YouTube is a superb learning resource for just about any topic, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe for schools to use freely. There is plenty of disinformation out there from unregulated ads and suggested videos that are not suitable for young people. After all, YouTube is designed to benefit its advertisers and collaborators. While they have policies in place, privacy is not necessarily the priority.
In recent years, they have faced a lot of backlash due to issues in this area. For example, last year, YouTube was accused of collecting viewing data for children 13 years and under, which is a breach of UK data privacy regulations. In the US, in 2019, YouTube was fined $170 million by the FTC for collecting personal information from minors under the age of 13.
While YouTube claims to be working to fix these issues, educators need to be prepared to deal with issues of data privacy and inappropriate content that frequently pops up on YouTube as a result of user-generated content. Furthermore, given the rapid advancements in AI in recent years, schools need to determine how they will deal with disinformation that can be easily spread through AI-generated content.
Before diving into how to avoid YouTube’s pitfalls, let’s examine why teachers choose the video format as a method for teaching.
Why educators love the video format but have to consider blocking it
Teachers love the educational content and flexibility that videos offer. Students can look at and analyze a video as many times as they want and control it at a pace that fits them. This autonomy, in theory, gives teachers more time to focus on students who might need more hands-on attention than others. Additionally, many students prefer audio-visual learning because it is more accessible and fits into their general consumption experience with media. In fact, 90% of students use YouTube when they require help with homework, so embracing it just makes sense for engaging with the TikTok and YouTube generation.
However, with almost 4 million videos uploaded on the platform daily, it’s almost impossible to control students’ learning pathway. For example, you could have a simple, informative, historical video to help them out, which then leads them down an unintentional rabbit hole, thanks to YouTube’s famously chaotic suggested-videos algorithm. Further, although the visual medium can be helpful if it is not used correctly, it can be a passive activity that hinders learning, engagement and information retention.
How to control student access while keeping teachers’ access
The first way that administrators control access is through channel ownership. Administrators can manage and transfer ownership of YouTube channels associated with the school to give continuous oversight and proper management of educational content. The themes of content control, monitoring and user management are all super important when it comes to YouTube in a K-12 environment.
Administrators can enforce YouTube’s Restricted Mode for students, which will filter out potentially mature content and implement custom filters to block specific types of content or keywords that are labeled as inappropriate. Additionally, administrators can use analytical tools to generate reports on video viewing activity to make sure that students are watching assigned educational content. Monitoring livestreams hosted by educators can even track attendance and appropriate use.
Some web filters available for K-12 schools provide more advanced YouTube controls for more nuanced content access. Look for tools that will allow you to block or allow content based on your Google Admin console Organizational Units. These can be used on specific channels, videos and even keywords. You’ll also want to make sure that you can block specified content beyond just YouTube itself, such as when the video is embedded in other places such as Google Docs, Slides, etc.
Automated Google Classroom monitoring tools are also available to detect and alert administrators about inappropriate comments or potential cyberbullying in video comment sections. At a K-12 level, this really cannot be underestimated. Furthermore, these tools are integrated with Google Workspace so that they can flag videos for review that contain potential issues like copyrighted material or inappropriate language.
Lastly, it’s easy to forget, but training students and staff on the appropriate use of YouTube, digital citizenship and online safety, along with creating guides and resources, will definitely help students navigate YouTube safely and responsibly. Schools that look to adopt these security solutions can create a safer and more controlled environment for students to use YouTube, ensuring that the platform is used effectively as an educational tool while protecting students from potential online risks.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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