YouTube banned in school..advice needed

doc_17 wrote: »

I heard at one of those information seminars on 100mb broadband that the filtering levels of schools would be adjusted to allow YouTube once the 100mb was installed.

Anyone else confirm this?

I did hear that the ncte were looking at the filtering levels.

I changed ours so that we have YouTube, level 3 maybe, not sure.

Our VEC is providing 100mb broadband to all of its schools. They will filter porn and gambling at their end. The rest is up to each school.

YouTube is only a problem if kids aren't being supervised well. In many cases this is down to room layout etc.

Would highly recommend ab tutor control. Allows you to block internet access so that only necessary work can be done. Also allows you to lockdown computers and show your work on the kids screens.

I generally turn it on and view all screens at the same time-consuming stick it up on the projector so they can see what I can see. Certainly focuses the mind

Yes, this is a real pain. Our principal won't unblock it. I understand where they're coming from, but surely there must be a way for staff to have access but students not.

As others have said, you will have to make do with a youtube downloader. These are fine, but it is a problem if you have lots of videos because the storage requirements add up very quickly - well beyond the capacity of most usb sticks - and I doubt the school will be offering to pay for the necessary storage equipment.

Then there's the problem of getting VLC Player downloaded! Took 5 months for us last year - only the VEC IT technician and one teacher in the school has admin access to download anything and technician has to ok everything - problem is he will ok nothing. He wouldn't alow flash player to be installed at all. I'm waiting 2 years and 10+ requests to get the DSPCA website unblocked. :pac:

The lack of tech support in schools is really holding us back.

We're not allowed use our own equipment. I would if I could believe me!

We are not allowed use our own laptops or internet connection.

We are not allowed to disconnect the classroom computer from the IWB or Data Projector to connect own laptop. We are told this is because it creates problems with the settings and also that official guidelines say equipment for school use should not be also be for personal use. Phones in the classroom are an absolute no no.

We are not allowed to use a dongle to circumvent the internet filters.

Also, re AB Tutor - we have this and in general I find it excellent. However, I have students who can take control of my computer using AB Tutor, so it is rendered useless. I have discussed this with management and the technician, but it seems there is nothing can be done other than implementing sanctions for breaching the computer usage policies.

Overall a lot of the issues seem to come back to the fact that teachers only have the same level of access as students.