Google Launches YouTube Player for Education

To improve the YouTube experience in educational environments, Google is launching YouTube Player for Education, a new YouTube embedded player that shows content without distractions like ads, external links, or recommendations.

To start, the company is partnering with established edtech companies in the U.S. including EDpuzzle, Purdue University and Purdue Global. YouTube Player for Education will also improve upon the existing YouTube embedded player in Google Classroom for an even better YouTube experience.

Google has also announced that next year, qualified creators can begin offering free or paid Courses to provide in-depth, structured learning experiences for viewers. Viewers who choose to buy a Course can watch the video ad-free and play it in the background.

Courses will arrive first in the United States and South Korea in beta before expanding to more countries.

Finally, to help learners apply what they’ve learned, YouTube is introducing Quizzes, a new way for creators to help viewers test their knowledge.

For example, a math creator who recently posted a series on algebra can create a Quiz on the Community tab to ask their viewers a question related to a concept taught in their latest video. Quizzes will roll out in beta over the coming months, with all creators who have the Community tab gaining access to Quizzes next year.

Earlier this year, YouTube introduced an option for creators to add metadata that allows them to target their content to specific grade levels and topics.