Why aren't teachers providing lessons by Skype?

[Folicky]

If schools are to close, which they will eventually, why don't they teach the lessons via a video link / Skype? At the moment, as I understand it, if schools close, parents - many of whom will be working from home - will he expected to home school their children. How is that going to work?

You know that teachers often are parents too, right?! So how is that going to work???

Well, I can't speak for all schools, but the majority of kids in mine have not got access to a laptop with a webcam.

Huge safeguarding risk.

Advised not to do this. We can love message via Teams app but no video teaching.

I will record me modelling answers etc on my visualiser then email these to students.

Vast majority of my class don’t have tablets or computers. I’d be quite happy to provide Skype lessons but I’m much more concerned about them being fed when the schools close.

Teachers may have their own small children for a start. DGS is 15 months old, I can't see him playing nicely for 5 hours.
Also, in today's mean world , why should teachers lay themselves open to ignorant people videoing their teaching and critiquing it online or pupils doing the same to make fun of people?

All sorts of practical issues but most of all huge safeguarding issue. You really don't want teachers in DC's bedrooms and they don't want to be there!

I did today. Im in France and we are in lockdown.

My class are excellent students and good kids, however the call was a waste of everyones time. Background noise in every participants home was huge. Brothers and sisters passing, dogs barking, mums asking what the kids want for lunch. The other kids getting annoyed because they cant hear, family members putting on the radio in the background...

Tell me how to improve! I cant tell people not to put the radio on in their own homes or silence barking dogs!

Also, parents who are working from home may be having to use available computers. Italy's broadband went down today due to overload.

And what about teachers own children? Will they be locked in another room whilst the Skyping is going on? Are they supposed to be ignored? I’m not Skyping but have pre-recorded some lectures and sprang hours and hours these past few weeks in preparing suitable work for 7 year groups, in case of closures. We haven’t been twiddling our thumbs you know!

spent not sprang

Mnah but if teachers are at work - so not self isolating - why can't they work remotely. Drs are in GP surgeries triaging patients by phone, psychologists and psychiatrists are reviewing their patients by phone and Skype from their work offices, accountants and lawyers are in their offices but not meeting clients face to face and instead phoning them or videoconferencing..... why can't teachers??

Video also takes up huge bandwidth on the internet when you consider there might be two children plus mum and dad working remotely who need to do conference calls. It just isn't set up for it. All internet will be severely tested over the coming months. What do you think would be gained by a teacher looking at 30 tiny screens of children?

Most teachers are busy prepping loads of stuff for a possible closure. This will vary depending on your child's age but is likely to involve printed material and extra support on the VLE. Different schools will have different ways of checking in with the students, mine have requested that I use Moodle and email but I know other schools use Microsoft teams etc. Unions are being very cautious about video for the safeguarding of staff and pupils although there are fewer issues with audio only.

Icky, it might just be a case of them getting used to it. I'm in Italy and we've been doing it for a week now (in the north for longer) and as it becomes the norm it settles down. The first lesson with each class was a 'mare but now it's second nature to us and them.
Also have DD doing it at the same time and we just split off into different rooms.
Our schools have been giving more and more directives as time has gone on, so yours might be the same.
Good luck!

You seem to have totally missed the point about safeguarding.

Teacher here OP, no I don’t expect parents to home school, nor do my colleagues. Not everyone has computer or internet access so hard copies of work have been provided. I teach GCSE and A Level. Students have work booklets which are self-explanatory and revision based too so I trust that they can work through the booklet independent. Also a DSL (safeguarding lead) and certainly would not want to be trying to teach 30 kids with lots of distractions and possibly safeguarding risks via a video conference type call.... Everyone is trying to manage the best they can with the situation at hand. Skype I don’t think would be the best answer or help especially where disadvantaged kids etc don’t have internet access. Can’t speak for other schools but we are doing our best to manage the current situation and especially for our most vulnerable kids.

@mnahmnah. Thats exactly why schools.need to stay open as long a a possible. A lot of those doctors won't be triaging patients by phone once their DC are off school

Mnah but if teachers are at work - so not self isolating - why can't they work remotely
Eh? Because we’re teaching classes, you know, to all the children not self isolating? I’m already having to combine classes to teach due to other teachers off. I can’t manage 60 odd children in neighbouring classrooms and fiddle about with the bloody Skype.
I have been spending my break, lunch and evening emailing work to those children self isolating and answering all their questions. What more do you want!???!!

Safeguarding nightmare.
Most teachers have their own children. You can't Skype and look after them.
A lot of our students quite frankly wouldn't bother.

Happy to respond to emails on the school system and create and send videos.

Rest assured you'll be getting your moneys worth. SLT have directed other tasks to us as well including curriculum plans, central lessons.

It’s tough when everyone wants immediate fixes to the current situation, but please trust schools and teachers to be doing their best and their job correctly. If Skype were the answer then it would be used frequently as a classroom technique or a reaching & learning tool but it isn’t which suggests that it simply isn’t feasible...especially with safeguarding procedures! Just not appropriate within a safeguarding or the current learning context.

My question is about what will happen if the schools close.

I work in the nhs and we're expected to come into work but contact patients by phone.

Also if our children are off school (but not ill, but because schools are closed) we will get some carers leave for 3 days but after that it has to be annual or unpaid leave.

Because of the prospect of school closures, DCs school have sent home log ons for Microsoft Teams with the promise of further lesson plans being delivered this way. There's an assumption that everyone has a tablet or laptop.

Great idea, maybe the teachers could also pay for a laptop, broadband and private work space for every pupil at the same time. If any older dc are minding siblings because the parents are in work the teachers could stump up for a nanny too.

Folicky I answered your question earlier in the thread. Read back a little.

My DC1 goes to Chinese school and we have switched to Skype lessons since February. Let me tell you it doesn’t work at all. The kids muck around a lot. The teacher was kicked out constantly. They mute the teacher. They type annoying or even rude things on chat. The kids (around 7-10yo) can’t concentrate or pay attention to the teaching. I think we are better off just to do the homework assigned ourselves. They have to keep doing it because it’s private and we paid for the lessons. And therefore there is an expectation they have to do their bit to provide value for money. But really time is better spent with teacher assigning homework and parents following them with the kids.

I'd love to try and deliver a Skype lesson to 30 4 and 5 year olds! 🤣