Adopting insights from Kahn Academy

This year our school has charged the faculty to try experimenting with some new educational techniques proposed by Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy. With the help of online video, he has "flipped" the instructional / homework model upside down where students are given instruction at home via youtube video and then they do their homework in class with the help of the teacher. See the TED video:

So now that we're studying Shakespeare, I thought I would produce a short video on iambic pentameter ... a subject I teach every year with a fair degree of success. Here's my attempt:
I didn't expect thousands of students and teachers around the country would use it to help them learn this topic. Things I learned from the comments posted on this video:
  • I sound like William Shatner, Mark Zuckerberg, or George Watsky
  • These kinds of videos work for some students, not others--more evidence for differentiated learning.