Still No YouTube in China

After uploading the "No YouTube in China" post I was sent some wonderful information from a follower of the blog, Susan Wyatt from the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Career Center. Susan sent me an article from TAMU's College of Liberal Arts on social networking sites, and the Chinese population.

Article: Internet culture in China thrives despite censorship

I recommend that you read it if you have the time. It comments on the fact that in China there are parallel services that are only open to those in China. There were three aspects that interested me the most:

1. Those in China have services available, and do not fret about not having access to the programs that many of us use daily. This of course could be because of not being accustomed to the social media that we have, but the inverse could also be true.
2. The Chinese Government does allow for some public discourse about the political events, despite the Chinese Media urging the government not to allow it.
3. The comparable service to Twitter in China has three times as many users as actual Twitter. In the United States and abroad, Twitter has close to 100 million users, and the Chines equivalent ("Sina Weibo") has an astronomical 300 million users.

The challenge of contacting students despite these barriers are still present, however it is wonderful to learn that these services are available to Chinese residents. Also, the fact that the Chinese equivalents of the services in the US that many grow accustomed have users on such a large scale, I can safely assume that this will increase the ability for new international students to integrate into the US culture. No, this is not a guarantee, nor a statement to lessen the focus on acculturation of international students. Rather it is to increase awareness to inform practice to best facilitate transitions, while also understanding ways to assist students through comparable experiences/processes.

Just another reason why I love Texas A&M University!
Thanks & Gig 'em

No Youtube in China

One new aspect UC Davis is doing this summer is the creation & implementation of an International & National Student Orientation Program that occurs the three days leading up to regular campus move-in. This is intentional so that International and National (Out-of-State) students only have to travel once in the summer. Pretty cool idea right?

The program is designed using two phases, the second is the one that occurs right before move-in. The first takes place a month earlier over three days where students will have remote advising with an Orientation Leader by means of telephone, Skype, Google+, or other means in order to register for classes. An issue arises when you realize that students must first know what to do to prepare to register for classes (learn about degree requirements, test score restrictions, writing requirements, general education, appropriate number of hours, etc.). To meet this need it was decided that the orientation office would film a video and post it online to YouTube. The video ended up being 1.5 hours long, which is too long for YouTube which has a max upload length of 10 minutes for most videos. Secondly, most international Students come to UC Davis from China, a country that, unknown to the Orientation Coordinators at the time, has banned the use of YouTube. 
 
There lies the rub. How do you create an interactive, educational tool to be used by students thousands of miles away under these circumstances? My supervisors decided to email out a PDF of the slide show, with the script so that students could visually follow through the steps needed to prepare for registration. This is a duct tape fix to an issue that is to be improved for the future.

In all honestly, I did not realize that China banned YouTube until having this enlightening conversation with my supervisors. Makes our work as a global citizen have to grow to meet the needs of students in countries that have barriers to our expected levels of social connection. This is a good wake-up call on the issue of access. We of course still want this program to be a success, and now must work to ensure that success through our adaption to meet needs.

Farm to College

Once per year UC Davis Dining Services closes down the main dining halls for dinner in order to host a "Farm to College" night. The event is designed to be an almost picnic theme. All the produce at the stands are purchased from the surrounding community. There are educational booths scattered throughout to give students an opportunity to learn about why it is important to shop locally, and the impact it can have on the community. Moreover, to introduce students to the fact that buying locally means that there is the ability to have fresher produce. Honestly the event had the most delicious strawberries I have ever had. 

One interesting fact was that for an average meal the distance the food has to travel is often over 1,000 miles, and it takes several days to reach your plate. Where as with local produce, you have quite the opposite information. Here are some fun pictures from the event:

I was given a biodegradable container that I was able to fill with compost and a sunflower seed.  It is too bad it will not grow before I leave, I may plant it in some random yard. :)

Apologies

I know it has been over a week since my last post, it is because I finally received my task list for work. Many of which are due this week, and as such I have dedicated a great deal of time and energy to accomplish them. I will be writing more as I am able to turn in assignments. My apologies, please continue to enjoy the posts. There are some cool ones coming up.

-Bruce