«Combination of face-to-face and digital teaching would be the ideal form of learning»

Digital expert Philippe Wampfler has experienced with his own pupils what it means when there is only distance learning. The secondary school teacher explains what lessons he has learned from the coronavirus crisis, what impact the lockdown has had on the digitalisation of schools - and whatchanges children, parents and teacherscan expect when everyone goes back to school regularly.

Mr Wampfler, while younger children are going back to school, you are still giving distance learning lessons as a secondary school teacher. What do you attach particular importance to in this form of teaching?

When we switched to this form of learning due to the corona crisis, the teachers at our school agreed on two measures: Firstly, we wanted to make sure that the pupils were present. This resulted in a daily morning ritual in the form of a video session with the whole class. This session usually marks the start of the first lesson.

And what else?

Secondly, there are one to two touchpoints per class and subject every week. In these 20-minute video sessions, the pupils can ask specific questions. They receive support from me with project tasks and I can give them assignments. At our school, the majority of this is done using the Teams work and communication platform. I collect all the information there and exchange ideas with my students. The disadvantage of Teams is that I can't see everyone on video.

What are the biggest challenges for you as a teacher?

To feel the pupils. When I come into my classroom, I can see not only whether everyone is present, but also who is in what mood. This is much more difficult in a video session. I can't respond to each pupil individually.

Digital expert and secondary school teacher Philippe Wampfler in a Zoom interview with online editor Hanna Lauer.

Were you already travelling digitally with your classes before?

Yes, I have been working with teams in my classes for some time now. The pupils are moderately enthusiastic because I can control them better than in the normal school situation. At the moment, this digital form of teaching is standard.

What does that mean, better control of pupils?

Firstly, synchronous settings require the presence of the respective person. In addition, tasks are set with tight deadlines and clear guidelines and pupils are called if tasks are not completed. Digital monitoring methods are rarely used in Swiss schools.

«In video sessions, I can't respond to each pupil individually.
individually.»

Who decides whether a teacher teaches their class online or analogue: the teacher themselves or the school management?

The touchpoints or contacts with the classes were regulated by the school management. Teachers with «smaller subjects» - i.e. those with only two lessons per week - should communicate with the pupils once a week, teachers with «large subjects», such as German or maths, twice. Most work with teams, but Zoom is also used by a few colleagues. And others send PDF documents. It depends on how digital a teacher is. At our school, there is the whole spectrum of teachers, from technology freaks to PhDs in science.

How have teachers been trained to organise their lessons online?

The decision and the transition to distance learning were a rush job. The assumption was made on Friday and materialised on Monday. Nobody was prepared for the video conferencing situation. Our school had had micro-training beforehand, but it happened so quickly and the students were already at home. I still work at a university and we changed the training for teachers there and focussed on the digital aspect. These training courses take place via Zoom.

What happens to pupils who do not have access to a laptop or computer at home?

At our secondary school, it is compulsory for all pupils to have access to a computer at home when they start school. Next year, «Bring Your Own Device» (BYOD) is to be enforced: This means that everyone must have their own device. At our secondary school, pupils who have to share a computer with siblings or parents are offered the opportunity to borrow a laptop from the school.

Not every school offers these opportunities. How do families manage to provide digital access for everyone?

I don't see this as a major problem. Of course there can be bottlenecks in families - but many teachers can provide these children with a school-owned device. This is not only the case at our school.

What role does data protection play when students communicate with teachers via Skype, Zoom or Facetime?

The discussions surrounding data protection have taken a back seat at the moment. However, the use of Zoom in particular has also been a talking point at our school, as data protection did not appear to be sufficient. The Swiss data protection officers had to make compromises due to the current situation. More was allowed than under normal circumstances. Certain guidelines should be adhered to.

Please give an example.

I find it tricky to record the students in the video sessions. I only make recordings if I'm giving a presentation and the recording of this content is important for the lesson. We're not so strict at the moment, but we have to keep an eye on certain offences for the future. Data and video recordings of young people must be specially protected.

What opportunities and risks does online teaching currently harbour?

Digitally, I can control everything the pupils do on the computer. There has to be freedom for young people. I see using digital technology as a control tool as a risk. What's more, we learnt about online teaching during a crisis situation and the idea that this is how traditional online teaching works. You have to realise that this arose from an emergency situation and not that regular face-to-face teaching is now disappearing completely. The combination of face-to-face and digital teaching, which offers students more geographical freedom, would be an ideal form of learning.

What impact will digital teaching have on the time after the crisis, when all pupils go back to school «normally»?

That is difficult to predict. We have been forced to overcome our fear of this form of teaching. We are taking the realisation into the future that the presence of pupils does not always have to take place in a room at a certain time in a certain social form.

«It's not that regular face-to-face teaching is now disappearing completely.»

What feedback do you receive from your pupils?

Some students enjoy working individually on their project work in distance learning. Others sometimes do not know how to set their priorities and this quickly leads to excessive demands in terms of self-organisation. In addition, they often lack the social contact and dialogue that gives them a daily structure. When they move together from subject to subject and from room to room, they can inform each other about what to expect next. At home, the private and school spheres also mix when parents bring in their own ideas about how the child should learn. At school, young people enjoy more autonomy.

Distance learning is also a novelty for many parents. What do you hear from them?

The combination of working from home and looking after children in their learning tasks is an enormous challenge. Parents have a different role for children than teachers. The fact that they now combine two roles in one person is irritating for many children and stressful for parents.

If you could wish for something, what would it be?

I would like to see a sense of togetherness that lets us say: Together we have overcome this crisis! But also that we take the learning experience of distance learning with us. I would be sad if the graduating classes could no longer see each other. Graduation has an important function for young people. But it shouldn't take place too early, because celebrating with face masks and social distancing wouldn't have the same effect.

The digital expert on the net

Philippe Wampfler publishes instructions for teachers on a YouTube channel: phwa.ch/digifernunterricht.

He also writes about digital media in the classroomon schulesocialmedia.com.

Philippe Wampfer ist Gymnasiallehrer und  Digitalexperte sowie Vater von drei ­Kindern (8, 9 und 11) und lebt in Zürich. Zurzeit teilt er mit seiner Familie das ­Homeoffice. Das funktioniert genau wie der Fernunterricht: mal besser, mal schlechter, mal gar nicht. Manchmal nehmen es alle mit Humor.
Philippe Wampfer is a secondary school teacher, digital expert and father of three children (8, 9 and 11) and lives in Zurich. He currently shares a home office with his family. It works just like distance learning: sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes not at all. Sometimes everyone takes it with humour.

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