Kevin Blissett: Out of the Cave

As you’re no doubt  aware, all major social media and networks, with the exception of Facebook (fingers crossed), are being blocked here on the Chinese mainland. I fully understand that I am a guest in the country and, as such, accept that there may be policies with which I disagree, particularly political ones. This post is not a political one, but rather an educational one.

There are two salient points that need to be made here: 1. The blocks are largely ineffective since those who wish to get around them can; and 2. The education of Chinese and foreign students here is being deleteriously affected. I want to direct my comments to the second point.

There are tens of thousands of classrooms throughout China which are using social media and networking as a focal point of curriculum delivery. I read recently that all upper primary to secondary students at the Shanghai American School, for example, are required to  blog. I have educated my students in the educational, organizational, research, and collaborative uses of media such as blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter. Almost daily, I am discovering new ways to use these tools, and my students are optimally engaged in classroom discussions and projects. I have seen research improve, writing acumen has grown exponentially, ownership and involvement in our discipline is as high or higher than it’s ever been. Needless to say, my students are upset by the recent actions.

No more can I use YouTube as an introduction to a topic, a jumping off point for a discussion, or uploading of student work. I’ve had to move student blogs from Blogger to WordPress to Ning, and now they’re all blocked. Some of my students were highly involved in expanding their research network on Twitter, but now they’re stifled. Facebook, for creating class and student groups and their corresponding content, and wikis are still available, but I really believe they will be blocked in the near future as well. My options: a) abandon the use of these tools–which I will not do; b) use a proxy server, which we’re now doing in a limited fashion, but it’s quite awkward; or c) set up my own server, which could be costly and labor intensive.

Ultimately, I would not have to make this choice if officials would carefully consider the long-term consequences of their policies. Hopefully, the powers that be will realize that the blocks are causing more damage than they are assisting them in their aims. Until then, I’ll have to continue to be resourceful.

Photo by s myers