Teams Meeting

[House1999]

My DS school do remote learning via Microsoft teams. There is one particular teacher that will not admit children to the meeting room if they are late. My DS (year 10)was 10 minutes late today due to a WiFi issue at home. Instead of missing 10 minutes of the lesson he missed the whole lesson, 60 minutes. Every time he sent in a request to join the teacher denied it. I feel disappointed that the teacher is not more supportive due to the current situation. There has been so much lost learning that i find it difficult to understand why the teacher wouldn’t accept the request to join.

Assuming your son is telling the truth, that does sound bonkers. Here there is always allowance made that not everyone has perfect web access, brilliant computers etc. One or two take the mickey and I guess there is a risk of the boy who cried wolf when they have real IT issues, but there is a lot of benefit of the doubt given.

That is unnecessarily harsh. As PP have said, sometimes internet connections go down, especially if multiple people are on Teams calls. I would email the head of year to ask for clarification on the school policy. Surely both sides should cut each other some slack? We have lessons that don't start on time because teachers are delayed. Most people are doing their best to make it work.

Sounds ridiculous to me OP. I'd moan to HT. late arrival to a Teams mtg isn't disruptive to anyone.

Our school's policy if you have issues with connection or tech is to ring the school when it is happening.

As it was today, I would email them now, we have contact details for pastoral and head of year for each year group. I would inform them of internet issues and inform them your son tried to join.

It does seem to be a ridiculous stance by the teacher not to let him join the lesson. He could have been delayed on the toilet with an upset stomach.

Private or state school?

@lljkk

Sounds ridiculous to me OP. I'd moan to HT. late arrival to a Teams mtg isn't disruptive to anyone.

Late arrival disrupts everything. How many times do you expect the teacher to repeat the start of the lesson? I used to allow anyone in whatever time they arrived. I’ve learnt the hard way not to. People have to be there at the start or They work alone

And what do you mean every time he sent a request to join he was denied? If he was waiting in the lobby, there is no ‘deny’ button. That comes in when someone sends a specific invitation request, which would appear on the screen making a sound and covering the functions. Your child was repeatedly disrupting the lesson and preventing teaching, and I’m sure he knows it

We had one experience if a student doing that, and now it is immediate exclusion from online lessons, and emailed resources only

That seems ridiculous and I would raise it especially as in year 10 doing GCSE work. Ours are certainly allowing in late, they don't go over it again but they do allow in.

Honestly, how many times do you want me to stop teaching, let someone in through the lobby and repeat myself. In a class of 30, that could easily be 20+ occasions every hour, say two that drop out 5 x each, and another 10 who only fo it once or twice. You simply can’t spend the entire lesson letting people in through the lobby. You have to draw the line somewhere. I do generally return to the lobby every 10-15 mins and let in everyone who is there. At a time convenient to me. But somebody sending invitation requests, as implied by your description of being ‘denied’ would certainly not be allowed in, today, tomorrow or the day after. The school would probably block their email. I’m not sure how long for , but it is EXTREMELY disruptive to the lesson, and not tolerated

Parents really don’t get the full picture of these situations

I would imagine the teacher has had their fill of kids turning up late for whatever reason. I think it's fair enough.

@Rowenasemolina

Honestly, how many times do you want me to stop teaching, let someone in through the lobby and repeat myself. In a class of 30, that could easily be 20+ occasions every hour, say two that drop out 5 x each, and another 10 who only fo it once or twice. You simply can’t spend the entire lesson letting people in through the lobby. You have to draw the line somewhere. I do generally return to the lobby every 10-15 mins and let in everyone who is there. At a time convenient to me. But somebody sending invitation requests, as implied by your description of being ‘denied’ would certainly not be allowed in, today, tomorrow or the day after. The school would probably block their email. I’m not sure how long for , but it is EXTREMELY disruptive to the lesson, and not tolerated

Yup it can be frustrating.

What wifi issues delayed him entering his lesson for ten minutes and what can be done to solve this issue?

You just click admit... no need to repeat anything, talk and click. I'm often talking in meetings and admitting 10, 20 people. Is it really different if you're teaching? Genuinely.

@titchy

You just click admit... no need to repeat anything, talk and click. I'm often talking in meetings and admitting 10, 20 people. Is it really different if you're teaching? Genuinely.

I guess that depends whether you want the child to actually understand what’s going on.

Surely better than being barred from the whole lesson.

@titchy

Maybe because the adults you are talking to aren’t drilling out of the meeting on purpose constantly to be annoying and disrupt your meeting.

Or also because the adults in your meeting aren’t often messing about at home- perfectly aware they meeting has started- and deliberately turning up late , unmuting and messing about with their cameras to trash lessons.

See also- inviting their mates to your meetings so that you lobby is beeping constantly while you are trying the teach or hacking the TEAMs account of other students and crashing lessons.

All of the above happened to me last week.

I generally allow late students into the lesson. But I can see how other teachers get sick of lateness. We record minutes late and it gets sent to the head of year.

And another thing. Lobbies don’t always work. It isn’t always possible to admit people after the first tranche

@titchy

You just click admit... no need to repeat anything, talk and click. I'm often talking in meetings and admitting 10, 20 people. Is it really different if you're teaching? Genuinely.

Yes because they won't appreciate that you have already explained concepts (not all but some) and you'll get 'I don't get it' ad nauseam otherwise.

Agree. Just click admit. What’s the deal.

Rather the kids there catching up than not we all. In a real lesson you’d let them in. If they sat there looking baffled then they’d listen to what they get.
Can’t believe lessons are so hard to catch up on

@PartoftheProbl3m

Agree. Just click admit. What’s the deal.

You clearly don’t see what the bid deal is, you are probably not being expected to stop what you are doing, Flick back through several screen and allow entry to someone who will immediately ask what’s happening, 20+ times an hour. If I am reading an answer, or describing g a procedure or showing a video, or looking at a students work, that has to stop while I minimise the screen I’m on, find and enlarge the screen with the lobby on, then go the whole thing in reverse. It’s incredibly disruptive fir the whole class. You give the impression if never having experienced this at all, and not really having much of a clue. It really is a very big disruption

I’d tell the kids to be quiet. Tbh I’d have the setting to not let them unmute

Lol. I’ve been teaching for 29 years.