I learned early on that certain subjects, like history and english, were not my callings. It was a struggle to sit through those classes, and studying for them was even tougher. Of course, I couldn’t just opt out of them, so I eventually figured out a study plan that kept me interested while learning the same material, and a good chunk of that studying was through YouTube videos.
YouTube isn’t just for BuzzFeed and viral videos. There is so much knowledge amongst all of its channels, and you’d be amazed at how much free info you can find on classes you’re taking! With so many videos to search through, you’re bound to find a few channels that cover your class or major, but I wanted to share a few that I watched throughout high school and into my college classes.
Education
CrashCourse
This channel has just about everything covered, I’m not kidding. If it wasn’t for CrashCourse, there’s no way I would’ve gotten an A in my US History class! They have playlists in all of these subjects, most of which have over 30 videos:
- Philosophy
- Literature
- Physics
- Economics
- US Government & Politics
- Astronomy
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Intellectual Property
- World History
- Psychology
- Biology
- Ecology
- US History
- Chemistry
All of their videos feature detailed and gorgeously sketched animations that guide you through exactly what’s being talked about. While some of these subjects are found in high school, I’ve still found this channel to be super applicable in college!
TED + TED-Ed
If you love learning about random bits of information and ideas, these channels will keep you occupied for hours. The TED channel focuses on sharing stories and knowledge from a diverse set of collaborators on topics like global issues, design, and the brain. That hardly touches the surface though, considering they have over 100 playlists! Overall, this channel is great if you want to dive deeper into your major and discover what specific topics you’re interested in.
TED-Ed is set up as more of a trivia channel, with animated lessons on everything from plant communication to figuring out what those floaty things in your eyes are. It’s a great channel to watch when you have a few minutes to spare, as most of their videos are less than five minutes long!
Khan Academy
If you’ve never used Khan Academy’s website before, it’s a free educational resource with tutorials on all sorts of subjects. Their YouTube channel is an extension of that website, and while it has playlists on subjects like biology and finance, their math videos are what I use this channel for! They have videos on algebra, statistics, linear algebra, and much more, so there’s a good chance you’ll find a playlist that works for you. I mean, 199 videos on calculus alone???
MIT OpenCourseWare
Who knew you could attend an MIT class without actually being accepted? Posting lecture recordings on YouTube is becoming more popular with colleges around the country, and MIT is one of the first to offer so many of its lectures online. I was first introduced to this channel while taking Differential Equations last year, and as you can imagine, this channel is very technology/math focused in its offerings! There are some really interesting topics throughout these videos, like artificial intelligence and understanding lasers, though I would recommend this channel to anyone taking math, science, or engineering classes.
Other Favorites
While these channels aren’t specific to any courses or even learning in general, I’ve enjoyed watching them for years and would recommend checking them out if you’re looking for new channels to keep up with!
Mental Floss
If you love facts and trivia, this channel is for you. They have hundreds of videos covering categories like facts about olympic history and misconceptions about animals, with new episodes up every week. Similar to TED-Ed, these videos are great for passing time since most of them are under 5 minutes!
SciShow
Love science? SciShow delves into all sorts of scientific subjects, with videos about why insects are attracted to light and the future of 3D printing. The craziest part is that they have a new video up every single day! I can’t even imagine getting up a blog post more than three times a week!
vlogbrothers
I’m pretty much convinced that I love every channel made by one or both of the Green brothers (they’re involved in CrashCourse and SciShow). On this channel, they share their thoughts on important subjects like the gender pay gap and global warming, along with random topics like the politics of Parks and Rec.
Good Mythical Morning
The guys that host this show are hilarious, and have some of the strangest video topics I’ve seen. On this channel you’ll find videos like “Will It Burger”, where they try placing a bunch of things that definitely don’t belong in a burger inside of it and do a taste test. As the name implies, this channel uploads new videos every weekday morning, making it a great channel to watch while you’re eating breakfast!
Do you have any favorite YouTube channels? Let me know what they are in the comments!