Open Access Lecture Videos: Sharing Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology on YouTube
Joseph Rubin
During the COVID-19 pandemic educators rapidly pivoted their instructional approaches. While this period of disruption is behind us, we are left with a legacy of experiences that can continue to benefit learners. Open educational resources improve accessibility in the classroom, and for learners globally without access to well-resourced institutional libraries. In the 2023-24 academic year, lecture videos for Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology (a 3-credit, 2nd year DVM course at the University of Saskatchewan) were published on YouTube. Two student cohorts were surveyed about their use of the videos, and YouTube analytics was used to describe how videos were accessed globally. Students generally favoured these prerecorded videos, citing improved video quality (24%) and shorter duration (36%) compared to other courses where in-person lectures were filmed. 73% of students reported that having these videos on YouTube improved accessibility. From August 2023 through December 2024 the YouTube channel received >230,000 views from 86 countries. Approximately 6% of views originated in Canada while 62% were from low- and middle-income countries. This exercise was a positive experience yielding an easy to access repository of content to share with learners locally and globally. Other instructors are encouraged to seek out opportunities for the creation of open resources. Future studies should assess the impacts of online video sharing platforms on student learning.