3 ways YouTube Player for Education is making Edtech better for learners

Last September, we launched YouTube Player for Education, a new product designed for learners that improves the way YouTube videos are shown in popular educational tools. Since then, some of the most popular and respected edtech companies have integrated the player into their tools and it is being used in classrooms around the world. Our partners are using the YouTube Player for Education to create diverse learning experiences, including interactive lessons, supplemental study, and formative assessment.

Educators value YouTube as a helpful learning aid— for visualizing concepts, bringing historical content to life, reinforcing concepts, or captivating students' attention. Whether it's helping students demystify stars or bringing to life the Viking expansion, over 35M videos related to digital skills or subjects taught in school have been uploaded to YouTube in the U.S. alone.¹ In fact, according to a survey by Google / Kantar, 76% of consumers surveyed consider educational content on YouTube more engaging than regular text-based articles. ²

YouTube Player for Education delivers videos without ads, links, or recommendations, keeps viewers anonymous to YouTube and provides a new non-ad revenue source for creators.

Here are some of the ways Player for Education is transforming the education space:

Improving student engagement with interactive videos

Educators continue to be concerned about student engagement due to long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions. Looking to solve this, Edpuzzle’s interactive lessons are designed to promote active learning and its integration with Player for Education further supports this goal. With Edpuzzle videos powered by Player for Education, teachers can now create lessons with YouTube videos without ads and recommended videos, allowing students to focus on learning, and giving teachers control of what their students see.

“When we talk with schools and districts, admins understand that YouTube is like a modern-day textbook, but they also have concerns about ads on videos and off-topic content getting in front of students. With YouTube Player for Education and Edpuzzle, we've made it safer for schools to use YouTube in their classrooms.” - Quim Sabria, Edpuzzle CEO

Supporting concept mastery

Educators face the challenge of ensuring that all students master the basic concepts, regardless of their learning style. To help students better understand their course concepts, Quizlet now uses YouTube Player for Education to add relevant videos from YouTube to their study materials. By giving their students the ability to learn with YouTube videos, alongside their popular flashcards and practice sets, Quizlet is furthering their commitment to help students approach their studies with confidence and excel on test day.

Assessing performance with video-based quizzes

Video is being used to make formative assessment more efficient and effective. Edulastic is using YouTube Player for Education to enable teachers to turn their favorite YouTube video into a quiz, by using their own questions or generating standards-aligned questions. A distraction-free focused YouTube video experience allows students to concentrate on completing the assessment while also allowing educators to gauge student performance in real-time and adapt their instruction.

"We know that teachers value YouTube as an important educational resource," said Sharad Gupta, Chief Product Officer at GoGuardian. "With the introduction of Edulastic's AI powered Video Quiz in partnership with YouTube Player for Education, educators are now able to use YouTube videos to engage learners in meaningful ways by auto generating quizzes, saving them valuable time."