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?

It was only on the teacher though and the pupils 'speak in'
They could see his work/board etc

In an ideal world yes. 30 children would login at the right time and sit prepared to learn in a private space with no noise etc.

In reality all of the issues listed above happen. Plus ds shouting for me to wipe his bum!

If I had 1 student to teach at a time then it would be a dream (using your comparison of ringing an NHS patient - singular) x30 not so much.

You've made an assumption about the way it would work and you're way off

I don’t have the bandwidth or the laptops for my kids to be all having Skype lessons and I don’t really want 4 teachers at a time talking away in my house. I would like some work set and for the dcs to be able to contact via email. One of my dcs used to have a Skype tutor and it was a pita. Always dropping out or the sound going or the picture going and that was just 1-2-1 once a week.

I wonder about lessons whereby the teacher talks to the pupils but it is not possible for the children to talk to the teacher. Therefore the only thing that could be recorded or edited or criticised or posted elsewhere would be what the teacher said.

My child is A level so a real different kettle of fish to younger children

Anyway the technology is out there
If they close down school we have were told today that all classes will be digitalised following normal times

Mumsnet: Here are several salient points and many examples of direct experience as to why this won't work.

OP: But WHYYYYYYY

I wonder about lessons whereby the teacher talks to the pupils but it is not possible for the children to talk to the teacher. Therefore the only thing that could be recorded or edited or criticised or posted elsewhere would be what the teacher said.

Then I suggest you try talking into a void with no interaction from your audience for 5-6 hours a day, on 5-6 different topics. It's not workable.

Minesabecks.

I assumed that all public sector jobs followed similar employment law and therefore that teachers will be required to be in work or do work from home also after 3 days

Therefore the only thing that could be recorded or edited or criticised or posted elsewhere would be what the teacher said.

Oh, well that's ok then...

Honestly, I can't imagine many things more awkward than a skype lesson to dozens of children. I'm happy for my lessons to be recorded- they often are- but under very controlled conditions.

Also, I think you're massively overestimating the attention most pupils would pay. Set work they can sit down with is much more likely to be completed by the vast majority.

And unless I've totally misunderstood, you think that all children will have an adult in the room to supervise?!

Therefore the only thing that could be recorded or edited or criticised or posted elsewhere would be what the teacher said.

Errors in teacher grammar and similar regularly come up on forums and social media (often wholly justified, granted!) and I've had parents combing through their child's books at parents evening and commenting on them negatively (complaining about activities done, unhappy with how something had been marked etc.)

I'm not sure any teacher would be happy laying a whole lesson bare on the Internet for editing, criticism or posting elsewhere.

Therefore the only thing that could be recorded or edited or criticised or posted elsewhere would be what the teacher said.
What do you mean by that?

We will be doing work from home to the best of our ability.

Why not acknowledge the comments regarding poverty. Not everybody has access to the internet. No tablets, no laptops, no Wi-Fi. No lunch.

It's not really practical - as others have said, if mum and dad are both WFH and there are several children, all with different lessons to watch, the broadband will be overloaded and there may be insufficient laptops for the number of people in the house. Also how can you evaluate learning? Workbooks at least can be assessed and provide a lasting resource for students to go back to. It's not an easy task is it?

Well a million reasons!

Most covered here but I would add

My job has video conferencing and it is tricky enough with grown ups
Trying to get a load of kids to do it is just not going to work

And our stuff is professional grade. Even when it's proper professional time in boardrooms with it all working marvellously there's always issues with the IT plus people who aren't in the room tune out.

Human beings are not good at paying attention at a distance let alone kids. Let alone kids in houses with younger siblings, pets running around, Ill parents

'online sessions can be recorded and edited and this could lead to inappropriate postings on social media'

Editing this type of content is a total bastard unless you are a ££££ professional tbh.

bemore, because the OP clearly has her own agenda, which I'm still trying to work out.
It would be helpful if some of the questions other posters have asked were answered, rather than OP ploughing ahead on her own course.

And teachers will be working from home, but that may take the firm of marking work submitted electronically, answering email queries from parents about a Maths strategy used, locating or creating appropriate differentiated work to distribute the following day etc.

Or does all that not count?

Also, if parents end up being laid off due to their jobs not being needed (or having to stay home to care for kids and not being in a position to work from home) then paying for internet access may be a luxury too far - if they even have it in the first place. So the more privileged kids whose parents won't be at risk of poverty will be OK but poorer kids won't- the government wants to close the gap not widen it.

*form

We're expected to work (and login to meetings with line managers twice a day via Teams) but sticking to class times won't be possible for some of us.

I'll be:
setting work on ActiveLearn (and analysing results/ chasing those who aren't doing it)

Setting work on Teams and replying to queries (eg Johnny pings me to say 'Miss I'm stuck on how to calculate the area of a circle') and I'll film my hand / voice as I explain and show examples to reply

Planning the work to set (my lessons will all need altering to make them more accessible online)

I teach 148 students a week

DD school is going to give them work via Google drive (that Google are flogging hard to schools and they need a Gmail address but that's another post...) Which is more practical

IF you have access to laptop or tablet etc.

Govt advice and this thread seems oblivious to the reality of a lot of people's lives tbh

I'm sorry that some teachers have been subject to pedantic and/or vexatious complaints I really am, it sounds unpleasant but there must be a way of dealing with that.

I'm an SEN advisory teacher, visiting schools to give advice about and run interventions with pupils with sensory disabilities.

How am I supposed to do that properly from home? At most I could perhaps run online training for teachers, answer parent emails/calls and perhaps send some work to class teachers to send out. But that's not as much as I'd usually be doing. I have my own training I could do if I can find online courses but so much of my job requires actually being with the pupils.

Skype sounds lovely.
My internet is so slow it doesn't work. So what happens if my kids are all told they have to do Skype sessions with their teachers?
OP you seem to think that if teachers aren't directly speaking to their pupils they're not working- that's not the case.
Teachers are working extra hours at the moment (unpaid) to prepare work for if/when schools close.