Term Time Holidays don’t have to affect Learning.

Taking students out of class for holidays can create a lot of issues. Parents want the best and most affordable deal and schools want the students to be present for the entire term. There is little to no middle ground in this scenario. However, what if there was a way around it, using webcams?

It can be very frustrating for school managers and principals dealing with absenteeism. Teachers worry about the progress of absent students, or if there is a problem in the household. If the student misses a significant amount of the curriculum, they could fall irrevocably behind. While these situations are difficult, they are made even more problematic when the people responsible for absences are the parents.

Everyone needs a holiday, and no one can be blamed for trying to get the best deal on packages or locations. The difference between the cost of a holiday during peak and off-peak seasons can be enormous. A family may be faced with the option of going out of season or not at all. So, what choice do they really have?

Holidays can be tricky for parents in the workplace. They may have to book holiday time in advance and have a limited amount of Annual Leave to take during the year. In some offices, the mid-term or summer holiday days may already be booked out or limited to a certain number of employees. This means taking a holiday at standard times and dates may not be possible. These restrictions are usually due to issues around staff shortages during breaks.

However, the schools have their schedules too, and parents will get very little sympathy at the Parent-Teacher meetings when their kids are falling behind because they were sunbathing for 10 days in Magaluf. The schools may try to introduce fines and punishments for the parents, sometimes even legal action, but, compared to the savings and a hassle-free holiday, families may see it as being worth the risk.

It seems like there is no middle ground in this scenario. However, with a simple piece of technology, it can be easily resolved. A possible solution is to place a webcam in the classroom and record the classes. A lot of teachers may recoil in horror at the prospect of being recorded. However, this was common practice during the government-mandated Lockdowns. Also, in a lot of universities, it is common practice. Some university courses give students the option of going to a lecture, viewing the lecture live online or watching a recording of the lecture on a platform like Moodle.

When placing technology into the classroom there are always some issues. Of course, the camera will have to be strictly focused on the teacher and the top of the classroom for child protection; and any administrative duties, such as roll calls, and organising sports or events will have to be omitted.

The students can go on their holiday, the classes are recorded and then, when they return, they just playback the classes they missed. The students are up to date, the classes continue, and the parents have a holiday. As an added benefit there is less conflict between the school administration, staff, and the parents. It’s a win-win situation.

Webcams have been around for a long time and would be a great addition to help teachers and students cope with seasonal absenteeism. But, as all educators know, laptops, PCs and Tablets can also be used to record classes; or dare we mention the ‘S’-word (Smartphones). A class could be recorded on a Smartphone or on a Social Media app such as Instagram. However, after all the controversy around phones and social media in schools the webcam may be perceived as a more palatable solution.

Both teachers and parents have their schedules and due to circumstances beyond their control, families may have to take a break off-season. However, instead of punishing the family and creating resentment towards the school (and possibly education). An easy solution of recording classes on webcams introduces a long-established technology and education method from the universities into the schools. This both ensures a happy holiday and an uninterrupted curriculum.

The author

Dr. John Jennings

Dr. John Jennings is an educational theorist from Galway, he has a PhD in TESOL with research in Social-Media and Education. He has researched the perceptions that students have of Social-Media in Education and how it affects their interaction with the academic world. He is also an avid virtual runner

https://linktr.ee/dr.johnjennings