YouTube Is Increasing Its Presence In The Education Space With New Products

Source: YouTube

YouTube recently announced new products to strengthen learning opportunities across its platform.

YouTube Player for Education highlights the set of new products. This new embedded player shows educational content on commonly used education apps while eliminating distractions such as ads, external links, and recommendations. The player will initially be available for select partners like Google Classroom, EDpuzzle, Purdue University, and Purdue Global.

Select creators will also be able to offer free or paid Courses to viewers. When purchased, viewers can consume these Courses, consisting of a playlist of educational videos that are ad-free and can play in the background. YouTube will test Courses in the U.S. before expanding to South Korea and other countries.

Lastly, YouTube is introducing Quizzes, which will allow creators to test viewers' knowledge of the content they watch.

With 93% of viewers reporting that they use YouTube to gather information, the platform is a proven destination for learning. This was most evident during the pandemic, when people and institutions leaned on YouTube for things like remote-learning and introductions to new hobbies.

The addition of the new products makes learning on YouTube more accessible and interactive. Viewers can access and consume educational content in a visual-first format from the convenience of their desktop or mobile devices.

YouTube's new education initiatives reflect a growing trend in social media platforms and show that big tech is looking to penetrate the education space.

For example, last year, TikTok launched an integration with education app Quizlet, enabling education creators to make their videos interactive by linking out to study sets. While, earlier this week, Pinterest teamed up with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden on a new initiative to honor and support educators across the country.

The list of examples will increase. Of course, education in the classroom will always be relevant, but social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok will play a more prominent role. Social media platforms can bring an entertainment-aspect to education, gamifying the experience and making it more scalable.