CrashCourse as an Educational Tool

by Logann Epley

Crash Course is one of the best programs online for independent learners, but also a great resource for teachers who want to engage students on their terms. Using YouTube for instruction is great in lots of cases, but the extra research and production value that goes into the Crash Course series takes it to the next level. Hosts who are passionate about the subject matter take high school students from apathy to empathy about literature.

In the first video of the Literature series, author of "The Fault In Our Stars" John Green, discusses why we read and provides insight on how to do "close reading" of texts. He doesn't want students to regurgitate information about texts to get a good grade. He outlines four things reading will do:

1. Have a fuller understanding of lives other than your own
2. Will help you be more empathetic 
3. Help you avoid some pitfalls of life
4. Reading critically and attentively can give you the linguistic tools to share your own story with more precision

 By bringing these purposes closer-to-home for students in a humorous, yet informative way, Green offers some sort of greater incentive for students to read and care about literature. This can lead to greater understanding and an opportunity for students to internalize what they do in an English classroom.

Currently, Green has posted 24 Literature videos, and so far the channel has posted 412 educational videos on topics ranging from Economics to History to Astronomy. His brother, Hank Green, an ecologist by training, created this channel along with SciShow to promote lifelong education. They have also launched Crash Course Kids, a channel geared toward elementary students, which incorporates National Standards. These channels are funded partially through Patreon, a website where viewers can contribute to the programs they love in order to keep them running and growing. They are also working towards creating other classroom curriculum for teachers who love Crash Course.

I personally use Crash Course as a learning tool, and intend to use it in my future classroom to gain attention or provide another thoughtful perspective on some literature. Take a look at their channel and learn more about any of their 14 topics!

Crash Course Playlist