School is back in session, and YouTube is joining in by turning its own website into a virtual classroom. The world’s largest video site has launched the “School of YouTube“, a new education initiative that doubles as a charity drive.
The idea behind School of YouTube is pretty simple: The participating creators release educational videos in which they show off a neat experiment or teach something new to their fans. All these videos link to the UK’s Comic Relief charity in their respective descriptions, and viewers are encouraged to make a donation to the charity. For potential supporters who are too lazy to follow a link, US residents can text SOYT to 71777 to make a donation.
In an introductory video for the initiative, “Principal Ashens” takes a tour through the School of YouTube, where we meet four of the participating creators: The Diamond Minecart, Ali-A, Fleur de Force, and VSauce. Other channels within the project include Charlieissocoollike, Caspar Lee, and Threadbanger.
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“We all know that YouTube is already like a huge virtual school–a place where people come to learn, to teach, to hang out and make friends–so it makes perfect sense to celebrate this for one week,” explains a blog post from YouTube. “And the best thing about this school is that you’ll be able to make a real difference to young people who desperately need your help.”
The first of the School of YouTube’s five playlists is now available on the YouTube Spotlight channel. Go there to see what you can learn today, and please do donate if you come out feeling inspired.
