Ignore the naysayers: online teaching works, and it works well

Students take easily to technology and are turning in better quality work, says Professor Peter Cochrane

I have been attending and presenting at conferences on virtual education for over 30 years, and despite the visible success of the UK Open University, the naysayers always have the upper hand. They can always quote this or that study or cite this or that problem to say it will never work. But along came Covid-19 and lockdown, and the whole sector went virtual in a week!

Needless to say, the naysayers have gone quiet, and even those totally opposed to social media, video conferencing, online shopping, or anything else virtual and cyber have largely fallen into line. Once they tried it, instead of airing their ignorance they suddenly became converts.

Of course, young students have taken to this new mode like ducks to water, whilst most academics appear to have similarly followed. Granted, a few have needed help, but are now immersed in this new mode. Since the start of lock-down I have been using Zoom, Skype, Teams and Hangouts on a day-by-day basis for lectures, tutorials and seminars.

To do a good and effective job seems to take about 30 to 50 per cent more energy and effort, and for sure I miss the eye contact and all those human facial cues, but on the other hand, the students are less distracted, more focused - and they're turning in better work. Another interesting feature is that the keenest students email me directly for one-on-one advice, guidance and short tutorials.

All I can say it works and it works well!

On the commercial front there is also a new format of ‘virtual conference' and workshop where I have also attended and presented across SEA, the EU and the USA, and these also work well. They appear to be popular with audiences that have not had to fly. Some events have even clocked up 10-fold their normal audience numbers due to the sheer convenience of webcasting and being able to cherry-pick the speakers and topics of direct interest to them.

But it doesn't stop here; major company and client meetings have also largely adopted virtualised modes along with home working. And indeed, an estimated 28 per cent of private schools in the UK are convening virtual classes using the same technologies and techniques to great effect.

However, like every form of challenge and change there are always those that defy the logic and battle against the overwhelming trend. In the UK that turns out to be the state schools with 98 per cent or so opting out of helping students with any form of virtualised class, homework and supervision.

Struggling parents have done their best to home teach their children whilst the teaching unions announce incredulous warning about safety and risks on the internet. Their stated guidelines are:

"Teachers cannot be working as though they are sat in front of a class, and children cannot be expected to be able to study full time with online resources…

… teachers should only live-stream lessons from their homes, or engage in video-calling, in exceptional circumstances with the parents present"

And the basis for all this? Concerns include teachers' online safety, e.g. the opportunity for screen-grabs to be taken of staff members. But best of all:

"We don't want to add layers of new things or look into new technology or jump into something different. Online lessons are not desirable for primary children as the teacher-pupil interaction is not easily replicated".

Only a trade's union or the far left could be so out of touch! My experience with students and children of all ages is that they live in this century and are happy to grasp new technologies to see what they can do. So, they video conference between each other whilst this crazy debate continues and their education and parents suffer.

Peter Cochrane is Professor of Sentient Systems at the University of Suffolk, UK