Welcome to a fun and exciting chat about Scratch and YouTube! Scratch is an amazing platform where kids can learn to code and create cool projects. Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, joined us to talk about how learning and creativity have changed, especially during the pandemic.
Scratch is a free coding platform that helps kids learn to code in a fun and creative way. It started 15 years ago at MIT and has grown a lot since then. Last year, over 42 million kids used Scratch to make more than 114 million projects! That’s a lot of creativity!
During the pandemic, many people turned to YouTube to learn new things. Susan Wojcicki explained that YouTube is like a giant library of videos where you can learn almost anything. People learned to bake bread, do art, play instruments, and even code using Scratch!
The Scratch Foundation worked hard to make their YouTube channel a great place for learning. They created video tutorials to help kids learn Scratch, and now they have over 100,000 subscribers. Some of their videos have been watched over a million times!
Kids from different countries had questions for Susan. Fortune from Nigeria asked about Susan’s journey to becoming the CEO of YouTube. Susan shared that she didn’t always know she would work in technology, but she loved creating things that people all over the world could use.
Joshua, also from Nigeria, wanted to know who inspired Susan and what challenges she faced. Susan said she was motivated by her love for creating and making an impact. She faced challenges like long hours and learning from mistakes, but she kept going!
Enrique from New York asked if YouTube has deaf employees. Susan confirmed that they do and that YouTube is working on making captions better for everyone.
Guillermo from Mexico wondered how Susan balanced school and business as a kid. Susan focused on school, spent time with friends, and did small jobs like babysitting and selling crafts.
Chheang from Cambodia asked about Susan’s favorite YouTube content. She enjoys exercise videos, cooking tutorials, travel videos, and more!
Susan loves that both YouTube and Scratch call their users “creators.” She encourages everyone to try coding with Scratch because it’s a great way to express yourself and learn new skills quickly.
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your insights and inspiring kids around the world. Keep creating and learning, Scratchers!
Use Scratch to create a fun project that reflects something you learned from the chat with Susan Wojcicki. It could be a game, an animation, or an interactive story. Share your project with your classmates and explain what inspired you to create it.
Pair up with a classmate and interview each other about your favorite creative activities. Ask questions similar to those asked to Susan, such as what inspires you and what challenges you face. Record your interviews and share them with the class.
Spend some time exploring educational content on YouTube. Find a video tutorial on a topic you’re interested in, such as coding, cooking, or art. Watch the video and try to learn something new. Share what you learned with the class.
Create a simple tutorial on how to use Scratch for beginners. Use screenshots and step-by-step instructions to guide someone new to Scratch. Present your tutorial to the class and help others get started with coding.
In small groups, discuss the questions asked by kids from around the world during the chat with Susan. Choose one question and research more about the topic. Present your findings to the class and discuss how these global perspectives can inspire your own learning journey.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
*(upbeat music)*
I’m so glad to be here. Scratch is a wonderful way for people to learn computer science when they first get started. I’ve been a big supporter and have used it myself, and I see how effective it is. So I’m very glad to be here today.
– Wonderful. Well, I’ll start off. My name is Shawna Young. I’m the Executive Director for the Scratch Foundation. We’re one of the largest free coding platforms for kids in the world to learn how to code creatively. Scratch was founded about 15 years ago, and we’re actually celebrating our 15th anniversary next week. It spun out of MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Media Lab. A lot has been done over the last 15 years.
– A lot.
– Yes, actually last year, over 42 million kids made projects on Scratch, creating over 114 million projects.
– Wow.
– We thought those were great numbers until Susan Wojcicki, thank you so much for joining us today as CEO of YouTube, the largest digital platform for people around the world with over 2 billion users. So welcome, Susan, to the Scratch community.
– Sure, I’m so glad to be here. I love Scratch and I love that people are using it and learning about it on YouTube.
– Absolutely. I’d love to just jump right in because we have questions from our Scratchers. I love that you call your creators “creators.” So really, I guess our Scratchers are also creators. I’d like to start by asking you a question about how learning has changed on YouTube since the pandemic. Have you seen a change in terms of learning on YouTube due to the pandemic?
– Sure. We’ve definitely seen people learning a lot more on YouTube than ever before. Learning and YouTube have so much potential together. I think about YouTube as a free video library where anyone can go and learn pretty much anything they want. During the pandemic, when people were at home and didn’t have as many opportunities to go out, we saw a lot of people come to YouTube to learn something new. Many shared stories about baking bread, doing art projects, or learning to play an instrument. We saw people innovate and learn new skills on YouTube.
– I appreciate that. I know you had tremendous growth too, with many people deciding to code during the pandemic. I’d love to hear what you saw during that time and how your channel changed.
– Absolutely. I started at the Scratch Foundation in November 2020, so I was one of the pandemic hires. Before I started, we realized we had to do something different with our YouTube channel. With a lot of intention and new video tutorials, we focused on helping kids learn how to use Scratch. With the hard work of our team, we now have over 100,000 subscribers. Some of our videos, including tutorials on making games, have over a million views. Our Scratch community has appreciated having our YouTube channel as a resource for learning.
– I’m so glad that you’ve been able to grow. Scratch is a great way for people to learn to code. Video is a wonderful teaching mechanism, allowing people to learn at their own pace and revisit content as needed.
– Thank you. You’ve been a huge supporter of video and education for years. From your research, you were one of the people who really saw the potential for online video and its use in learning.
– Definitely. I saw the potential for online video early on. People could learn all kinds of new skills without a teacher. We often go into communities where people didn’t have internet access before, and when they finally do, they use it to learn something new and empower themselves.
– I can relate to that personally. I learned how to air fry using YouTube, and it was insightful for me.
– We have questions from our Scratchers around the world. Our first question is from Nigeria.
– Hi, my name is Fortune, and I have a few questions for Susan, the CEO of YouTube. My first question is, did you ever have conflicting thoughts on the correct path to follow? My second question is, how did your dream start? How did you become the YouTube CEO? And my third question is, did you face gender discrimination when you showed interest in STEM?
– Those are great questions. I didn’t really have a clear path. The internet didn’t exist as we know it until after I graduated from college, so I never thought I would work in technology. I wanted to do something creative and impactful. Once I discovered technology, I realized it was a way to create products that people all over the world would use.
– As for how I became the YouTube CEO, I’ve been at Google for 23 years and was there when it first started. I advocated for Google to acquire YouTube, and when the CEO position opened up, I immediately said yes.
– Regarding gender discrimination, I believe there have been times, but it’s hard to know for sure. I focused on doing the best job I could and ensuring my work was recognized. Persistence is key, and I encourage everyone to believe in themselves and keep speaking up.
– Thank you for your response. I can relate a lot, and I think you stand as an example for children, especially girls, around the world.
– We have another question from Nigeria.
– Hi, my name is Joshua, and I have two questions for the CEO of YouTube. Who motivated you to become who you are today, and what challenges did you face on your way to success?
– Great questions. I was inspired by my love for creating products and having an impact. I faced many challenges, including long hours and times when things didn’t go well. It’s important to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them.
– Thank you, Susan. I appreciate your transparency about your work on YouTube. Now, let’s hear a question from New York.
– Hi, my name is Enrique, and I go to school at St. Joseph’s School for the Deaf in the Bronx. My question is, do you have deaf people working at your company?
– Yes, we do have deaf people working at YouTube. It’s important for us to support the deaf and hearing-impaired community. We’ve been working on making captions more accessible and accurate, and we’re testing features to improve accessibility for everyone.
– Thank you, Susan. At Scratch, we’re also focused on increasing accessibility on our platform.
– We have a question from Mexico.
– Hi, I’m Guillermo from Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. How did you organize your time between school and business as a child?
– As a kid, I focused on school and activities with friends. I also did babysitting and sold handmade crafts. It’s important to balance studies with exploring new interests.
– I appreciate that answer. We have one last question.
– Hi, my name is Chheang from Cambodia. What is your favorite content to watch on YouTube?
– There’s so much great content on YouTube! I enjoy exercise videos, cooking tutorials, travel videos, and I also watch news and product reviews. I hope it’s useful for all of you too.
– Thank you for sharing. I appreciate that you refer to your creators as “creators.” It’s core to the work being done on YouTube.
– Absolutely. Our creators are creating, and Scratch enables people to express themselves and learn coding skills. I encourage anyone interested in coding to try it out, and you’ll see that you can achieve a lot quickly.
– Thank you, Susan. This was a wonderful conversation, and we look forward to continuing to be part of the YouTube family.
– Thank you, and thank you to all the Scratchers around the world for doing great work. I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Scratch – A free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations. – Example sentence: In Scratch, I made a fun game where a cat jumps over obstacles.
Coding – The process of writing instructions for a computer to perform tasks. – Example sentence: I spent the afternoon coding a program that plays music when I press a button.
YouTube – An online platform where people can upload, share, and watch videos. – Example sentence: I watched a YouTube video to learn how to create a simple website.
Learn – To gain knowledge or skills by studying, practicing, or being taught. – Example sentence: I want to learn how to code so I can build my own apps.
Projects – Activities or tasks that involve creating something, often using coding or technology. – Example sentence: Our class is working on projects to design our own video games.
Creativity – The ability to use imagination to create new ideas or things. – Example sentence: Coding allows me to use my creativity to design unique animations.
Platform – A software or service that allows users to perform tasks or share content. – Example sentence: We use an online platform to collaborate on our coding projects.
Tutorials – Step-by-step guides that teach you how to do something, often related to coding or technology. – Example sentence: I followed a tutorial to learn how to make a simple game in Scratch.
Community – A group of people with a common interest, often sharing ideas and helping each other. – Example sentence: The online coding community is very supportive and helps me when I get stuck.
Skills – The abilities or expertise needed to do something well, such as coding or problem-solving. – Example sentence: Practicing coding helps me improve my problem-solving skills.
