From how to apply nail polish to complex cryptocurrency trends, independent life-long learners are turning to Youtube.
Youtube edutainment is not a new phenomenon, but it’s becoming more sophisticated and holistic. This opinion piece explores what works and what doesn’t, and why video edutainment represents a revolution in learning.
Youtube has long been a platform attractive to both content creators and consumers. For the creators, it is ubiquitous, easily accessible, and offers a revenue stream to those who are successful. For learners, Youtube offers such a range of content that it’s likely you’ll find what you want without looking far. Many edutainers churn out several high-quality videos a week (a couple of my favourites are Rick Beato, whose field is popular music history and music theory, and investanswers, whose field is cryptocurrency investing). No longer limited to pop culture memes, these edutainers employ researchers and video editors. They do interviews with leaders in their fields. Little wonder that many edutainers get rewarded with loyalty (which, in Youtube terms, means likes and subscriptions). On the other hand, they may be forced into self-censorship because of Youtube’s content policies.
Youtube edutainers are adding other environments to their Youtube channels. Patreon accounts (a subscription service allowing access to private content) and Discord discussion lists are becoming common. Subscription only channels can be supplemented with other freely available channels, for example Twitter.
This holistic approach to combining media channels adds up to an extremely rich learning environment for independent learners. Not only do many edutainers allow the built-in chat interface within Youtube (also source of revenue for the edutainers), but establishing Discord community offers the learner a decentralised learning network, which can function largely independent of the actual edutainer. The resulting expansion of the learning, as learners interact with each other, can be exponential. These communities also reinforce the value of the learning path.
However, the system is only as good as its participants. Some edutainers employ moderators to keep the Youtube chat clean; others are quick enough to shut down bad behaviour in the chat during live streams with a sharp response. The personality of the edutainer tends to attract people with similar values.
Most edutainers are not professional educators. They have fallen into the field from their previous professional life, their skill in that profession, plus sufficient technical ability. They prove their knowledge base to their audience, or they fail. (The relevance of a teaching qualification is certainly put in question.)
The future of edutainment is certainly looking bright, particularly as edutainers embrace Web3. Self-regulated learning ecosystems (DAOs) will develop out of some of these Discord communities. Such DAOs will have their own economics, in which learners may be rewarded by sharing their knowledge with novices. ‘Qualification’ in an academic field will be based on active participation in the DAO.
However, edutainers face risks, beyond the obvious ones of quality control and burn-out. Managing a community is a huge job, and the tolerance for mavericks and outriders in a community can be a make-or-break issue. The future for professional educators will increasingly lie in moderation and facilitation of learning paths through the huge resource bank that Youtube and other channels represent. It may not be what they signed up for.
Meanwhile, learners who embrace Web3 will probably become more aware of the value of a learning community as time goes on. Paid work will come to those who are active on networks. Hopefully, the success of the marketing schill will decrease, as success is more easily tied to merit, which is proved within these ecosystems.