Several brick-and-mortar colleges have taken their application process online in one of the more unexpected locations: YouTube. Schools like Tufts University, The College of William and Mary, George Mason University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland have begun accepting video submissions in place of (or as a supplement to) written application essays. The purpose is for students to show more of who they are — live and in living color — and based on some of the submissions, who they are is a bit scary. Here is an assortment of some of the more oddball videos. Perhaps you’ll gain some inspiration for your own application…or maybe you can learn from their mistakes. (more…)

This video has been around for a while, but it’s still a powerful and engaging argument for the increased use of technology in classrooms. Although it’s aimed at teachers and school administrators, the potency of the message isn’t lost on the rest of us, and while not all of the suggestions might be feasible, it’s this sort of out-of-the-box thinking that will hopefully fuel education in the 21st century. Plus, it’s got purty music.

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USA Today has a nice profile on the educational potential of YouTube, something we highlighted a few weeks ago. In particular, it mentions a great non-profit, one-man organization called the Khan Academy, which has published almost 700 videos on YouTube dealing primarily with math but also touching upon finance and banking — including compound interest, home equity loans and the mortgage crisis. The Khan videos have become popular with high school and college students looking to supplement their schoolwork — and no doubt adults hoping to make sense of why their house is now worth less than their car.

Of course, YouTube videos shouldn’t be used as a replacement for formal education; they’re more of a study aide. Think of them as video CliffsNotes, which we all know shouldn’t be read in place of the actual book (ahem). While these videos have the benefits of convenience and replayability, viewers should be wary of both the picture and content quality. If a video claims that Harriet Tubman was Harry Truman’s post-op stage name, for instance, think twice about its reliability.