YouTube in Education

The use of online social networks in education can remodel and enhance teaching and learning; one such network is the video‐sharing site YouTube. Members of the next generation, those who grew up in an environment enriched by information technology, have been termed “digital natives”. This “Net” or “Millennial” generation has aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles reflective of the environment in which they were raised.

YouTube is a video‐sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Searching for or watching a video on YouTube does not require logging in. Youtube was founded in 2007 by former employees of PayPal; Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. Nowadays, YouTube is a $15 billion a year business. The users upload 500 hours of video each minute on YouTube. In addition, around 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day.

According to the report from Hootsuite, we are spending a lot of hours on internet daily.

Vidcasting is coined by Trier (2007) as a type of podcasting. He put forward that exploiting vidcasting might enrich learning. In this respect, YouTube provides subject matter videos which bring concepts alive, offer a body of information on various topics at no cost. It can be a great instructional resource and integrated with other Web 2.0 tools. As a teaching supplement, YouTube can inspire and engage learners and support their digital learning style. Instructors must benefit from YouTube in designing the currilumn to help learners find and create related content.

Advantages and Disadvantages of YouTube in Education

Easy to access
Free of charge
Easy to create and upload a video
The big amount of resources
Promotes self-regulated learning

Cyberbullying
Addiction
Violence
Time consuming
Swear Words
Privacy Issues
Misinformation
Encourage to consume

YouTube Bans

YouTube has been banned from China since 2008. However, it was the 10th most visited website in 2020.
Since 2006, Iranians has no access to YouTube due to its allegedly being against Islamic norms.
After revealing a video about cheating on election, the government banned YouTube in Sudan in 2010.
In 2013, the president of Tajikistan had banned YouTube because of a video of him dancing.
YouTube is out of reach for the people in North Korea.
Because of some conflicts, Denmark has banned YouTube in 2020.