Sal Khan of The Khan Academy talking (via Skype) to 37signals at our learning theater yesterday:

It was an hourlong Q&A session. Some of the topics covered:

• How his videos are being used by schools and teachers
• How asynchronous learning is changing educational possibilities for the third world
• How his video format has helped him to be successful (e.g. not seeing his face helps viewers connect to his voice and the lesson)
• How he prepares for videos
• His priorities in teaching (e.g. getting people to develop intuition)
• How the YouTube video length constraint helped him create more digestible content compared to typical lecture lengths (10 minute clips actually match up nicely with typical attention spans)

A couple of interesting counterintuitive ideas: He mentioned that the more money people spend on videos, the worse those videos seem to get. Also, he thinks it makes more sense to have students watch lectures at home and do homework at school as opposed to vice versa.

Thanks Sal!

Related: Sal Khan and the Khan Academy to the rescue [Signal vs. Noise]

Some recent posts at the 37signals Product Blog:

Highrise
Migrating contacts from another CRM app into Highrise
Bill Kobrin recently migrated 5,922 contact records from another CRM app into Highrise. At Highrise Answers, he explains the step-by-step process he used to first export a .csv file and then import it into Highrise.

Inside Hospitality uses Highrise to help restaurants deliver a better guest experience
“Highrise is our daily life line and keeps everyone in the company on the same page. It lets everyone know instantly what was said last, to whom and what needs to happen next. We also love how all the company’s information as well as all contacts are all on the same page. Seriously, how could things be easier?”

Basecamp
TrackRecord is a simple time monitoring app for Mac OS X that interfaces directly with Basecamp
TrackRecord is a new time monitoring app for Mac OS X that integrates with Basecamp. Features include: idle time tracking, time filtering, timer log, collapsable project view, and drag-and-drop support.

Chicago Tribune article discusses how Basecamp and other software can make telecommuting easier for companies and employees
“A shift toward working from home” is a Chicago Tribune article that discusses how software can make telecommuting easier for companies and employees.

Video shows how to add To-Do List Templates in Basecamp
Andy Traub created a video that shows how to add To-Do List templates in Basecamp.

Gcamp offers a way to interface with Basecamp from your Google Apps Gmail interface
From the Google Apps Marketplace: Gcamp connects Google Apps Gmail and Basecamp to allow you to add a to-do item, to-do list, or post a message to Basecamp directly from an email message. It’s a free app.

GetResponse uses Basecamp to bring international teams closer together
“I’d say the to-do-lists, milestone and time-tracking features are the most mission critical for us though. As a leading email service provider, we need to deliver quality-tested, easy-to-use solutions on time. Basecamp gives us the ability to make our deadlines, knowing that everyone knows the role they play – that everyone plays − so we’re always on the same page. It really allows teamwork to happen.”

Article details how entrepreneurs use Basecamp and other tools to run an office-less business
“It’s very inexpensive and even the clients love it, because once the administrator has subscribed, any individual or business — clients, vendors, employees — can simply join in without a need of downloading.”

Draft
PC World: “37signals’s Draft Brings Sketching, Collaboration to iPad”
PC World offers up a quick review of Draft.

Backpack
How to subscribe to a Google Calendar in Backpack
To subscribe to a Google Calendar in Backpack Calendar, here’s what you’ll need to do (this is now a slightly different process due to recent changes at Google Calendar).

WSJ: Backpack helps small businesses, agencies and entrepreneurs
“Backpack helps small businesses, agencies and entrepreneurs keep and track to-do lists, notes and other documents, discussions and schedules all in one spot.”

Multiple products
Startup toolbox includes Basecamp and Highrise
“I’ve spent a bunch of time trying to put together the right “toolbox” for our start up, and have shared it below in the hopes this will help all you would be starter uppers out there.”

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The consensus: The new digs are sweet. Plus, it’s got a table that actually fits us all! [photo by SH]

A few of this week’s 37signals staff posts at Twitter.

jsierles: Just completed the lengthy but educational 37signals server move to ServerCentral. Thanks for some great years of service, @Rackspace!

uptonic: The new Squarespace iPhone app has a great aesthetic: http://bit.ly/cmuHBy /via @jz

jasonfried: SoundPrism for iPad looks incredible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=385CymvTecU

37signals: 37signals Developerland has the all info you need to integrate your applications with 37signals products: http://developer.37signals.com

sh: Vote! Customer Service awesomeness panel by 37signals and Campaign Monitor. Mr. Pibb + red vines. http://tinyurl.com/2anslv7

JZ: Photo: Panasonic : Earphone Note Great packaging concept and execution. http://tumblr.com/xqhfkspzz

sstephenson: Stay looks handy for switching between internal and external displays: http://cordlessdog.com/stay/

I take the Q train from Brooklyn to Manhattan a lot and am always fascinated by this animation that’s viewable from the train slightly after you pass the Dekalb Ave. stop (animation starts :20 in, there’s some NSFW language in the background):

So I finally decided to do some research on it. Turns out it’s Bill Brand’s Masstransiscope and it was installed in the abandoned Myrtle Avenue subway station in September, 1980. It’s made up of 228 hand-painted panels viewed through a series of vertical slits. It works on the principle of the Zoetrope, a 19th century optical toy.

Below is an old news story about Masstransiscope that interviews Brand. He talks about how being a filmmaker led to the idea: “Instead of having the film go through the projector, you could move the audience past the film.”