to post.
• Follow randomly. Make sure you know your following. While random follow backs will get your “followers” number up, they are not necessarily people who will benefit the conversation of your Twitter feed.

Instagram -

Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform with over 300 million users (more than Twitter) and over 70 million photos and videos posted a day. Considering Instagram is a newer platform, not as many organizations are using it. With its incredible growth rate, it is definitely a medium to consider.

DO:

• Use words, tones, and feelings that followers should associate with your organization. This will enhance the viewing experience.
• Generate a content theme for the account. This ensures consistency with room for diversity in posts.
• Post photos and videos of behind-the-scenes moments in your organization. These candid moments are what sells the organization more than a standard promotional message.
• Post about your organization or product in action.
• Utilize the filters to enhance images.
• Keep captions short — use hashtags and ask questions to engage
• Use the location feature to tag the location of the photo or video. This helps tell the story of the post.
• Tag users in posts.
• Target the best time of day when most of your users are looking at Instagram. Post photos and videos during this time.
• Use your instagram to tell your followers to also follow your organization on other social media accounts and vice versa.
• Encourage users to post photos and videos with a hashtag or tag relating to your organization

DON’T

• Post too many times in a day. It is recommended for organizations to post between 1–3 times a day.
• Overdo use of filters and other photo editing features.
• Leave an account inactive. You will lose followers and interest.

Facebook-

Facebook is the largest social media platform with over 1.35 billion users with 4.75 billion content pieces shared daily. Marketers report that Facebook usage is critical to their business. Non-profit organizations should have a Facebook profile to create a name and face for their organization.

DO:

• Vary the type of posts. Facebook users want to engage with the human behind the post.
• Provide a good description of your organization.
• Know the best time to post. The highest traffic time on Facebook is weekday afternoons, but make sure to not generalize your following and keep track of your specific traffic time.
• Know your audience. This will help you build a community and engage better.
• Address complaints to show that you’re listening.
• Remove inappropriate content including offensive language and harassment.
• Build credibility. This means checking grammar and spelling as well as fact checking.
• Remain conversational, professional, and approachable
• Highlight important posts on your timeline.
• Favorite other organizations similar to yours or those that promote good causes.
• Share news stories relating to your page.

DON’T

• Post too many times in a day.
• Spam your followers.

Tumblr -

Tumblr is a site where users create their own blog. Tumblr users are largely between the ages 18–24. More than half of the users are female. ¾ of the users identify as caucasian. This is a very specific target audience, unlike larger platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

DO:

• Know your audience. Cater your posts to the specific type of user that Tumblr attracts.
• Follow other blogs that are similar to your own.
• Reblog posts! This shows that you value the content of other blogs and helps to build relationships on the site.
• Post images and gifs. Tumblr is largely made of these types of posts.
• Schedule posts to remain active. Inactive blogs will lose followers.
• Keep content separate from other social media platforms.

DON’T

• Post large amounts of text. Tumblr users will scroll past these types of posts.
• Flood the news feed.

Pinterest -

Pinterest is a platform where users create collections containing image bookmarks called “boards”. It is used for promotion, sharing, and discovering. Women make up 80% of Pinterest users and 92% of content posted on the site.

DO:

• Know your audience.
• Know when to “pin”. The pinning time increase throughout the day, with a spike in the evening.
• Organize pins by category using boards.
• Engage with other pinners by pinning their content onto your own profile, “repin”
• Make sure to use an eye-catching image and include a good description when creating a pin.
• Add a “pin it” button to your organization’s website so others can get the word out about your organization.
• Promote your Pinterest page on your other social media accounts.
• Highlight your most popular pins
• Know the most popular pinning categories: Holidays, Art, Travel, Home Decor, Products, Animals, Health & Fitness, to name a few

Use social media to the best of your ability be knowing your audience, knowing what to post, and knowing when to post. Engage with your followers and encourage them to start a conversation with you as well. Social media posts are a chance to be creative and show how your organization is relatable. Promote your platforms on your organization’s website as well as using one social media page to bring traffic to another. Remain conversational, professional, and approachable and your social media presence will benefit your organization.

The Khan Academy is a social movement that has left an impact on the way students learn and how material across a variety of subjects is presented. It is considered the largest school in the world as it is a free resource of knowledge containing an extensive library of tutorial content. The idea took off from what started out as tutoring sessions with the founder, Salman Khan, for his cousin who was struggling in math. Their other relatives quickly realized how beneficial and affective his online teaching methods were which prompted Salman to upload tutorials on YouTube for his family and eventually the general public to use. These videos attracted so much attention, traffic, and appreciation that Salman found reason to quit his job in order to start what is now known as The Khan Academy.

Clive Thompson wrote an article for WIRED Digital magazine on July 15, 2011 titled “How The Khan Academy is Changing the Rules of Education” describing how the online school came about. Salman Khan graduated from MIT with a BS in math as well as a BS and MS in computer science. After graduating from MIT, he attended Harvard Business School. When he completed his schooling, Khan went on to work for Wohl Capital: “a hedge fund where he researched companies to find solid investments” (Thompson, Wired Digital). Khan’s natural ability to teach was recognized in the professional atmosphere while he was working for Dan Wohl, who stated: “I’d come back to the office. . .and giant math equations were scrawled across the board. Khan was training the junior staff in the nuances of finance. . . he had this natural gift and a really selfless approach” (Thompson, Wired Digital). This approach is what his cousin, Nadia, recognized but she also encouraged him to create videos that can be viewed as many times as necessary for a student to grasp a concept. Khan quickly realized how the power of video tutorials. The key concepts he found most effective were privacy while learning and mastery of a concept. He knew that if a student could learn at their own pace without an authority figure watching over them, they would be more willing to go over a concept multiple times and more comfortable, Thompson writes: “he was implementing ‘mastery-based learning’— requiring students to prove they’ve conquered material before advancing”.

The Khan Academy started as a simple idea and has exploded in recent years servicing millions of users. It was officially started in 2009, when Khan quit his job at Wohl Capital in order to focus on building The Khan Academy as a non profit organization. He received a starting donation from Ann Doerr, the wife of John Doerr who is a Silicon Valley investor. From there, the organization has taken off and is used by students, teachers, classrooms, and universities. Khan’s starting goal was to simply educate and reach as many people as possible through his videos. It has grown into a greater goal of creating a community focused on learning and success. The Khan Academy has been successful by continuing to improve upon those goals of education and community by promoting their mission of a “global classroom”, encouraging use of the site for both individual group learning, and calling for the help of all users across social media to work together to spread the word about this free knowledge source.

On The Khan Academy’s website, there is a section in their mission statement titled “A global classroom”. This describes the community of learning and the ability to share success stories with other users. In this category of the mission statement, there is a link leading to where people can read and share their experiences. Most of the posts describe how individuals have utilized The Khan Academy videos to improve their skills in math concepts. The online school started with math tutorials and specializes in this area due to Khan’s education and degree in math. People of all ages and needs for tutoring write posts praising The Khan Academy and thanking Salman for his generous work. The Khan Academy builds this movement beyond posting educational videos, it inspires people to share their experiences and spread the word.

In addition to individuals who are pursuing their personal academic goals, the innovative technique of The Khan Academy has been used by teachers in classrooms and promoted by universities. In December 2011, an article titled “Grading the Digital School: Online Learning, Personalized” by Somini Sengupta was published on the New York Times website. This article describes a sort of collective action among teachers who want to test out this new way of learning in the classroom. Sengupta writes about how Jesse Roe’s ninth grade math classroom in San Jose, California incorporates the use of The Khan Academy into the curriculum. Mr. Roe is not the only teacher who has found this method effective, as Sengupta writes: “This semester, at least 36 schools nationwide are trying out Mr. Khan’s experiment: splitting up the work of teaching between man and machine, and combining teacher-led lessons with computer-based lectures and exercises”. The difference between a teacher-led environment and Khan’s tutorials is the lurking presence of an authority figure. Khan himself never appears in his tutorials.

The only visual onscreen is his handwriting as he writes out equations and other information. He considers it a less intimidating, and therefore more effective way of learning. In addition to this, he describes concepts in a non-threatening tone, as Sengupta describes: “The viewer hears Mr. Khan talking, in his typically chatty, older brother sort of way. But his face is never seen, just his scribbles on the screen”. Teachers who have used The Khan Academy as a supplement in their classrooms recognize that a combination of teaching and learning styles seems to be beneficial. Educators are aware that when they lecture in a classroom, they can only reach a certain percentage of the class, usually the top percentage which includes the students that learn most quickly. With the aid of a supplement that allows students to personalize which lessons they need the most help with and master these lessons at their own pace, there is the potential for the class as a whole to gain more from the subject matter.

Schools can use The Khan Academy both in class and outside of class. Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida posted links to the website in their “Student Services and Enrollment Management” section. They encourage students to use The Khan Academy in order to prepare for math placement testing—specifically Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. In this circumstance, the online school is being used as a supplement to the knowledge an applicant is expected to already have in order to enroll in these particular math classes. HCC highlights the fact that the learning material is free and helpful for the particular math concepts the potential students needs to grasp.

The Khan Academy differs from other online learning tools in that it is free for all users, more personal to each individuals needs, and built on the concept of mastery. In order for the non profit organization to stay free for its users, it relies on donations from the users, but mainly from influential organizations and individuals as Sengupta writes: “Mr. Khan’s small team is subsidized by more than $16.5 million from technology donors, including Bill Gates, Google, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the O’Sullivan Foundation”.

Currently, when a user visits the site, they are greeted with a request for a donation that will be matched dollar for dollar by one of their supporters. The Khan Academy is fortunate to have multiple, powerful philanthropists that not only donate money to keep the school running, but also speak publicly about its influence.

The success of The Khan Academy has caused users to refer to Salman Khan as “the world’s teacher” and the “Messiah of Math”. It has become a global resource used by about six million users per month. The Forbes article, “One Man, One Computer, 10 Million Students: How Khan Academy Is Reinventing Education” by Michael Noer includes details about how the school has reached users around the globe:

“Over the past two years (as of November 19, 2012) Khan Academy videos have been viewed more than 200 million times. The site is used by 6 million unique students each month (about 45 million total over the last 12 months), who have collectively solved more than 750 million problems (about 2 million a day), and the material, which is provided at no cost, is (formally or informally) part of the curriculum in 20,000 classrooms around the world. Volunteers have translated Khan’s videos into 24 different languages, including Urdu, Swahili and Chinese.”

Each user, located in different countries around the world, is a part of The Khan Academy global community. Whether it is formed by using the site, sharing experiences, or even helping Khan spread the word about the school, the main purpose of the organization is to serve this community and its needs for free:

“The Khan Academy, which features 3,400 short instructional videos along with interactive quizzes and tools for teachers to chart student progress, is a nonprofit, boasting a mission of ‘a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.’ There is no employee equity; there will be no IPO; funding comes from philanthropists, not venture capitalists” (Noer, Forbes)

Khan believes that anyone who is seeking knowledge should be able to have access to it. He has made this possible with the online school by not only providing lessons, but also motivation to learn new skills, or better skills you already possess.

Salman Khan wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal titled “Turning the Classroom Upside Down: Why not have lectures at home and ‘homework’ at school — and let students learn at their own pace?” published on April 9, 2011. In this article he describes how The Khan Academy started from family tutoring and is now a globally recognized non profit organization with multiple supporters and a “die-hard user base”. He specifically writes about the teachers included in this user base and the program he initially started in Los Altos, California public schools: “to help teachers customize their instruction. . .we created a dashboard of robust data for them to follow, linked to their students’ online exercises. . .The overall effect has been to create a more collaborative classroom culture”. This program helped Khan and his six-person team make conclusions and discoveries based on how beneficial the video tutorials actually are in a classroom setting. They were able to to collect data concerning learning pace, learning efficiency, and how a step-by-step mastery program is advantageous to the learning process:

“our data shows. . .given the time and personal instruction needed to master core topics, supposedly ‘slower’ students are often able to speed ahead. . . To us, the conclusion is obvious: Students simply do better when schools show respect for their natural curiosity and intelligence and give them a chance to achieve an intuitive understanding of fundamental concepts”.

The main goal of The Khan Academy incorporated into classroom learning is to close the learning gap and what Khan refers to as “Swiss cheese education — full of holes”. Khan gives students an opportunity to catch up if they are behind, and to enhance their knowledge in preparation for the next level of classes.

In the earlier stages of The Khan Academy, Sal would reach out to users on The Khan Academy on Facebook page asking them to speak on behalf of the school.

Users comment with positive feedback about how they are happy and “proud” to help Sal bring more attention to his non profit organization because of how much his videos have helped them personally. The Khan Academy became a social movement because of the millions of supportive users that envision the site as education of the future, and believe that the rest of the world should support this idea too. It is a tool that enhances traditional education, not replaces it.

Now on Twitter, Khan Academy users tweet using the hashtag #YouCanLearnAnything, which has become a slogan for the online school. This hashtag evolved from a video The Khan Academy posted on YouTube in August 2014 called “You Can Learn Anything” centered around the idea of “whoever you are, wherever you are, you only have to know one thing: you can learn anything”. The @khanacademy Twitter account has been rewteeting users and organizations who use this hashtag to spread awareness of the power of knowledge, and encourage everyone to use every resource they have to build any skill they desire. Whether you have an academic, artistic, athletic, or professional goal, The Khan Academy promotes interest in self education. While the online school only offers help in academic areas, they believe that all education and hard work is important. Its users and followers share this belief and see the results of their determination when they use the videos. A Khan Academy student is not only taught math, science, or arts and humanities skills, they are taught the power of knowledge itself.

The Khan Academy is truly a revolution for learning and teaching. It is a way to combine the strengths of traditional education and the new digital age so that students can have the option to supplement their learning. It seems to be most beneficial for students who are studying for exams and want to fill the gap of concepts they may have missed during class time, or people who want to gain more knowledge of a particular subject for their own benefit. Khan’s strong and supportive user base has turned into community revolved around sharing knowledge and using The Khan Academy to its full potential. This social movement indicates a view of education of the future that continues to evolve and meet specific academic needs that cannot be achieved in a classroom alone.