Hey everyone, and Happy New Year! I'm back from the holidays and I'm so excited about 2016. This is going to be one rockin' year. I have so many cool things planned for the channel. One of them I was hoping to have up and running for today's Homeroom Announcements. Ran into a small technical glitch. But it should be fixed in the next couple weeks. You'll definitely see the cool thing I had planned in an upcoming Homeroom Announcements episode. So stay tuned for that.

Here we are going into my second year on YouTube and I feel like I've finally graduated from a freshmen to a sophomore. You know, keeping with the whole school theme and all. In college, freshmen classes start with a classification of 1 and sophomore classes start with a classification number of 2. My very first video ever on YouTube was Homeroom Announcements 101. Now that I'm a sophomore, metaphorically speaking, this episode will be Homeroom Announcements 201. Separate playlist too. If you want to check out the old Homeroom Announcements, I'll leave a link for that in the description and i-card above.

I still have a long, long way to go before I'd call myself a senior on YouTube. But that's life. You live and learn and graduate to the next level when you've passed enough tests. These Homeroom Announcements videos are like my class notes in way.

But before we get into all that, if you're new to the channel, first of all welcome to the Skooled Zone. On Fridays I do a podcast type video giving you news and updates about the channel. It's also an opportunity for me to wax philosophical about various topics related to the gaming industry, YouTube in general, personal things in my life, or any thoughts that I feel might enlighten you guys as viewers on the Skooled Zone.

The Skooled Zone is an entirely different kind of gaming channel. It's based on the idea that you can get smarter through video games. I provide an educational gaming experience. But I don't mean educational games as a genre. I play all your favorite Triple-A titles on the Skooled Zone, from first person action shooters, to stealth and adventure games, to tactical strategy and RPGs. Whatever games are the most fun and have the most potential to be Skooled.

Skooled with a K that is. But what exactly does that word mean on this channel? Well, that gets right to heart of what I do during my let's plays. When I stumble on something during a gaming video that might be a bit of trivia or teachable moment about real world I stop and give you guys some really cool factoids about it before moving on. As a result, you guys get smarter by just watching your favorite video game walkthroughs. In educational lingo, they call that contextual learning. And it really is the best way to absorb knowledge about the real world because not only are you being taught something cool but you get to see it visually as well and comprehend how it's applied in context. And there's never any pressure because you don't have to take notes, you can always stop and rewind to learn it again, and there's never any tests or quizzes. Don't you wish regular school could be this fun.

So if you're the kind of YouTube watcher who likes video game channels, fascinating facts type channels, history or science channels, and aren't afraid of being a little nerdy with me on the daily, then you get to have your cake and eat it too on the Skooled Zone. And the channel isn't particularly targeted for either kids or adults. It's really for both. Just people who like to learn cool new things while watching their favorite video games.

If all that sounds good and you're not already subscribed, then what are you waiting for? Hit that subscribe button and join the Class of 2016 here on the Skooled Zone.

I was going to do a whole episode about New Years Resolutions and all that, but my list for the channel is too long. I'll be rolling out each thing I check off the list in a new Homeroom Announcements. For example, within the next month, I should have some ways you can connect with me through social media ready to roll out. And then some other awesome changes happening. But like I said, the list is too long. Just stay tuned for some really cool things to come.

In the meantime, thanks for joining in, leaving those smart comments on the videos, and sharing the channel with your friends. I'll see you on Monday with another trivia walkthrough. Happy New Year. And of course...

Love, peace, knowledge.