The YouTube platform is very well known to our modern generation. So when did you last visit the site ? I am sure it must be a few minutes ago. Yes! YouTube has actually become a part of our day to day life. Whether you want to listen to songs or watch a movie or get a recipe or for that matter even utilize it as a medium of education.YouTube helps provide you with various options that might come handy in your daily routine.
Pros of using YouTube as a tool of education:
Free and easy access – YouTube is absolutely free to use. Whether you want to upload any video or watch one, there is no need to pay any money [Except premium]. Apart from being free, it can be accessed from any part of the world. You can share any videos with your friends or recommend it to them.
A classroom setting inside your own room – The educational videos give you the same feel like that of a classroom but instead, it is actually inside your own room. Teachers do their best to upload such videos which gives the students an easy understanding of what they learn.
A network of sorts for teachers – Educational videos found on YouTube are not only a help to the students but also a great help to the teachers. A Lot of teachers take the help of these already uploaded educational videos of other teachers as an added help to make their students understand better.
Repeat mode– It is easy to watch a video repeatedly. While studying if you miss out a point or you want to revise a topic some other time you can easily go and playback a video or repeat it again whenever and wherever and as many times you like it.
Visualized learning – Moving forward from the stereotype way of pen and books this modern generation can attain knowledge in various ways. One of them being audio-visual. Videos uploaded on YouTube can be of great help while learning. There are no age-biases as there are many videos that cater to the needs of children as well as college-goers.
A pool of knowledge – It is quite clear to all the YouTube users that it has numerous educational videos. You might watch a number of videos for a single topic. This is quite beneficial to students as by watching more than one video for a single topic will enhance their knowledge.
Cons of using YouTube as a mean of education:
1.Not reliable – Fake news is just not limited to one or two social media sites but its roots are widespread over the internet. YouTube has a lot of videos that promote fake news and hence can cause misunderstanding among many.
Age restrictions – Yes, YouTube indeed caters to all age groups but, there are videos too which are not suitable for children. The contents of such videos are not suitable for younger audiences, hence we have to be quite cautious around younger students.
Need for Internet – The major disadvantage of YouTube is the need for the internet. It is essential that you have an internet connection to use YouTube. It may be a huge disadvantage to the students living far off cities, who can’t get their hands on the internet and hence are unable to watch educational videos.
Loss of writing habit – No doubt YouTube gives their audience an attractive version of study but it also hinders the children to study from their books and write down notes which would help them memorize.
Clearly everything in this world has its pros and cons but it entirely depends on a particular individual, which side he or she chooses to be. YouTube is something of a double-edged sword. Along with its benefits, it also has its disadvantages too. But we are sure you will make the right choice and take the utmost advantage and increase your skills. It is very easy to wander away from the correct path but as long as the negatives are managed in an effective way, there are many positive outcomes that can be obtained.
