YouTube rules the roost. It is first resource that people refer to when they want to learn something new. After all, who would teach me how to replace a RAM on my laptop or to change the new windshield wiper blade on my old car?
YouTube is an extremely valuable resource. However, things do not work out that well if it is something more complicated like Linear Algebra or NMR spectroscopy.
Frequently, I meet students who have watched all the YouTube lectures even before the semester begins. They are also very judgmental about classroom lectures. I am soliciting help from the community about
- How to tell them that watching videos is no substitute for learning. Usually this needs to be conveyed at the start of the course, when they pay no attention to it. By the time they understand it, we are well into the depths of the course and it is too late.
- Not watching videos is also not a wise thing to do. There are excellent makers who create excellent animations which I wouldn't be able to do ... actually never! How do I tell this to the students without appearing like abandoning my duties?
- The biggest problem is enrolling students. Students (often the brighter ones) believe they have learnt the subject via YouTube well enough to skip the course altogether. How do I convince them that I will really help them study this subject beyond what they can manage via YT? How do I do this without sounding like a pimp? How do I politely tell them that they haven't learnt the subject via YT (or other online resources) at all beyond some mumbo-jumbo? Some of them might actually have learnt the subject to some extent ... How do I convince them of the utility of my course?
Thank you all.
EDIT: In light of objections by Anonymous Physicist, I must add that a succinct summary of my question is : "How to handle YouTube-aware students? 1) At the time of enrollment 2) at the begining of the course and 3) during the course?"