Pemanfaatan Aplikasi YouTube Sebagai Sumber Belajar Untuk Meningkatkan Motivasi Belajar Siswa Pada Mapel SKI di MTs Muhammadiyah Meukek Aceh Selatan

This study aimed to examine the use of the YouTube application as an alternative learning resource and to assess its effectiveness in enhancing student motivation and cognitive learning outcomes in the Islamic Cultural History (SKI) subject at MTs Muhammadiyah Meukek, South Aceh. Employing a quantitative approach with a replicated One-Group Pretest-Posttest experimental design, the study involved a sample of 36 eighth-grade students across two parallel classes. Data were collected through motivation questionnaires, observation sheets, interviews, and cognitive tests.The results indicate that integrating audio- visual media via YouTube successfully fostered student engagement, achieving an average class motivation score of 80.01% (Good category) and a learning activity score of 78.33% (Good category). Students' cognitive learning outcomes also improved significantly, with the average score rising from 60.3 in the pre-test to 85.6 in the post- test. However, there was resistance from a minority (15.68%) of students due to the excessive duration of the videos. Overall, the use of the YouTube application proved highly effective in boosting student motivation and learning outcomes.