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modal_particle
Joined: 19 Oct 2009 Posts: 16
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:34 pm Post subject: Do web restrictions interfere with your teaching? Sanity? |
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Hi Guys,
I'm debating accepting an offer in Guangdong and with the latest fiasco involving internet censorship in China I wonder if it's going to drive me nuts. I use a LOT of web resources to plan lessons - do esl teaching resources websites ever get blocked in you guys' experience?
On a side note, how about social networking sites (facebook, etc) that let you stay in touch with people outside of the country?
I'm probably being paranoid but I would find teaching pretty hard without the internet at my disposal... |
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gene
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 Posts: 187
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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Countering that all other devices and services are provided.. a VPN will get you though...but note of caution: If the internet is so important, you should insure (if possible) the working conditions of the internet at the school or apartment where you would be doing most of your prep. |
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themanymoonsofjupiter
Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 205 Location: The Big Link
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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gene's right--my biggest problem is not at home but in the classrooms, with their horribly slow internet that very rarely brings up any information from non-china-based websites. you do have to improvise (assuming that you will even have a computer in the classroom...), but it's not completely atrocious if you know how to download embedded video and the like. |
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sharpe88
Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 3:06 am Post subject: |
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ESL teaching resources: not blocked
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube: blocked |
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Halapo
Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 140 Location: Jiangsu, China
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:21 am Post subject: |
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Another thing to consider, the class room projector, speakers, internet, you name it, might work one day and not the next.
In a week I visit 12 different class rooms and all of them should have all these things in working condition. Almost every week one classroom or more isn't working, and its not even the same classroom from week to week.
Trying to fix it yourself or find somebody to fix it isn't really and option, you will need to have a backup plan ready to go.
I never count on the the internet working, I download everything to my computer if I want to use it in class. My home internet and the school's have very different filtering going on, and that without a VPN at my place.
For every lesson plan, I have a "oh no, the computer wont work" plan, its nearly as detailed as my lesson with the computer.
Expect to use the blackboard more then you plan. |
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Old Surrender

Joined: 01 Jun 2009 Posts: 393 Location: The World's Largest Tobacco Factory
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:24 am Post subject: |
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Man, I would love to have Youtube for class.
Anyway, I download ALL of my vids and audio onto my machine or USB drive at home. That way it'll still be there tomorrow for class in case something happens to the Internet.
It's not just China's fault, sometimes sites just get taken down by their owners.  |
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Dan The Chainsawman

Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 302 Location: Yinchuan
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:22 am Post subject: |
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I used to get cranky about not having youtube for some of my higher level classes, but then I realized most of what I wanted is hosted on the chinese vid sites.
Annoying, but not insurmountable. |
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ttorriel
Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 193
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:25 am Post subject: |
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And yet you don't see Chinese teachers claiming they can't teach because of internet restrictions. That should tell you something. |
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china-1994
Joined: 24 Mar 2010 Posts: 36
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:37 am Post subject: |
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Well considering I was teaching students who were going abroad, I had a long list of helpful sites to visit to improve their English.However, this constant narrowing of popular English dominated sites, seems to be thwarting my efforts- So big pain in the ...
Cheers,
WW |
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ttorriel
Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 193
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 3:00 am Post subject: |
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Post your list of sites. I teach the same sort of class and my students are able to access the sites I recommend. |
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xiaolongbaolaoxi
Joined: 27 Aug 2009 Posts: 126
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:48 am Post subject: Give them the sites anyway |
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Give 'em the sites anyway. Add a few sentences after each as a brief description to how they can use it/for what... If you happen to know that it is accessible in China, it can become a conversation piece.... which site was best for students and why...
I did this multiple times picking sites that tended to be grammar- and listening-comprehension oriented. #1 high interest. #2 even if they're not interested, culturally, they will thank you anyway [in my experience] and leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling.
... if you know there are specific videos you want/need and you have good relationships with students, you can let them know what you want/need ahead of time [make sure they know whether you want subtitles] and they can hunt it down for you, usually gladly [and related DVDs]... They get to help the teacher, they get extra practice, and if you happened to pick the right thing, they may blab it to their friends, so that by the time you use it in class, they have seen it a few times [=repetition without you having to do anything.] When class finally rolls around, you can actually watch and talk about it as opposed to students just watching something they can't understand and leaving when the bells ring. Conversely, I really wanted to use something in a culture/politics class, and the internet guru student sent a "I don't think anyone will like it...." message. And she was right... it would have soared right over their heads. So we talked about the thing instead of spending two hours on a movie only I would have understood much less liked.
I know I am going to regret writing the next sentence...Just watch out for bikinis. miniskirts,etc. Waitresses wearing very tight/revealing/short clothes=no big deal for students [at current school one CT would probably have been sent home in America based on her wardrobe], but a woman in a swimsuit=complete and total chaos for the rest of the class.
XLB |
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