YouTube introduces ad-free video player for educational environments

YouTube has announced an embedded video player for educational environments that will not show ads or recommendations. The platform will also introduce options that will allow creators to offer paid lesson packages and create quizzes.

The embedded video player has been renamed YouTube Player for Education and will first be available for use in digital education environments from US education companies EDpuzzle, Purdue University and Purdue Global. The player will also be included in Google Classroom. The absence of advertisements, recommendations and external links should according to google reduce distraction for students.

From next year, YouTube creators will be able to offer online video lessons on the platform, paid or free. Viewers who have purchased a lesson package on YouTube can watch the videos without advertising. They will also be able to play the video lessons in the background of their mobile devices. The new feature, dubbed Courses, will be tested in the United States and South Korea before rolling out to other countries. When that is, Google has not disclosed.

The curriculum providers will also soon be able to create a quiz in the Community section of their YouTube channel. This allows their viewers to test their acquired knowledge. This feature is called Quizzes and will be rolled out as a beta in the coming months. Next year, the Quizzes feature should come to all YouTube creators.

YouTube Courses