YouTube is easily one of the most powerful Web 2.0 tools for the classroom. However, it had a big stumbling block: inappropriate or unrelated content. YouTube EDU solved a big part of this by creating a curated area for educational content.

But what about the schools and districts that still block all YouTube content no matter what? Even if the content is educational, it’s still a no-go for many schools.

That sucks.

There is hope though! I just got a message about EdgeWave, a company that helps schools create secure networks so they can access stuff like YouTube EDU. They just announced today a new featured called ‘iPrism Web Security v7.0 that lets schools access specific content on YouTube in a safer fashion. From what I can tell, it’s a way for schools without a huge IT budget to let their students still use YouTube…except in a far safer way than if they had total access.

“There’s enormous appetite from teachers to use educational YouTube videos in the classroom. We’ve been working on technology solutions to make it easier for schools to access just the videos from within YouTube EDU,” said Angela Lin, Head of Education at YouTube. “Smart technology like EdgeWave’s will make it easier for busy school IT administrators to enable access to YouTube EDU, giving teachers an engaging new resource to educate and inspire their students and bring learning to life.” -Press Release

So if you’re an IT person for a school, district, or just want to learn more about granting access to YouTube and YouTube EDU, check out Edgewave. If you don’t really care, feel free to NOT check it out!