Getting past the security firewall on the school's computers isn't always an easy task, and unfortunately it can keep you from accessing fun and educational information. YouTube is a popular internet video site that provides an abundance of videos for both informational and recreational purposes. If you find yourself blocked, the information here will help you learn how to get on YouTube at school.

Even teachers are getting in on the action, from time to time using educational video footage from YouTube, but with network firewalls making it difficult to access websites the content is often blocked. This page offers a few tips on how to get around the firewall to access YouTube while at school.

There are a number of alternate portals, beyond YouTube, that will often carry the same video content that YouTube offers. For example, you may be able to access education friendly sites like:

1. TeacherTubehttp://www.teachertube.com/ - The site was launched on March 6, 2007 and is an online community for the sharing of instructional videos. It is education-focused and specifically designed for use by teachers, schools and home leaners.
2. SchoolTubehttp://www.SchoolTube.com This is a large K-12 moderated website for sharing videos. The website provides learners and teachers with a secure service which is endorsed by leading education associations. Use of the website is also free of charge.
3. Huluhttp://www.hulu.com - The website Hulu is a commercially supported service. Companies like NBC, Fox, ABC and other networks have allowed their TV shows and movies to be available via Hulu. Currently the service only operates within the United States.

• Proxie servers are a way to get around blocked content, by hiding the site information from the network. There are literally hundreds of proxies out there, which is a good thing, as you don't want to rely on the same one over and over again. Network admins catch on to overused proxies, and eventually they wind up blocked too. So get a good list of proxies and keep it with you. Float around between them to mix it up and keep them from getting blocked.

Because proxies change often, there is no definitive list of reliable ones. You will need to perform searches on a regular basis, and then use what you find until it no longer suits your needs.

• There is a YouTube download tool available online that you can use to convert the files to flv format. Files can then be played in a cross-platform media player.

• If you know the url for the video you would like to watch on YouTube, simply insider the word "kick" into the url like this:

• http://www.kickyoutube.com/

• This prompt will redirect you to a video toolbar that asks which format you would like to view videos in. This tool can be useful if you are trying to watch a specific video, and already know the address of it. However, you will obviously not be able to search Youtube using this method. If you come across a video at home that you want to share with your friends at school, you may want to write down the URL so that once you get to campus you will be able to use the kick method.

• If none of the above methods seems to work for you, your last alternative is to talk to the network administrator. If you are a teacher looking to access video content on the web, this method is probably your best bet. The administrator may be able to unlock access on your computer, while keeping the other computers in the classroom safe.

If you have tried everything and you still can't seem to get onto Youtube while using a school computer, you do still have one option left. Many cell phones these days can access the Internet, either through a wireless signal or through a cell signal. If you happen to have an iPhone, a Google Droid or a similar phone, you're in business as long as you can receive a signal.

If you don't have one of these phones yet, you can always try to coax Mom and Dad to get you one. Be warned though, you may very well get in trouble for using it at school!

• Getting around the network's security system could get you into trouble, so be sure to use caution while performing any of the above tasks. You don't want to wind up losing your computer privileges completely.

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