Few online platforms have helped democratize education as efficiently as YouTube. In fact, multiple institutions today include educational YouTube content as a part of the standard curriculum across various age groups for children. Netizens can choose any skill, and YouTube will certainly contain a comprehensive course or video that helps them learn it free of cost. Several “how-to” videos populate the “YouTube University,” but relying completely on them comes with specific risks for learners.
Pros of Studying with YouTube Videos
Free of Cost
Before the Internet revolution, one would need large amounts of wealth to access educational courses from reputed universities. This steep monetary requirement would put such courses out of the reach of many. Arguably, the biggest benefit of using YouTube for academics is that users get to access the requisite study material whenever they wish to use it. This enables users to do their day job and invest their free time in learning. Also, the flexibility of studying with YouTube videos makes it useful for any teacher on a tight budget. No matter where a person is in the world, they can access educational YouTube content without having to even create a Google account.
Multiple Learning Options for the Same Task
Many YouTube-based educators cover the same topic in different ways. This lets users view them all and learn in the way best suited to them. For example, some people learn better through visual storytelling and data. Others may learn better by reading the information that needs to be retained. Learners can pick and choose and learn a given concept from every conceivable angle. This helps them gain practical knowledge about a given topic or skill in the most rounded way possible.
Source of Additional Learning Material
One does not need to rely completely on YouTube to learn something. They can use the platform’s informal educational resources to reinforce/re-learn in depth the concepts and skills they adapt in a formal classroom. Many people use YouTube as a source of additional information on a subject and to get more intricate explanations that help clarify difficult concepts for them.
Additionally, a well-known fact remains that some students learn much more effectively on their own than inside a classroom. This is why using educational YouTube content in combination with formal learning content is an effective way to learn a given skill or curriculum in greater depth.
Extension of the Classroom Setting to One’s Home
Professional tutors generally tend to charge a hefty fee for their services. Not every family can afford a tutor. Additionally, not every student possesses the ability to complete their homework assignments all by themselves. With YouTube, a teacher can upload reference videos and lectures so that students can thoroughly study and retain information at home just as effectively as they would do the same in a classroom setting.
Apart from these, some other benefits of using YouTube for academic purposes include the possibility of rewatching educational videos multiple times for learners, the possibility of using the platform as a networking portal for teachers, and access to in-depth information from experts in any given field.
Cons of Using YouTube for Academics
Factual Inaccuracy of Educational Content
As YouTube does not require educational videos to be factually verified before being uploaded, many courses on the platform carry questionable content when it comes to informational correctness and reliability. A video’s popularity does not automatically correspond to empirical correctness. In fact, many videos reinforce the biases and incorrect information that people may already have in their minds even before they watch the content. The use of questionable information sources and, in many cases, direct misinformation on certain educational YouTube content is extremely harmful to younger and more impressionable learners.
This is why one must not rely completely on a YouTube video to learn something. Going through multiple videos and other information sources helps learners eliminate the possibility of learning incorrect content.
Distraction on the Platform
YouTube’s algorithm, in certain instances, works unpredictably and incomprehensibly. This means, occasionally, when a learner watches educational YouTube content, they may find recommendations to view pop songs, cartoons, and other entertainment-based videos that end up distracting them from their learning. These distracting videos tend to be too alluring or irresistible for learners to ignore.
Some Content is Unsuitable for All Age Groups
The relative lack of filters on YouTube means that younger learners are likely to be exposed to explicit language and other unsavory elements in some of the educational videos. This content tends to be corrupting and has the opposite effect to the one intended by learners when they seek educational YouTube content.
The Lack of Pedagogical Alignment
As a media platform, YouTube is fairly liberal about what creators can upload within specific constraints. The platform lacks educational metadata that would allow for alignment between formal curricula and content found on the platform. For example, an educator may find a video about solving a long division problem, but the content needs to align with the Common Core curriculum. The video may or may not be aligned, but the burden falls on the educator to invest time in validating the alignment of all the material.
For this reason, educators may find it difficult to use educational YouTube content with confidence.
