A review based on literature studies and searches on YouTube gives a scheme over how YouTube is used and also how it can be used as an educational tool in physics teaching. This scheme gives a rather traditional picture dominated by videos of lectures and physics demonstrations. Even though there are advantages with this for some purposes, the capacity of interactivity connected to YouTube as a platform for communication is not used to it full extent. Furthermore, the materials are mainly produced for use in higher secondary school and for college teaching. Materials produced for use in preschool, primary school and lower-secondary school are rare.
There are also examples of how YouTube is used for gathering information of physics as subject. Here the interactivity is important. Also some innovative ideas and examples are presented where YouTube can be a tool for, if not to reform teaching, at least to develop teaching to a more student oriented domain.