YouTube Originals Launches “Celebrity Substitute,” A New Series Energizing Virtual Classrooms Around the World [VIDEO]

Today YouTube Originals launched “Celebrity Substitute” – a brand new learning series where celebrities and educators come together to energize distance learning. In each episode, a celebrity steps in to teach crucial high school lessons with real teachers! Episodes will premiere bi-weekly beginning today at 10AM PST / 1PM EST only on YouTube.

Around the world, millions of students are joining virtual classrooms as part of the current distance learning initiative, and teachers are looking for ways to keep their students engaged and focused to stay on target with their curriculum. From Ken Jeong giving biology lessons to Karlie Kloss working through a coding problem, “Celebrity Substitute” is sure to pique students’ interest with lessons that will be remembered for years to come!

Today, American actor, comedian, producer, writer, television personality, and licensed physician Ken Jeong fills in for Hannah Healey, whose class is learning about digestion and the human body. Formerly a Marine Biologist, Hannah is now a high school biology teacher in Florida where she loves to reference her experience and inspire her students to translate classroom knowledge into real-life experience. Hannah is dedicated to making kids fall in love with science!

Each bi-weekly episode will feature one celebrity substitute giving high school teachers a well-deserved break, including Bill Nye, Camila Mendes, Janelle Monáe, Karlie Kloss, Ken Jeong and Terry Crews. Upcoming lessons include:

Karlie Kloss teaches Intro to Coding

Terry Crews teaches Visual Art and Perspective

Camila Mendes teaches Psychology

Bill Nye teaches Evolution and Biology

Janelle Monáe teaches US History and Government

“Celebrity Substitute” is produced by B17 Entertainment. The series is part of YouTube Originals new slate of projects aimed to support, entertain, and educate viewers around the world amidst COVID-19 #WithMe initiatives, which encourages the world to stay home and save lives.

This news also comes on the heels of Google’s Teacher Appreciation Week efforts beginning this week. To show gratitude for teachers everywhere, Google unveiled a Doodle designed in collaboration with the 2020 Teachers of the Year, shared a new moment in search film thanking teachers, released a new version of their Teach from Home site with tips and tools on distance learning for teachers and families, announced a $2 million Google.org grant to DonorsChoose and more.