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?

Amazing how so many people are experts on schools, education and how teachers work. The reality is so many haven't a clue! 🙄 but carry on spouting, the usual rubbish it shows how little you know.

If ypu are having isues with your own children's teachers please contact the teacher or school. Please don't tar all with the same brush or make silly statements that will push more people out of a profession that already has problems recruiting.

I will now return to adapting lessons so that they can be delivered online for children who can't access their lessons in a standard way. Then i will prepare lessons for keyworker children who are emotionally fragile and who I have never met and planning how to keep my elderly parent safe as they are my only childcare option.

Like so many others we are all doing the best we can with limited tools. But ypu know what, go for it, put all teachers on 80% and sort the mess left behind.

Here in Los Angeles which has the 2nd largest school district and one of the poorest in the country, they are doing all classes online for the rest of the school year (June for us). It's been a huge effort and some are managing better than others. But everyone is trying. The teachers and families who are more technologically equipped/educated are helping the ones who aren't. The internet providers are getting free internet (either full install or hotspots) to everyone as quickly as possible and the school district is working with all sorts of partners to get computers or tablets into every home. Everyone is posting on social media websites offering help to their neighbors. It won't be perfect, but it's an amazing effort. The effort to get all the families online had already begun a few years ago, this has just sped up the timeline.

Plus it was obvious for at least a month before lockdown began that it was only a matter of time, so why was no one planning for this?

Bonkers, I imagine everyone was working normally, doing their usually full working day.

The prime minister, spouting the advice of scientists, wasn’t suggesting closing schools would be necessary the week before.

A national immersive online educational environment to be created

They are trying to create something similar in France - not sure if it is up and running though;

venturebeat.com/2020/03/13/france-embraces-distance-learning-experiment-as-coronavirus-forces-school-closures/

@stormyclouds that's relevant as I'm in the process of buying a house and my conveyance solicitors has completely closed. They are supposedly working from home but are taking at least a week just to reply to a simple email. Is that a normal timeframe to reply? I think they are just sitting on their arses watching tv.

@Bouncingbomb I was amending contracts over a month before lockdown because as soon as they had "community transmission" here the rest was inevitable. indeed as soon as they had community transmission in Italy it was largely inevitable. I upped my son's preventer inhalers to the max in mid January when flights were still coming from China. Plenty of people were warning of what would come even back then. We are rightly frustrated now with people and organisations who stuffed their heads in the sand and didn't plan because Boris trotted out some platitudes.

NeverTwerkNaked

You see, this demonstrates you know nothing about schools.

You may have been able to foresee the future in a way that very few could - good for you.

How many people is your organisation responsible for?
How many different groups within that organisation?
How many of your stakeholders are on child protection plans?
How many have EHCPs?
How many have FSM?
How long do you spend each day engaged in face to face meetings with your stakeholders?
How big is your building?
How much time is available to plan for a crisis, in your organisation?

You have no idea. But my only down time is between 11pm and 6 am so spare me the violins. I don't understand how everyone could see what was happening in Italy (as a minimum) and not realise how inevitable lock down was!

I don't understand what teachers are doing now to have still not got anything in place for children at home. We've had absolute radio silence from my childrens school. So now I do a "key worker" job that should be being done by 3 people and educate my children too. And they hear nothing from their teachers.

I agree Boris was somewhat to blame but anyone with half a brain could see he was spouting platitudes to reduce panic and that we were facing a gravely serious pandemic.

As SLT we were quietly preparing for a school shutdown from February half term. I emailed the head about putting plans in place during that holiday and we started planning straight after we returned. We did not share this with the staff as a whole as we didn’t want to cause panic. Our HT said most other Heads in the area were doing the same thing. I think a lot of schools (at least in London) were very much expecting a shutdown. I don’t think it was a huge shock.

Thank you Sabine. I thought that must surely be the case!

Shouldn't the teachers be making some effort to communicate with the children?

For what it is worth part of my frustration is that my son experience horrible abuse from his dad and school was such a support to him but since they closed we have had nothing over than a generic whole school letter to parents.

My SIL in Ireland does video messages to her class and reads to them over video and sets a bit of work each day at least.

Children who have experienced DV should have had some contact, IMO. In my school they are called twice per week by their pastoral lead. In terms of work, I think some schools are at different stages and have different approaches. Your son’s school sound particularly slow. Is it possible the teacher is currently ill?

His sister has had zero contact too. So I can only assume this is the standard for the school. She cries quite often because she misses her teacher, a video message to the class every now and then would make them both feel so much less abandoned. DH (their step dad) are both in public sector jobs that are critical (albeit can be done from home) we are churning out vast amounts of work and home educating them now. So i don't understand the near radio silence (normally we get loads of emails from school about non uniform days etc!). .

(and it's not that they dont have my number, my son has lots of medical issues so they ring me several times a week usually!)

Not sure how teachers are expected to operate all these Skype/Google Classroom/Hangout lessons from home, when very few of us have ever been provided with work laptops.
Give me, a) a laptop/wifi speed with the capability to run the lessons and, b) some training in how to operate it all and I'll be there.

Also, NeverTwerkNaked, don't assume that, just because your children's school appears to be a bit shit, that all schools (and teachers) are.

@CallMe Angelina I have a step son too. His school have sent a lovely email about what the teachers have been up to (gardening, washing their cars, watching films..... ) And a couple of work sheets.but hardly much. And my nephew's are getting similar. Admittedly all have the same LEA....

@CallmeAngelina

To be frank, operating Skype does not require a high-speed connection. My DS1 is at uni, and he had never had an online seminar at all until last week, but his lecturers were able to get up to speed quickly.

There is certainly a perception that many teachers are using this situation as an opportunity to send out a few worksheets and then watch telly. My DS2 is in year 10 and he has had nothing beyond a few worksheets.

My impression seems to be that the unions are using every excuse in the book to avoid providing any education for 6 months. In that case, I'd be very tempted to furlough them all until September and bring in staff from overseas and private tutors to do skype lessons.

My husband was abusive. I was just openly mauled to death in court.. I don't want the families I teach in my home.

I agree @StormyClouds they should be expected to deliver still (like the rest of the public sector is expected to).

I doubt there are many teaching staff without even a smart phone - that would be enough to send some video messages and some emails with tasks and then to mark the work that is returned.

They don't have to be in your home Ohio you can pre record the video it doesn't have to be live.

I have 300 assignments to mark, well I will when they are all returned - then the same again the next week. Would you fancy doing all that on a smartphone?

Out of my whole class I've heard from 3 sets of parents. I'm primary. They don't reply. I've asked them to tell me exactly what they want me to do. I've heard back from one parent.

Where would you like Ohio to record the video from? The street?