YouTube access in schools

[GeekyPete]

Staff only, even then only safe mode with ads and comments removed via smoothwall. Students have access to youtube for schools.

[phil0569]

Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh is the normal sound when YouTubeis mention at our school.....

 

We are having real problems at the moment in respect of YouTube. We used toblock it for students via Policy Central and give full access to staff. Then wewent through the painful but beneficial process of setting up YouTube forschools. This worked well for some time. We had students using the filtered YouTube,Staff had a login to override it and we had the master login where we could addand white list videos. So, as max usedto say, I want to tell you a story......

 

One day Google decided something was not just right in the world and we werehaving life to easy, so they thought it would be nice if our teacher’s logins didn’twork anymore. So they went forwarded and said this is our gift to you and madeit so.

 

We had been blessed by the mighty Google. What could we do now; we had to startusing the master login for staff so they could reap the benefits of the bountiful YouTube. This brought joy back to the humble teaching staff and Google was once again respected. Students we still fine with the filtered YouTube and knew nothing of the blessing that Google had bestowed on the school.

 

Once again Google looked down on the school and saw what it had done and how its offerings had been accepted. This seemed to displease the mighty Google that the school had abused its restrictions and still ate from the tree of knowledge. So once more it made known from that day forward the school would be blighted with errors while playing its videos like a plague on the school and the school would feel the wrath of the mighty Google once more.

So now the humble school looked forward for help from the almighty local authority who very graciously looks after its gateway to the allpowerful internet and asked guidance to see whether it can help in stopping the power of Google messing with its powerful wall of fire. They too were unable to combat the awesome power that Google holds.

The knowledgeable Link2ICT spoke back to the school and told it they were the only ones who messed with the omnipotent Google and wereunable to help.

So My Question is....... Has anyone else had this problem.....?If so have you fixed it.....? Or should I reprogram the firewall with a large axe.....

On a serious note, as far as I can tell from research of the problem, it is a redirection error and it lies with the change in URL name that comes back from YouTube after a request from the browser is sent. We seem to be the only school under Link2ICT control that uses YouTube for Schools, so their experience of it is limited. There is very little support from Google/YouTube on this. HELP!!!!!

 

Edited May 23, 2014 by phil0569

[Ben_Stanton]

Due to a new VLE (firefly), staff are being very proactive in it's use (i'm as shocked as you guys). Lots of youtube content being put up in the VLE. Great when the teacher is logged on and using in class, but not so great when they say now go away and carry on yourself (in prep for example).

 

As there is no real way of getting this to work without a shed-load of kerfuffle, we are tentatively talking about unblocking it across the board, with safe search on and comments disabled.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Ben_Stanton

[mshill]

Hi

 

I seem to be having big issues with setting this up! Hope you guys can help!

 

When I set-up Decrypt and inspect and go to Youtube we get the error - Cannot connect to the real YouTube. If we turn it off the Https version of the website is totally unfiltered without comments being blocked or safesearch being activated. We have imported the Guardian CA certificate via group policy to all of our PCs but still get this error. Also, if anyone go's to the http version it auto seems to go to the https version giving this error!

 

Only had Smoothwall a few weeks so having a few teething Problems

 

Regards