Who says you can’t learn valuable things on YouTube?
Yes, the top Youtuber PewDiePie (who has 21 billion views!) is famous for screencasting himself playing video games while telling incredibly stupid jokes but fortunately there are lots of other educational YouTube channels for productively wasting spending your time.
YouTube offers a treasure trove of edutainment opportunities for both learners and teachers. Many people find learning on YouTube better than sitting in a lecture hall. The world’s largest video website is empowering a new generation of both online learners and digital teachers who are building massive audiences and teaching millions of people through the Internet.
The typical lecture model doesn’t work very well on YouTube. The new YouTube educators are fun, creative, and savvy with the tools and practices of video storytelling. They grab your attention right away and they hold it through a rollercoaster ride of visual storytelling, humor, and fascination.
Enjoy some of YouTube’s best educational channels run by “edutainers” and see for yourself how they can spark your curiosity for learning more online:
1. Crash Course
John Green may be the world’s most famous online teacher that you haven’t yet heard of (or maybe you already know him!). In his fascinating educational videos, he covers a wide range of interesting subjects like world history, biology, ecology, psychology and more.
Subscribers: 5.6 million
Views: 556 million
2. ASAP Science
ASAP Science is a weekly dose of fun and interesting science from musician, artists and pop philosophers Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown. Who knew a science lesson could be so interesting?
Subscribers: 6.3 million
Views: 725 million
3. CGP Grey
C. G. P. Grey is the brilliant narrator of some of the most thought-provoking YouTube videos on controversial topics like religion, politics, history and technology. He also co-hosts one of the world’s most popular podcast Hello Internet with another successful YouTube educator Brady Haran.
Subscribers: 2.8 million
Views: 272 million
4. Jason Silva’s Shots of Awe
Jason Silva is the host of Origins and Brain Games, the most popular show on the National Geographical channel. He goes freestyle on his weekly series of philosophical “shots of espresso” that are geared toward helping you ponder the far reaches of what may be possible with our human ingenuity and technological innovation.
Subscribers: 371,000
Views: 24 million
5. It’s Okay To Be Smart
Joe Hanson, Ph.D. calls himself a curious group of atoms in a curious universe. He’s on YouTube to help demystify this giant Universe by telling you how it all works according to science. He produces weekly videos that will inspire you to learn more about science.
Subscribers: 1.3 million
Views: 76 million
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6. TED Ed
The educational arm of the annual TED conference held each spring in Vancouver. On their YouTube education channel, you’ll find a growing library of carefully curated educational videos, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed website.
Subscribers: 4.2 million
Views: 552 million
7. VSauce
A YouTube channel dedicated to showing you how and why the world around you is so amazing. One of the best YouTube channels for inspiring learning and curiosity with mind-bending philosophical puzzles.
Subscribers: 11.8 million
Views: 1.2 billion
8. SciShow
Hank Green’s SciShow breaks down the latest discoveries and news in the different fields of science. With equal parts skepticism and enthusiasm, he goes a little deeper than most…without going off the deep end.
Subscribers: 4.2 million
Views: 667 billion
9. Veritasium
Another excellent science video channel featuring experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions with the public about everything science related.
Subscribers: 4.2 million
Views: 667 billion
10. Epipheo
Epipheo is an animation studio that makes some of the funniest and most engaging animated videos that I’ve come across on YouTube. It you want an immersive visual learning experience then Epipheo are your guys!
Subscribers: 107,000
Views: 7.9 million
Did we miss your favorite YouTube education channel? Please let me know what educational channels on YouTube inspire your curiosity in the comments.
