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Supply teachers and e-learning process
Why are supply teachers not involved in e-learning?
Author: Anna Pleshakova
Summary:
I have been working as a supply teacher during a year and have had some experience of e-teaching particularly covering ICT lessons. But I also noticed that supply teachers in general are very very rarely involved in e-teaching or e-learning. I think there exists a number of reasons why. The supply teachers I was speaking with about e-learning told me that they have no idea about how they could be involved in e-learning process in schools and about opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of ICT or they simply don't want to do it. So I am going to explore the reasons why supply teachers are not involved in e-learning. What is Government doing to help them? And what are the possible strategies of supporting supply teachers in terms of e-learning? The pilot survey helped me to find out that supply teachers in secondary schools are not involved in e-learning process. It seems to be one of the drawbacks of the educational system in this sector. So my research is devoted to analysing this problem, to find out and describe the obstacles in using e-learning methods which supply teachers meet in their practice and to see what is the government policies towards supply teaching and e-learning in secondary schools.Keywords:
supply teachers, e-learning
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Critique:
Learning:
Reflections:
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Peer Reviews:
Peer Reviewer: Select Ejournal Admin
Review:
Hi Anna,
I've spent some time thinking about the problem that you're grappling with, and it seems to me that there are two main factors involved.
- Most supply teachers deal with one-off lessons and classes, and it's very difficult to have stand-alone e-learning materials that can be used in those circumstances. If supply teachers carried laptops with e-resource banks that could be hooked up to an interactive whiteboard they could overcome the problem. If no IWB, they could carry a data projector and project onto a screen, or the wall. How many teachers do you know who carry around that kind of kit?
- Schools as institutions haven't yet thought through a whole-school, whole-curriculum policy in which e-learning is integrated (rather than bolted on). Until they do, supply teachers will always be marginalised.
These two themes may be useful for your study.
Or not!
Peer Reviewer: Katya Toneva
Review:
Hi Anna,
I am very impressed by your analysis of the problem concerning
the involvement of supply teachers in e-learning/teaching process.
For a short time you have managed to make a research, some personal observations and to collect a range of data, to analyse them and make conclusions about the reasons for rare involvement of the supply teachers in e-learning/teaching process, and to suggest some supportive activities, which could improve the current situation.
I believe your analysis would help the institutions, which are concerned to improve
the current situation regarding the involvement of supply teachers in e-learning/teaching process.
Kindest regards,
Katya
Peer Reviewer: Stella Cattini
Review: Hi Anna, I appreciate the depth of your research into the issues confronted by supply teachers and the lack of training and support, especially in ICT. It's a positive move, following the government's research, to create the Quality Mark and make the agencies more accountable for their staff training standards and our work might well help to create more awareness of the gaps in service. Although there are training initiatives all too often teachers cannot take them up because they are not able to sacrifice their pay. We too, did not receive re-emboursement for our course days for which we forfeited our salary, although, it's true we have benefited greatly and will continue to. This is not the case for the average supply teacher relying on odd days of work. Look forward to discussing this further. Maybe some of the issues in my MA research might be of interest to you?
See you Thursday, Stella
Peer Reviewer: Select Ejournal Admin
Review: Your study is a very thorough analysis of all the structural issues that face supply teachers when they try to implement e-learning.
I'm impressed by the way in which you have researched the background issues in a relatively short time.
Congratulations.
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