The video giant has announced it’ll provide a chunk of funding for educational content, but is a new focus on learning enough to deflect the criticism its facing?<\/p>\n
Ariana News Agency<\/em>– On Monday, YouTube announced plans to spend $20 million (\u00a315.4 million) on educational content; a substantial sum that\u2019ll see money given to independent creators, alongside a handful of news sites and online learning firms.<\/p>\n Pitched by YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki as a way to bolster \u201chigh quality learning content,\u201d the investment includes a new fund for YouTubers, as well as a dedicated channel called Learning. To people give a taste of what to expect, YouTube revealed that the YouTube channels TED-ed \u2013 centred on educational TED talks \u2013 and Hank and John Green\u2019s Crash Course have both secured unspecified amounts of funding.<\/p>\n Education, education, education. YouTube has long been a resource for the self-taught, and the sheer vastness of Google\u2019s search means it finds itself lecturing on everything from canoeing to sex ed; a Borgesian library with \u2018hit subscribe\u2019 carved on the crest. But the site\u2019s authority as a reliable source of information has also been undercut as of late, by algorithms that churn out cartoon cannibalism to children, not to mention the struggle to stop the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Is the investment in education a step in the right direction, or a further shuffle towards a teaching landscape influenced by the machinery of big tech? Importantly, this growth has come alongside mounting criticism over YouTube\u2019s ability to filter hoaxes, conspiracy theories and inappropriate content. The site is trying everything from linking to Wikipedia pages to investing in channels that promote greater media literacy, but it\u2019s still fighting the spread of misinformation. Greater curation of educational content seems like a fitting response, and the Learning channel could be a controlled space free from nightmarish Peppa Pig clips and flat-earth theories, but is it enough?<\/p>\n For starters, there\u2019s the lingering question of authority. Applicants for the Learning Fund need to fill out a form with details about their organisation and project, but how does YouTube ensure its creators know what they\u2019re talking about? Would someone making an educational video about climate change need to have a degree in climate science to be supported? Seemingly not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The video giant has announced it’ll provide a chunk of funding for educational content, but is a new focus on learning enough to deflect the criticism its facing?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_mat_hreflang_tags":[],"addvideo":"","video_duration":"","farsit":"","target":"0","top_stories":"0","top":"0"},"categories":[198,183],"tags":[228,227],"class_list":["post-607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet","category-tech","tag-ted-talks","tag-youtube"],"acf":{"myctype":"change","target":false,"top_stories":false,"top":false,"farsit":""},"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cThis is a difficult area,\u201d says professor Rose Luckin, from UCL\u2019s Institute of Education. \u201cFor a lot of the big tech companies, they can give the impression of doing something charitable, but we always have to be wary about the ethics of what\u2019s happening. We need them to guarantee that no harm will come from anyone that views the material, because that\u2019s what education is about.\u201d
\nYouTube\u2019s interest in education has spiked over the past year. Speaking at a ReCode event in February, Wojcicki indicated educational videos were a growing area of interest for the company. In July, the site launched its YouTube Learning initiative, with a dedicated engineering team for education features. YouTube has now opened applications for its Learning Fund, promising support to creators making educational, multi-session videos.<\/p>\n