Looking for educational content on YouTube? We’re going to talk about the best educational YouTube channels that you can follow right now!
YouTube has surged by almost 2 billion users in the past 20 years. The content variety is unprecedented, from movie trailers and TV shows to educational videos and everything else that could cater to all age groups. However, it isn’t very safe to zero in on the educational videos that are fitting as educational videos for kids, students, or even adults.
Let’s make your search easier. Here’re the 10 best educational YouTube channels to satiate your hunger for the most enriching and fun content.
1. TED-Ed
The TED community is a mission to promote innovative ideas. We’re all familiar with TED TALKS, a coveted stage for speakers from all over the world. Some honorary mentions include Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Shahrukh Khan, Shashi Tharoor, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos.
TED-Ed is a team of educators, specialists, and animation professionals who create educational videos with scientific concepts and relatable animations. The range of topics they discuss is vast, from standard to far-fetched. Their videos are captivating, informative, and designed to make learning easier for the viewers.
While several YouTube channels are dedicated to spreading the correct information to a particular age group, TED-Ed caters to students of all ages, from kids to the elderly. As one of the best Youtube channels to learn, TED-Ed includes a lot of digital creators to make descriptive and engaging videos for learners.
Their most popular video is “Questions No One Knows the Answers to,” with 24M views. The video explains questions no one would usually think of. Equally popular is the “Can You Solve the Prisoner Hat Riddle?”
You can also access TED-Ed lessons created in partnership with animators and educators. Some of their high-profile advisors include Aaron Sams, Jackie Bezos, etc.
- Subscribers: 14.9M
- Total views: 2,675,215,191 views
- Uploads: 1K +
- Joined on: March 2, 2011
2. SmarterEveryDay
It’s the brainchild of Destin Wilson Sandlin, a US-based YouTuber. His first-ever video was about Chicken head tracking that used chickens. Even though the choice of the topic seems unusual, the video was viral. And, SmarterEveryDay cashed on the video’s popularity to emerge as one of the leading educational YouTube channels.
His channel featured a series, “Detonation vs. Deflagration”, which became the basis for the channel. Sandlin, as the host and the narrator, walks the viewers through breakthrough scientific explorations and discoveries, along with relevant generic topics in these videos.
The channel boasts an extensive video playlist, including Landing on the Moon, Nuclear Submarine Deep Dive, Social Media Misinformation, The amazing Amazon, Helicopter Physics, etc. The founder’s interest in Science and exploration reflects in his videos.
Some of his famous videos are “Tattooing close up (in slow motion),” which shows how the ink is dragged over the skin and what effect it could have. The video “How HOUDINI died (in slow motion)” is a descriptive video on the death of the famous magician Harry Houdini.
- Subscribers: 10M
- Total views: 978,331,775
- Uploads: 344
- Joined: April 4, 2006
3. Vsauce
Vsauce was created by Michael Stevens, Kevin Lieber, Jake Roper, and Eric Langley. With mainstream topics like mathematics, psychology, and Science, they also cover gaming, technology, popular culture, and general interest topics. Initially, the creators only posted gaming videos featuring different hosts. However, it slowly evolved into an information mix with various online activities, and educational matters started popping up. as the channel gained popularity, more videos were being made.
Vsauce was later renamed Vsauce1 to distinguish it from its brand name. The videos present Michael Stevens discussing topics and providing suggestions, opinions, and observations.
Vsauce2 is led by Kevin Leiber, who covers topics related to unusual knowledge, gadgets, and people. It primarily produces videos related to dilemmas, paradoxes, and probable situations in real life. Some segments on this channel are “Facts and Knowledge,” “Weird Awesome Crazy (WAC),” and “PAB (People are Boring).” These are fun and interactive videos to learn from.
Vsauce3 is hosted by Jake Roper, who posts videos regarding fictional worlds and video games. They are highly informative and interactive. The Creator Unknown is another channel from the house of Vsauce that posts podcasts of interviews with digital creators, such as Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day. The sauce is a compilation of all videos from fans of the original channel, but it is currently inactive.
- Subscribers: 17.2M
- Total views: 2,155,431,639
- Uploads: 383
- Joined on: July 31, 2007
4. AsapSCIENCE
rated among the top education YouTube channels, AsapSCIENCE is a foundation of a duo of Canadian YouTubers Mitchell “Mitch” Moffit and Gregory Brown. The channel elaborates on different topics of Science with a video every week. The founders were also nominated for the “Shorty Award for Best in Science.” The team consists of Rachel Salt (researcher), Max Simmons (illustrator), Chelsea Scherer (digital manager), and Sel Ghebrehiwot (editor).
AsapSCIENCE makes videos around Science, with titles like “How Much Sleep do you need?” discussing how our body functions. The channel’s most viewed video is “Do you hear ‘Yanny’ or ‘Laurel’?”, which has an overall 60 million views.
They also make the video interactive with songs, such as “Science Love Song” and “Periodic Table Song.” Each video is made using colorful chalkboards, whiteboards with interactive magnets a narration running in the background.
This channel has collaborated with Vsauce for four videos, “The scientific secret of strength and muscle growth,” “What if Superman punched you?”, “Can we genetically improve intelligence?” and “Can you genetically enhance yourself?”
- Subscribers: 9.76M
- Total views: 1,546,541,161
- Uploads: 374
- Joined on: May 28, 2012
5. CrashCourse
This is a US-based YouTube channel founded and operated by a famous author, John Greene, and his brother Hank Green. John Greene has been known for publishing books like “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Looking for Alaska,” etc. The books have been adapted into a movie and TV series. With that popularity and audience reach, they launched this channel. Soon, it became one of the top-rated educational YouTube channels.
The channel has videos on topics such as Literature, Media Literacy, mythology, Philosophy, psychology, statistics, theatre, physics, mathematics, government, film studies, economics, engineering, European history, Astronomy, US history, Anatomy & Physiology. It also has all the courses covering the school curriculum. Their videos are witty and easier to understand for the kids.
The channel has varied courses that any student can learn from and are informative for parents and teachers. Some of its popular or most-watched videos are “The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1”, “Intro to Psychology: crash course psychology #1”, “Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash course World History 223,” and more.
They also launched three-film series covering film history, production, and criticism. In 2017, Thomas Frank hosted a crash course, Study Skill Professional, which covered productivity skills, time management, and note-taking.
- Subscribers: 12.7M
- Total views: 1,559,632,911
- Uploads: 12
- Joined on: May 20, 2006
6. Unacademy JEE
Unacademy JEE is an Indian channel based in Bangalore. As the name suggests, it is dedicated to IIT JEE preparation consisting of an excellent team set up by Gaurav Munjal. They have live classes, conducted exclusively by professional educators, on mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and more. Not just for IIT JEE, but they prepare you for UPSC, SSC exams, CBSE Class 12, and NEET UG.
Their video lessons not only detail the concept but also provide you with tricks to memorize complex concepts. They have separate playlists for separate topics. For instance, Physics for Class 11th has a different playlist covering all critical topics like Basic kinetics, Basic Mathematics, Vectors, etc.
The most popular video titles include “Study Tips by Jeetu Bhaiya Kota Factory” (Special actor class from a famous TV series), “JEE: Units & Dimensions L1- Class 11”, “JEE: Limits L1-Class 12,” etc.
- Subscribers: 1.82M
- Total views: 368,910,105
- Uploads: 4.5K
- Joined on: May 16, 2014
7. MinuteEarth
Neptune Studios LLC runs MinuteEarth. This channel contains a video about Planet Earth, its history, workings, and everything you need to know. The creators include Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Peter Reich, Ever Salazar, Kate Yoshida, David Goldenberg, Arcadi Garcia, Sarah Berman, Jasper Palfrey, Melissa Hayes, and Julian Gomex.
Their video playlist features topics, such as Animal behavior, Geology, Ecology Conservation, Anatomy and Health, Food, Farms & Fish, Biology, Earth history, Human Behavior, and Evolution, among others. Think of them as one of the best educational videos on YouTube.
A group makes this channel of scientists, writers, and illustrators with a passion and curiosity to know more about our world. The leading creators, Henry and Alex Reich, gain inspiration from general life experiences, such as Hiking, Biking, talking with family, etc. People can also share their ideas about the world with them and let them create wonders with it. Their most popular videos are “Why it Sucks to be a Male Hyena”, “Why do Animals Eat Their Babies?”, “Why do we have more Boys than Girls?” etc.
- Subscribers: 2.6M
- Total views: 367,245,677
- Uploads: 270
- Joined on: October 20, 2011
8. National Geographic
National Geographic has been a part of our lives for a long time through television. But they ventured into YouTube in 2006 only to emerge as one of the leading educational channels. The channel works to inspire people to care about the planet. It is home to videos from world-class scientists, filmmakers, photographers, and journalists. They take you closer to the planet and the edges of what’s possible and what isn’t.
They have videos scheduled for the week, i.e., Nature, Environment, Exploration, Science, Fun facts, Travel and adventure, and History & culture, respectively, from Monday through Sunday. The channel comprises videos such as “Cobra vs. Mongoose”, “Rare Video: Japan Tsunami”, “Jaguar Attacks Crocodile Cousin”, “109-year Old Veteran and his Secrets to Life will make you Smile,” etc. The videos are primarily focused on real-life news and have separate channels for kids and education.
- Subscribers: 18.5 M
- Total views: 4,726,218,354
- Uploads: 9.7K
- Joined on: May 7, 2006
9. Vox
Vox is all about news from around the world and how things work. It is a US-based entertainment website
owned by Vox media. It’s a vision of Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Melissa Bell. The YouTube channel is just a part of the Vox website, which presents itself as the flagbearer of explanatory journalism.
The video accompanies a news article on the same topic as well. Its most popular video includes titles like “Here’s What Happens to Your Knuckles when you Crack them”, “Proof of Evolution that you can find on your Body,” “How Wildlife Trade is Linked to Coronavirus,” etc. It also has videos on current affairs and sociocultural topics, such as “North Korean Nuclear Threat,” where they explained the topic using narration over video graphics, animation, and actual news footage.
- Subscribers: 9.9M
- Total views: 2,629,246,203
- Uploads: 1.3K
- Joined on: March 5, 2014
10. Khan Academy
This non-profit organization is motivated to provide free, top-class education to everyone in every corner of the world. Khan Academy’s YouTube channel has over eight thousand videos on complex subjects, such as biology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, history, economics, finance, etc. It also has grammar lessons on it.
Khan academy is a teacher-oriented descriptive channel that helps teachers by providing worthy data to help them analyze their student’s performance. They have videos ranging from Elon musk to cellular respiration and probability. This helps identify issues with their students and rectify them quickly. The channel also provides personalized SAT and LSAT practice in partnership with the College Board and LSAC (Law School Admission Council) for free.
The most popular video on their channel is “You can learn anything (30 sec)”.
- Subscribers: 6.8 M
- Total views: 1,905,198,561
- Uploads: 8.1K
- Joined on: November 17, 2006
Wrapping Up
The article features some of the best educational YouTube channels to give readers descriptive and concise information about them. All the channels have been mentioned here based on popularity and content type. It can be concluded that these mentioned channels are at their absolute best in providing relevant information for students of all ages. There is no limit to learning, and these YouTube channels prove that well.
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