Will Lecture Videos on YouTube Appeal to a Popular Audience?

Professors are becoming stars on YouTube, thanks to partnerships between the video-sharing site and colleges (see today’s free article in The Chronicle). So far only a few colleges have joined, but more apparently are looking into it. And new commercial sites, including Big Think, are banking that videos of professors sharing big ideas will appeal to mainstream audiences. But as more college lectures hit the Web, will anyone watch? And should class sessions, once held behind closed doors, be opened up to become a public act? —Jeffrey R. Young