If high-school education is failing in the U.S., maybe Web video can help. Founded last April, Brightstorm is a Web video site that brings bright, talented teachers together with students who need some extra help. Backed by Korea’s KTB Ventures, which invested the entire $6 million in the startup’s A round, Brightstorm is launching today to the public.

There are about 20 teachers on the site offering video courses in subjects such as Geometry, the SAT, and A.P. U.S. History. Each course is broken up into episodes that are about 10 to 20 minutes each. Each course is $50, which is split between Brightstorm and the teachers. Students can watch a free promotional video to decide if they like the teacher and want to purchase the course. These tend to be overproduced with cheesy video graphics (stop with the jump cuts already), but they do the job of getting across each teacher’s personality and teaching style.

The videos are supplemented with interactive challenges, pop-up quizzes, and other bonus material. You can certainly see the appeal. If you were a high school student who needed a tutor, wouldn’t you rather watch videos on your computer for ten minutes a day than endure a live tutorial for an hour or more? Now, whether you are actually going to learn more is still debatable.

But there are plenty of startups trying. Here in the U.S., there is PrepMe, ePrep, Teach The People, and Grockit. In Asia, there is iKnow in Japan and perhaps the biggest success to date is Korea’s Megastudy. No wonder KTB took the whole round.

BrightStorm has launched a new online learning network for teenagers with video-based courses lead by experienced instructors. The concept is rather clever as they use the tools that teens use everyday such as online videos to deliver training and instructional materials in a very familiar format. This makes otherwise dull and tedious learning sessions more fun and enjoyable for the teen students which means they will be inclined to view more courses and take more classes.

The courses are presented in short entertaining ways with young attractive teachers (usually). This is another brilliant move because teens today have the attention span of a gibbon. This means that BrightStorm needs to present their material in a brisk and entertaining manner. They also infuse their videos with some levels of levity and humor which makes their material feel even less scholastic than they actually are.

Here are just some of the courses that teen can take: SAT Geometry | Algebra II | SAT Writing | SAT Math | AP U.S. History | AP U.S. Government | Writing | SAT Critical Reading | U.S. History.

The teachers are an integral part of the site, of course. Sure, some of them are young and highly photogenic, but don’t be fooled. There are plenty of good old-fashioned instructors on the site as well. While they understand that their videos have to be a little more hip and cool than what a traditional school would produce, they know they still need professional teachers that know how to teach whether it’s in a classroom or online via video.

BrightStorm has a Challenges section which allows teens to compete in fun contests every week and actually win prizes. It also allows them to see the work of their fellow online classmates and if nothing else lets them express themselves in these multimedia projects. For example, in one challenge called “Music to My Eyes”, they are asked to create a music based slide.com presentation.

In the shows area, there are many more viral like videos that also provide some level of information or educational material in an enjoyable format. For example, here’s “One Minute Hamlet” which shows a Shakespearean troupe rapping Hamlet in sixty seconds.

BrightStorm does a good job presenting course materials in a format that most teens will find pleasant and possibly enjoyable. More importantly, they can actually learn from these video courses which is obviously the primary goal of the service. One thing is certain, BrightStorm clearly demonstrates that educational videos can also be entertaining.