Webcam teacher must win students over
Video lessons are sometimes touted as an important measure against the teacher shortage. Two teachers share their experiences. One is enthusiastic, the other opposed on principle.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
Video lessons in primary education are not getting off the ground for the time being, after a round of phone calls. A number of video teachers are active in secondary education.
Opponent
It has been about eight years ago that Joris Borgdorff gave video lessons in mathematics D. At his previous school, he now works for the Calscollege in Nieuwegein, a high-tech room was set up, in which Borgdorff was filmed and immediately streamed to three other schools where the students saw him on a screen.
Often the internet connection was not good enough or there were other technical defects
In this way, Borgdorff taught about 35 pre-university students for approximately two years, between 2011 and 2013. The equipment was funded by the Ministry of Education (OCW), which was already looking for ways to teach lessons with fewer teachers. . As soon as the test period and the service contract funded by OCW ended, the video lessons also stopped. Logical, thinks Borgdorff, who opened up, but never became enthusiastic. "Often the internet connection was not good enough, or there were other technical defects." But the schedules of the different schools also turned out to be incompatible. “One school lasts sixty minutes, another fifty.”
"Schools are really not going to adjust their schedules for a small subject such as Mathematics D." But more importantly to him, there was hardly any connection to be made with the students he saw through the eye of the camera. "For me, teaching is exploiting that bond with students, so that I get them to learn."
You can perhaps explain something purely via a video connection, but for me it is especially relevant to see what happens next, in the notebooks
Looking is the basis of Borgdorff's pedagogy. Walk around and peek over their shoulders as students do the sums, and then ask a question about it or give directions. "You can perhaps explain something purely via a video connection, but for me it is especially relevant to see what happens next, in the notebooks."
If you continue that line, the teacher will soon be involved in the method
Even if all technical challenges are overcome, Borgdorff is not in favor. Certainly not if video lessons have to solve the teacher shortage. He calls it 'a slippery slope', in which important educational goals such as personification and socialization are ignored. Borgdorff mainly fears the influence of large educational publishers. “A colleague of mine was recently asked whether she wanted to record her lessons for Noordhoff. If you continue that line, the teacher will soon be involved in the method. All students put on a headset and that's it. Much cheaper for the school than hiring its own teacher, of course. And you don't have much trouble with the kids. But yes, in fact you also silence them. ”
Proponent
Since the start of this school year, Merel Hoogendoorn's VMBO students have been sitting in their classroom at Da Vinci College in Leiden on Friday mornings. With a teaching assistant. Hoogendoorn teaches them German from home that morning. "I already have half a job as a German teacher in my hometown of Gouda and was not necessarily looking for something extra, but I thought this was a very nice challenge."
This year it was German via video connection, or no German at all
Hoogendoorn has two children, a man with a busy job and a dog. “Everything is completely closed with bringing, fetching, walking the dog. Friday morning at half past eight in Leiden? Unfortunately, I cannot make it. ” And for the seventh graders of the Da Vinci College this year it was German via a video connection, or no German at all. The school could not fill its vacancy and, in consultation with the parents, opted for the video connection. Since then, Hoogendoorn has pulled out all the stops to make good lessons. “It is very different from just teaching. It's all about the live stream. "
The teaching assistant is crucial for keeping order
For each lesson Hoogendoorn creates a powerpoint in which she pastes all her material. From the perspective of the students, she herself becomes 'a little puppet at the bottom right of the screen'. After some teething problems, things are going well. “My voice must be heard very well in the classroom, that was not the case in the beginning. And recently I have a second, larger screen in my study on which I can see the class better: who is participating in it and who is secretly doing something else? The teaching assistant is crucial for keeping order, but I also want to have a good picture of the students. ”
Today's teens love youtubers and vloggers. They don't see them live in the same room, do they?
Just like colleague teacher Joris Borgdorff, Hoogendoorn considers the relationship with her students to be crucial, but she thinks that it can easily develop from a distance. “The current generation is structured differently. Today's teens love youtubers and vloggers. They don't see them live in the same room, do they? " Joking or correcting, she does it all via the screen. “Sometimes I say: everyone is one duckface! Or if it's really busy, I sigh: guys, I'm going crazy, I'll put you guys up mute button. "
She took the classes on a webcam tour of her home. “This is the guinea pig, this is the dog. And then in German of course. ” Hoogendoorn is satisfied with the progress of the students. “They learn like crazy. And I think that band is okay. They ask me: are you coming to the Christmas breakfast, or to the Halloween party? ” Hoogendoorn was not able to attend those occasions, but she recently visited the school, because it is important to see each other and colleagues from the section every now and then. “When I entered I felt like a pop star. Look! There she is. There she is in real life. ”
The ministry is trying to tackle the teacher shortage in several ways, unfortunately with little result, learn more here.
