Using you tube videos to explain difficult database concepts in the classroom

We as lecturers have to adapt to a changing student audience. It is no longer good enough to teach without technology, especially in technology-driven subjects, such as advanced databases. Students learn best with a diverse teaching approach, and as part of improving our students' capabilities, You Tube videos, custom-made with the course content, were introduced in an advanced database course. The YouTube videos were aimed at improving student understanding by practically illustrating database scenarios where the main topics of the lectures were addressed. Students were asked to complete an anonymous survey based on their experiences. The groups' responses clearly showed that the majority of students benefited from the videos, with 64% of students indicating that the videos were helpful in understanding difficult concepts, and that 77% of students watch YouTube videos when they need a step-by-step approach to grasp difficult concepts. The overall results indicate that the future of academic teaching no longer only lies in formal lectures, but also adding technology to enhance students' experiences.