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Edutainment
noun: edu-tainment
video games, television programmes, or other material, intended to be both educational and enjoyable.
For some, this might be your first-time hearing of the term Edutainment; for others, you might already be an avid viewer. Regardless, Edutainment programmes (especially those on YouTube) have their own unique value in that you can simultaneously learn new things and consume media without feeling guilty.
Given that the platform equips each content creator with the ability to organize their videos into playlists, it is easy to follow the lessons and come back to it after a break. Second, these videos are often animated or created to be palatable. Hence, for visual or auditory learners, this is definitely a plus! Even if you are more of a textual learner, subtitles and video texts are often embedded for your ease of consumption. Lastly, as YouTube videos are incredibly accessible, you can search for a specific genre that you are interested in (for those with siblings or kids, they even have videos catered to children – maybe we’ll do an article on that someday!) and watch your day away.
If you aren’t already sold, fret not. This article will introduce 8 Edutainment YouTube channels that that will have you hitting the subscribe button right now!
We are not foreign to YouTube shorts – a function on YouTube that behaves like the user interface of TikTok. Swipe, watch, repeat. And that is why this account is so successful. Creating about 1-minute videos of sometimes crazy and bold science experiments (not to be performed at home of course), his videos are refreshing vis-à-vis the usual dance or food YouTube shorts. Learn science in a quick and fun manner by checking these short videos out!
TLDR:
Specialisation – science
Short and easy-to-consume videos
AsapScience is a channel run by two lovely creators who also happen to be experts on anything science. Mitch and Greg’s videos include stop-motion animation and voice-over narration answering questions across a wide spectrum. Here are some titles that might intrigue you: “The Strange Reason You Can Hallucinate”, “The Periodic Table Song” (yes, a song to help us memorize the table!), and even “How to fall asleep in 2 minutes.” Well, the point is that this is not some nerdy, boring science channel - you will definitely find something that suits your tastes!
TLDR:
Specialisation – science and general knowledge
Attention-grabbing animation with creative topics and talking points
Known for including simple illustrations of stickmen, but sometimes sophisticated drawings of traditional ships, CGP Grey creates explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, history, and culture. He uses humour to comment on serious topics like the Electoral College system, but also creates other (random) content like “Weekend Wednesdays” that aims to convince you that we should all have a break on Wednesdays to recharge. In essence, the channel is random, thought-provoking and educational all at once. He also streams gaming videos, so for those who need a break from studying, check out his streams too!
TLDR:
Specialisation – politics, culture, humanities
Commentary on tough subjects interspersed with game streams
At 13 million subscribers and operating with a similar concept of animated videos, CrashCourse is run by a team of passionate individuals who specialise and have produced educational videos covering a variety of subjects including organic chemistry, literature, world history, ecology, theater, and many more. Here’s the kicker - if you are familiar with John and Hank Green and enjoy their content, then this is a must-visit! The brothers were the original creators of the channel way back in 2011, and have continuously gained support from the YouTube community, allowing it to grow to the size it is today. Even though there are many contributing to the videos, the brothers still record humorous and educational videos till this date.
TLDR:
Specialisation - science, language, humanities
Essentially an encyclopedia in a channel
Ever wondered about the doomsday algorithm, about butterflies and gyroids, or how do brains count? Me neither. But that is purely because I am not a very math-centric person (hello written language) and I shun away at the slightest appearance of numbers. However, Numberphile has this ability to discuss math and numbers in an interesting manner, drawing their audience in through topics as mentioned above. It deviates from the traditional topics of calculus and algebra, and instead focuses a lot more on exposing people to conversations that are variants of math. Whether you are a math person or not, this channel is sure to at least spark some level of interest.
TLDR:
Specialisation – mathematics
Making numbers interesting for the masses
As the channel’s name suggests, the creator aims to explain everything in an oversimplified manner. He mostly focuses on wars, revolutions and general history about the world. Similar to the abovementioned channels, he uses animations and drawings to explain these concepts and histories that are often difficult to grasp because of the details that would bore an average person. Even though he posts almost only twice a year, the contents that Oversimplified puts out are high quality and a must watch especially if you are into history.
TLDR:
Specialisation - history
History made really simple
“Thank you for coming to my TED talk!” – Hold on, wrong channel. Here, we are introducing TED-Ed, the educational branch of TED (as suggested in its name). Similar to CrashCourse, the channel uses animations to specially curate educational videos that range across topics like engineering, politics, history, myths, coding and many more. Animators and educators collaborate to create these videos, providing the most up-to-date information in an engaging manner. If you enjoy tuning in to TED talks, you will enjoy TED-Ed’s content!
TLDR:
Specialisation – everything :”)
Covers a wide range of topics through intricate animations and illustrations
Started by Michael Stevens in 2010, Vsauce’s << about >> description says ‘Our World is Amazing’. And indeed, he does make sure that his videos portray the world as such. Videos like “Why is glass transparent”, “How much does a shadow weigh” or “Which Way is Down?” challenges the preconceived notions that we have of science. Beyond science videos, he also creates content covering art, physics, space and even language. One of the original Edutainment creators, VSauce has never failed to deliver for the past 11 years and given his current viewership of 17.3 Million subscribers, he is unlikely to stop.
TLDR:
Specialisation – general knowledge
Asking unorthodox questions about the world and making it more interesting than we think it is
Other noteworthy channels –
Here are some other noteworthy channels that you should consider subscribing to. If I go into detail for each of these channels, this article will be endless. Nevertheless, here are some of our recommendations:
Easy Languages (learning languages)
PeriodicVideos (chemistry)
KhanAcademy (math, science, computing, economics)
TheBadAstronomer (astronomy)
NileRed (chemistry)
As semester two starts rolling in, we hope that you find these channels useful to satiate your yearns for media entertainment in a productive manner. Good luck everyone!
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