UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Megan Costello, associate teaching professor in Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), will present the college’s annual McMurtry Lecture. The talk, “Click, Watch, Learn: What YouTube Teaches Us About Teaching,” will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, in E202 Westgate Building on the University Park campus. The talk is open to the Penn State community.
The 2024-25 recipient of the George McMurtry Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Costello will reflect on what instructors can learn from YouTube.
“While classrooms and video platforms may seem worlds apart, the rise of YouTube as the largest video sharing platform in the world offers powerful lessons for education,” Costello said.
By drawing on over a decade of teaching practice, the session distills lessons from the strategies of YouTube creators and reflects on how such practices can inspire more dynamic and inclusive approaches to learning. This talk highlights patterns that invite instructors to explore how iteration, resilience and authenticity can help them not only engage learners but also navigate the evolving complexities of life in the teaching profession.
The George J. McMurtry Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award highlights the recipient’s innovative teaching, commitment to learning and creative interface in the classroom or in online courses they teach. The award is named for the former associate dean of the College of Engineering who was instrumental in the founding of the College of IST.
Costello focuses on the intersection of technology and policy. She joined the College of IST as an assistant teaching professor in May 2014 and was promoted to associate teaching professor in July 2022. Prior to pursuing a career in higher education, she worked as a lawyer and has since been pushing the boundaries of innovative technology in the classroom. Costello has over a decade of experience with speaking in various settings, including national continuing education conferences, teaching development presentations, local EdTech symposiums and her own classes at Penn State. She said her enthusiasm for teaching and innovative technology has fueled her desire to continue bridging the gap between these two fields.