Here is the moment that changed everything for me. I was at BHS, and I saw something I did not expect — my students were actually learning from my YouTube videos. They were engaging. They were asking better questions in class. They were rewinding the tricky parts at home. And I thought to myself, why am I keeping this UNLISTED?
So I clicked the toggle. UNLISTED → PUBLIC. That was it. That was my whole "becoming an EduTuber" moment.
For the first many months I got 9 to 20 views per month. Per month. Today, that channel has over 345,000 subscribers. So if you are at 9 views a month — please don't quit. I am living proof you don't have to. Here is what I wish someone told me before I clicked PUBLIC.
§I was camera shy. I was also "influencer shy."
When I started, I was uncomfortable with the camera. That much I expected. What I did not expect was how uncomfortable I was being a person on the internet. The idea of strangers watching me explain derivatives felt strange. So at the beginning, I just posted my videos on YouTube for convenience. It was easy. It was free. And I made everything UNLISTED — meaning only students with the link could see it. That was my safe little corner of the internet. Just me and my 30 students.
That safe little corner is, by the way, a perfectly legitimate place to start. If you are camera shy, start UNLISTED. Make videos for your own students. Get comfortable with hearing your own voice. And one day, when you are ready, click PUBLIC. That is exactly what I did.
§From Barstow to Manila — for a YouTube panel
I did not understand what was happening at first. The video views were going up. The subscribers were rolling in. And then one day Google sent me an email. They wanted to fly me — all expenses paid — from Barstow, California to Manila, Philippines. To sit on a panel. With top content creators from Southeast Asia. Talking about education on YouTube.
Me. The guy who used to upload videos UNLISTED so nobody could see them.
From 9 views a month to a Google-paid stage in Manila. This still doesn't feel real.
My first ever YouTube event — flown out by Google to be a panelist alongside top SEA content creators. All because I clicked one toggle from UNLISTED to PUBLIC.
§The 8 things I wish I knew
Okay. Here it is. The list I wish someone slid across the table to me in 2009. The honest one. Not the YouTuber-bro influencer version. The one for teachers like you and me.
Make it for your students. Not for the algorithm.
If your intention is to make education accessible to your own classroom — recording becomes way less stressful. You are making a tool for the kids you already see every day. Everything else is a bonus.
Stop worrying about haters. They are not coming.
Haters don't care about your lesson on derivatives. People who watch your derivative video searched for it. They wanted it. They opened it. They are not your enemy. They are your audience.
Focus on your own students first. The world will catch up.
Your 30 students are your "automatic subscribers." Make videos for them. Outsiders will find you sooner than you think — but only if your existing students vouch for you first.
Make it right the first time.
If you record it well now, you can use that one video for the rest of your career. Year after year. You free up huge amounts of your future workload as a teacher. Take your time on the first take.
Spend on the mic, not the camera.
This one took me forever to figure out. Bad audio — students click away in 10 seconds. A blurry whiteboard? They will squint and stay. Buy a good mic before you buy any camera upgrade.
Hearing your own voice is only awkward at the beginning.
I promise. Trust me. After 30 videos, you stop noticing. After 100, you start liking it. Push through the cringe.
You don't need gimmicks. Just go straight to the lesson.
Skip the intro music. Skip the "hey guys welcome back." Get to the math. Your students are doing homework at 11pm — they want answers, not branding.
You are a teacher. Not an entertainer.
This is the most important one. Read it twice.
You are not creating videos to entertain. You are creating videos to teach. Once that clicks — the camera stops feeling scary, the haters stop existing, and the lesson becomes the star.
§So… should you become an EduTuber?
If you are a teacher who already records a lesson once in a while, even for a sub day — yes. Click the PUBLIC button. Don't overthink it. Don't wait until you have a fancy mic and a studio. Click it.
The world doesn't have enough good math teachers explaining things in 5 minutes. Your students need you. And so do somebody else's students, on a different continent, who you have not met yet — but who will find your video at 11pm one Tuesday and message you a thank-you years later.
That is the magic of being an EduTuber. You teach 30 students in your room — and you accidentally end up teaching the world.