Thanks to YouTube and some paid online courses, Ankit Kumar is a self-taught avid learner.
Although YouTube has a wealth of instructional content, Ankit was frustrated by a few aspects of the platform. He found his focused learning time frequently disrupted by the appearance of recommended videos. There is also no way to track one’s progress on YouTube, which makes sorting through videos challenging. A problem-solver by nature, Ankit started thinking about a solution.
Ankit also reads many articles on Hashnode, where he learned about Hashnode’s “Build with Linode” hackathon. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to focus for one month on solving the challenges of online learning with YouTube. That decision earned him a grand prize award in the hackathon.
He developed YTClass, a website that helps online learners build playlists of instructional videos without the distracting recommended videos. Users can turn a YouTube playlist into a custom, structured course in a matter of minutes, and they can track their progress as they move through the videos. Besides Linode, the YTClass data stack includes Python, Django, Bootstrap, and JavaScript.
Currently studying web development in college, Ankit first learned Python in high school. Once he graduates, he plans to get a job as a full-stack developer. He’s eager to continue learning through real-world experience and intends to keep working on YTClass as a side project.
