Lightspeed Adds YouTube Library Video Feature -- THE Journal

SecurityPrivacy

Lightspeed Adds YouTube Library Video Feature

By Dian Schaffhauser
02/09/09

##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

Lightspeed Systems, which sells network security and management software for schools, has added an educational video library feature to version 7.02 of Total Traffic Control, the company's network security application. The library feature enables teachers and students to play approved YouTube videos through a portal on the local network. YouTube's video functions operate normally, but the other community information and links that are usually displayed on the YouTube Web site along with a video, such as promoted videos and user comments, are removed.

Network administrators designate teachers and staff who may submit and/or approve videos for sharing. As part of the submission process, videos are placed in a subject category such as math or science, and tags may be added for more specific searches. Teachers can search by category, tags, and titles from the library of previously approved videos. Video approval can be widely delegated to teachers and curricular leaders or limited to a single administrator. In its current form, the Educational Video Library is limited to users within a district, but Lightspeed Systems is planning a future version that will allow content to be shared among Total Traffic Control users around the world if desired.

"Technology directors tell us that one of the most frequent requests they receive from teachers is for access to YouTube videos with educationally rich content," said Scott Garrison, president of the company. "Sites like YouTube are part of a shift in education toward more collaborative technologies and digital media as schools strive to provide a 21st century education. However, administrators are challenged with the security and safety risks that come with Web 2.0 technologies. Schools must comply with state and federal regulations such as Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). The Educational Video Library is our first step in a concerted, long-term effort to help schools adopt Web 2.0 tools in a safe and effective manner."

Total Traffic Control has been used by Bullard Independent School District in Texas, the School District of Menomonee Falls in Wisconsin, and Bakersfield City School District in California.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

Iteach Bringing AI to Teacher Curriculum via Khanmigo Partnership

Users of the iteach educator certification platform now have access to the Khanmigo AI teaching assistant at no additional cost.
FCC Expands E-Rate to Support Loaner WiFi Hotspots for Students

The Federal Communications Commission has officially approved an expansion of the E-Rate program that will allow schools and libraries to utilize E-Rate resources to loan out WiFi hotspots to students, school staff, and library patrons who lack internet access at home.
NIST's U.S. AI Safety Institute to Collaborate with Anthropic and OpenAI on AI Research

The U.S. AI Safety Institute, part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is partnering with AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI to collaborate on AI safety research, testing, and evaluation.
OpenAI Launching AI-Powered Search Engine

OpenAI has unveiled SearchGPT, a new AI-powered search engine designed to access information from across the internet in real time. The much-anticipated prototype will provide more organized and meaningful search results by summarizing and contextualizing information rather than returning lists of links.