February 12, 2021 – 12:18 pm Clock
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Berlin (dpa) – Xenia Schütz from Berlin-Biesdorf wants to encourage her students in the Corona crisis – and relies on small clips on YouTube. The star of her channel “Bärchen TV” on the video platform is the soft toy “Bärchen”.
The bear with the blue and white striped trousers always has a good idea ready and tells the children about the things that occupy him every day. It’s holidays, but you can’t travel – “Bärchen” has built an island with its own cave and a boat. Or he does a table tennis tournament.
“It’s about getting through the crisis well,” says teacher Schütz, who currently only sees her students on the screen in Corona lockdown. And that’s best done with laughter.
“Bear” videos are supposed to make schoolchildren laugh
Schools in Berlin have been closed since mid-December. Xenia Schütz still tries to be there for her first and second graders. And the “Bärchen” videos that she publishes on YouTube are a means of doing this. She has been teaching life studies at the primary school at Fuchsberg for 20 years. For each of the very short clips, she asks a question that relates to the subjects in her subject. Students can paint their answer and send a photo of it, or record it as a voice message.
The bear has long been part of Xenia Schütz’s lessons. Before Corona, the children could take it home with them. Now there is “Bärchen” digital. And that goes down very well – with children, parents and colleagues, reports Schütz.
YouTube videos as a learning format: Could this also make school for the time after Corona? If Kai Schmidt has his way, the answer is very clear: Yes! Since 2015 he has been explaining arithmetic on YouTube under the name “Lehrerschmidt”. His videos were clicked almost 100 million times – in the first Corona lockdown in 2020, daily views doubled, he says.
Free tutoring lessons
He also received many inquiries from teachers and associations in which he was asked for advice. The educator from Uelzen in Lower Saxony, who in his own words has a large following in Berlin, sees several advantages in the videos: On the one hand, the students can choose their teachers, and on the other hand, unlike tutoring lessons, the videos are free.
The federal chairman of the Association of Education and Upbringing (VBE), Udo Beckmann, sees the videos as a good way of relaxing the class. However, he points out that free offers are not subject to any quality control. The lack of examination of the content is also the main point of criticism for the Education and Science Union (GEW).
Still, the clips are a big topic among teachers. According to the VBE, teachers would like to use digital media more often. Our own surveys have shown that. A plus point is seen in the better individual support. Beckmann hopes that digitization will continue to advance in schools.
Clips are produced with simple means
So it remains to be seen what role the learning videos play after the lockdown, for example when the schools in Berlin gradually reopen on February 22nd. The channels of Xenia Schütz and Kai Schmidt show what the clips can do. The videos are made quick and easy, says “Lehrerschmidt”. He is also not a technology professional himself.
Schütz had some previous experience in the film sector. However, the implementation was carried out with the simplest of means: the backdrops were painted and cut out herself, she explains. “Bärchen” and his friend “Schäfchen” would be spoken of by herself. And so Schütz has built a very creative way for her students – at least at the moment – their own small island in the dreary Corona Sea.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210212-99-412326 / 3
Source: DPA
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