Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging application. Users can exchange messages, photos, voicemails and audio and video files of any type. Telegram features end-to-end encrypted calls as well as secret chat functions between any two mobile users. The app’s focus on privacy contributed to it’s wide adoption among high-school and university protesters in Hong Kong in 2019.
But the app isn’t just helping students organize in protest- it’s also helping them stay caught up with their schoolwork. Students have created private study groups to share information and tutor one another when they’re missing class to attend a demonstration. Many teachers are now using the app as well, in an effort to reach their students even when they’re not in class. Students report that they use the app because they can be sure they are working with their fellow classmates, and not a member of the state or police. An in-depth on the topic can be found online at https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hong-kong-s-student-protesters-catch-class-same-way-they-n1082776.
I think this is a fantastic use of mobile technology and a great example of its evolving impact on our theories and practice of education. Telegram makes it possible to still congregate to participate as learners and teachers even remotely, while also giving students the opportunity to organize and protest, putting their learning in action.