Sharing outreach and educational materials through YouTube: a case study from the Shear Zone Channel

This presentation shares experiences of delivering educational and outreach content via YouTube. It examines the reach of videos, their longevity and the utility of the platform for sharing materials – based on a personal case-study of a relatively popular and content-rich YouTube channel.

In common with many university teachers, during the Covid pandemic I developed online educational resources, including a suite of videos. These not only covered content previously delivered through in-person lectures but also enacted worked demonstrations of practical exercises. The content supported teaching in the interpretation of geological maps, field techniques, structural geology/tectonics and the geological interpretation of seismic reflection profiles. Initially these videos were hosted through the university’s Panopto account but in April 2021 I decided to collate these and publish through YouTube. Even though teaching has returned to pre-pandemic norms, I still use the videos, largely to permit flipped learning activities and for providing debriefs on practical classes. I continue to populate the channel (a new video every c 2 weeks) – chiefly making short documentaries “on location” to share geo-sites, geological techniques and concepts (including the history and primary publications behind them), and practical exercise demonstrations. While students and professional geoscientists seeking educational materials remain key audiences, the videos also target “engaged amateurs” – especially those interested in discovering field locations. Moderated discussion and clarifications are delivered through the “comments” facility on YouTube. There is a parallel website (hosted on WordPress) that holds many of the practical exercises, creating an open-access resource for geological training.

But how effective is the channel at sharing geology with diverse audiences?

YouTube provides statistics on viewer demographics and view-times. As of January 2024, the Shear Zone Channel hosts 228 videos, with c 380k views and has attracted 5.78k subscribers. Unsurprisingly most users are based in the UK, with few based elsewhere in Europe. Significant user-communities live in North America, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Through weeks there is a drop-off of views on Fridays. Annual viewing peaks occur in early-mid December, with a rapid drop-off through the festive season that follows, as might be expected for a student-dominated viewing population. Life-time views of individual videos are remarkably variable: some show steady accumulation, others plateau after a few days of publication, a few grow exponentially. These differences reflect video content, and presumably therefore, the type of viewer. The algorithms used by YouTube to expose content to site users, and the ways users search for content, preferentially display recent video along with popular content (watched, liked, commented upon) along with that from channels to which the user has subscribed. Interrogation of activity statistics shows few users explore hosting channels or their playlists. Many find channel content through YouTube (algorithm-based) recommendations.

Content exposure on YouTube, in common with many digital resources, is prone not only to recency bias but also herding, whereby viewing populations repeatedly access the same content. Content creators can modulate this by pairing with other social media platforms or soliciting peer-recommendations.

The channel is available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUYjr1yPCZQWYl9cJCO1mA