Troubleshooting YouTube

If you are having trouble playing YouTube videos in GoNoodle and are certain YouTube is not blocked in your school, you should try the steps below. It's possible your network requires special actions to use YouTube videos -- and these affect how YouTube videos on GoNoodle play.

If your school uses content filtering software

If your school or district uses a content filtering software (like iBoss or Netspective), you may be unable to access YouTube videos. These tools often prohibit the use of YouTube videos within GoNoodle, because we serve our videos over an encrypted (HTTPS) protocol to ensure that all user data and passwords remain secure.

To verify if your school or district has disabled the ability to view YouTube videos over a secure HTTPS connection, run the following test.

1. Can you see the following HTTP video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU1W1HdfavI#t=67
2. Can you see the following HTTPS video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh-9k8XfLzY

If you can see the HTTP video, but cannot see the HTTPS video, you should contact your network administrator or IT staff about adjusting your content filtering software to enable YouTube to play via HTTPS. Please refer them to  this support article, which outlines the specifics of the issue and directs them to configuration for specific web filtering software services.

If your school requires you to log in to view some sites

Some networks may be setup to require users to log in for access to restricted sites, like YouTube. The configuration of this can cause a necessary extra step to use YouTube videos in GoNoodle.

1. Open a tab in your browser and access YouTube. You may need to log in to your network or content filter to access GoNoodle.
2. While leaving that tab open, open a new tab in your browser (usually done by clicking a plus symbol or CTRL+T on a PC or COMMAND+t on a Mac) and open GoNoodle.
3. Try to play a YouTube video within your GoNoodle account.

If your school has Restricted Mode enabled on YouTube

Your school may require YouTube only be visible when using YouTube's "Restricted Mode" feature. This can affect what videos you see. You may be able to change this setting. 

1. Go to www.youtube.com.
2. Scroll to the very bottom of the YouTube page. You will see the options below, including the toggle for Safety Mode.
3. If Safety Mode is ON, change that setting to OFF.
4. While leaving that tab open, open a new tab in your browser (usually done by clicking a plus symbol or CTRL+T on a PC or COMMAND+t on a Mac) and open GoNoodle.
5. Try to play a YouTube video within your GoNoodle account.

Some schools may lock the computer so you cannot adjust this setting.  If you are unable to turn off Restricted Mode, you may want to check with your IT department.

YouTube also has a very helpful article on their site about enabling and disabling Restricted mode.

If your school uses Google Apps for Education:

Some teachers have seen an error message that reads This is a modal window. This message appears due to a setting in the Google Apps program. Your IT department should be able to adjust settings to allow the videos to play.