Ed tech folks will be very interested in this thought provoking Chronicle article: A Self-Appointed Teacher Runs a One-Man ‘Academy’ on YouTube
A few highlights:
The most popular educator on YouTube does not have a Ph.D. He has never taught at a college or university. And he delivers all of his lectures from a bedroom closet.
… occasional mistakes are part of his method. By watching him stumble through a problem, students see the process better, he argues. Sometimes they correct him in comments on his YouTube videos, and he says this makes students more engaged with the material.
Over all, he said, he’s collected about $150,000 in donations and makes $2,000 a month from ads on his Web site.
I would still argue that, while inquiry based learning has a place in education, there’s still a number of things gained from a traditional classroom education (especially for the average bear).