The Khan Academy YouTube channel is the most popular source for free online educational videos, beating out even MIT. Salman Khan, the man behind it all, is a self-appointed teacher who tries to “deliver things the way I wish they were delivered to me.” He has made over 1,400 videos so far, most of them consisting only of his voice and crude illustrations. He now has a non-profit organization, also called Khan Academy, that is devoted to “providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere.”

Read more about Mr. Khan at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Also, watch the short PBS feature on Mr. Khan below:

The Economist recently bestowed its annual Innovation Awards. 2008’s honorees, among others, are: Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales, Bill and Melinda Gates for their philanthropic work, and YouTube’s Steve Chen and Chad Hurley.