YouTube is popular for many reasons and is excellent for personal use. Anyone can create a channel and share video content with family and friends. It is free to use and exposes video content to vast and diverse audiences. The ability to easily upload and share videos contributes to its appeal for any educator. It offers monetization options and the opportunity to build communities. However, for e-learning course creators, corporate trainers, and other professionals, video hosting for e-learning on YouTube has many limitations.
The limitations of using YouTube for training
YouTube is not built for professional video hosting for e-learning. It’s an open platform where anyone is able to upload content. The noise on the platform isn’t conducive to attracting and retaining learners.
Distractions and ads
The vast amount of content can be distracting. Learners have endless disruptions that come with ‘watch next’ lists. It can be very difficult for videos to capture and maintain their attention amidst a vast sea of content.
Advertisements appear at multiple points within a video. They may contribute to revenue, but they disrupt the flow of a video and can cause viewers to bounce.
Minimal branding options and content control
YouTube has minimal customization options for video players and pages. Educators can’t use their brand logos on their videos. A free video-sharing site like YouTube wants users to give them royalty-free licenses with the right to copy videos. Legally, educators using the platform do not have complete control of their video content.
Poor privacy
The public nature of YouTube and its limited security features make it unsuitable for certain types of content. Sensitive business content is often included in corporate training videos and using YouTube can put this content at risk. Limited privacy options can lead to piracy and copyright concerns.
Technical limitations
Some of the technical limitations of using YouTube include limits to video upload sizes and lengths. YouTube only archives live streams that are 12 hours or less in length.
Insufficient video analytics
YouTube offers video performance metrics, but they are unable to generate the type of in-depth insights educators need to improve video performance. For example, they can’t identify the nuances of viewer behavior or which video segments have the most engagement.
What a dedicated video hosting platform offers
A YouTube alternative for training is to use a dedicated video hosting platform. A private platform offers many benefits that YouTube can’t provide.
Customization options
Educators are able to customize video players with their brand logo, colors and fonts. They can also customize video templates and video channels. This offers them the opportunity to build their brand image and offer a better viewing experience to learners. On the Cincopa platform, they can embed a video gallery on a website that fits seamlessly with the overall visual experience.
Mobile-friendliness
A dedicated platform will make sure that videos are compatible with mobile devices. Many learners today use mobile devices to access educational videos and they should be able to view them at high quality on smaller screens. Video messaging is also possible as smartphones have recording capabilities. This allows learners to connect with educators and receive support or offer feedback.
Interactive features
Interactive features in videos help to make learning active rather than passive. Learners have to take certain actions that help to reinforce learning. They may have to complete a quiz, fill in a survey, or click a call to action (CTA). Features like subtitles, transcripts, and video chaptering enhance engagement and make videos accessible to a wider range of learners. Using real-life scenarios and game-based elements motivates learners and helps them to retain information.
Synchronous and asynchronous learning
Educators need to be able to offer synchronous and asynchronous learning to suit different learning styles. Learners should be able to find the video-on-demand (VOD) content they need when they need it using smart search features. Automatic saving of live streaming makes it available to access at a later stage as VOD.
Strong security measures
Strong security measures on dedicated platforms include encryption, two-factor authentication, etc. IP restrictions, user permissions, and single sign-on (SSO) are other measures that help educators to ensure secure video hosting.
Granular analytics
A professional video platform will offer advanced analytics that provide in-depth insights into the performance of videos and learner behavior. Specialized dashboards and analytics can help educators to discover learning trends and get deep insights into the effectiveness of content.
Cincopa is a professional video hosting solution for e-learning with features that YouTube doesn’t offer. It enables educators to record, manage, and share internal and external corporate videos. On its home page, educators can find out more about the solutions it offers. These include white-label branding and interactive elements. It also offers LMS integration, strong security measures, and in-depth analytics.
Ideal features for e-learning
LMS integration
The best video hosting platforms integrate seamlessly with learning management systems (LMS). Most digital learning systems today involve the use of an LMS. LMS video integration helps to streamline workflows. It can be a great benefit to educators when they can efficiently deliver and manage video content within their LMS. Learning is able to occur more on their terms. When a video library seamlessly integrates with an LMS, users don’t have to learn a new system.
Access control
Access control is a security mechanism that determines who has access to resources. This ensures that only authorized individuals can interact with assets containing sensitive information. Educators can assign different roles to users with varying levels of access to content. On the Cincopa platform, educators can make videos public or private and use various access control measures.
Engagement tracking
Video engagement tracking is when educators measure and analyze how learners interact with and respond to video content. Some of the metrics for engagement tracking include time spent watching, completion rates, and link clicks. How long learners watch a video indicates how well it holds their attention. Knowing the percentage of learners who watch an entire video shows how engaging they find it. If they click a link, it shows active engagement with a video.
If engagement is lacking, educators may need to review video content and length, add interactive elements, and make other improvements.
Comparing use cases: When YouTube works vs. when it fails
YouTube is very useful for discovering and sharing content. It can be a resource for learning, as it contains countless tutorials and how-to content.
When YouTube works
Storytelling
YouTube works well for personal expression and storytelling. Individuals can share their experiences with a global audience. They can share a wide variety of content that caters to different interests and preferences. Strong communities can develop around shared interests on YouTube channels.
Sharing employee success stories or behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube can improve a brand’s reputation. Social impact videos can highlight a commitment to making a difference in the world.
When YouTube fails
Internal corporate videos
YouTube doesn’t work well for hosting corporate training videos that contain sensitive company information. Uploading these videos to a public platform means that the information could seep out to the general public. Hosting internal-facing videos on YouTube simply isn’t secure enough in most cases and information can fall into the wrong hands.
If corporate trainers upload training videos on company procedures to YouTube and share the link with employees, it is easy for them to inadvertently share that link with someone outside of the company.
Interactive videos
YouTube videos offer little opportunity for real-time interaction with videos. On a private video hosting platform, it is easy to add many different interactive elements. Educators can track learner progress by adding quizzes into video content. If learners struggle to complete a quiz, they can offer support and access to additional resources. They can get feedback by using surveys and polls. This feedback allows them to make improvements based on the preferences of learners.
Conclusion: Time to graduate to purpose-built video tools
YouTube offers unparalleled reach, large audiences and organic discovery opportunities. The platform’s accessibility, monetization options, and community-building features can help with online growth.
However, challenges arise when it comes to video hosting for e-learning. Heavy competition, non-stop ads, limited control over branding, and a lack of in-depth analytics are all issues educators have to contend with. Sign up for a free trial on the Cincopa platform and discover how this private video hosting platform solves these problems.
