Our interview with Crash Course’s John Green
YouTube: As more people are adapting to distanced learning, how do you think content like “Study Hall” can help these people navigate this new normal?
John Green: As a parent of two school-aged children, I am very interested in how learners (and their parents!) can continue to pursue educational opportunities even in these difficult times. No online tool can replace what teachers do in classrooms, but my hope is that free online resources, like Crash Course and Study Hall, can be a resource to help students better understand the universe and our place in it.
YT: This is one of the first at-scale partnerships between a YouTube creator and an academic institution like ASU. How did it come to be?
JG: It all started at EduCon in July 2019. There, some Complexly staff met Wayne Anderson, who is the Senior Director of Design and Development at ASU Ed Plus. Seeing the opportunity to match two like-minded organizations, the partnerships team at YouTube reconnected us later that summer and offered funding and strategic support. We began a series of discussions about how better to serve the needs of learners using online video, and that eventually resulted in this exciting partnership!
YouTube: From your point of view, what problem is Study Hall trying to solve? Is there a specific gap within the online educational content space that it will fill?
JG: We are really inspired by ASU’s goal of lowering barriers to post-secondary education. Study Hall will demystify subjects that typically prevent students from advancing to or within college. This is a more focused version of Crash Course’s 8-year-long mission to create high quality educational video for everybody everywhere. Pairing Crash Course’s engaging style with the resources and expertise of ASU, Study Hall will expand and deepen the kinds of educational video available on YouTube.