How not to Scare off Substitute Teachers

In our district, an automated system calls TOC's (teacher on call, AKA substitute teacher). When a TOC hears a job description they don't feel is suitable for their talents, they can hang up, and the system calls someone else. So, I thought, what happens if I tell the person who is coming in for me that they have to teach a couple blocks of music. Maybe I get a lot of hang ups, and I HAVE to get to the dentist. Furthermore, no canned lesson this time. The kids need to practice guitar. There is a guitar test coming up.

So I remembered something I read in a recent blog (probably Vicki Davis flagged this one), and I did my lesson over recess time. I talked and strummed my guitar in front of the webcam on top of the computer. Then I burned it onto DVD with the external DVD burner that the school district has given to our school. I wrote the instructions on the DVD (being cheeky):

1.) Guitar lesson - step 1 - don't panic

2.) Insert DVD into DVD player

3.) Hit play. Hit pause when the guy on the screen says so.

Here it is:


Guitar Lesson from James Gill on Vimeo.

I told the TOC to pause the DVD at different times to let the kids practice. I didn't write out a script. I didn't practice what I was going to say. I didn't edit anything, including when the PA announcements came on in my room right at the start of my lesson. Talk, burn, dentist.


I came back to school just as the TOC was leaving for the day. She had no prior music experience. She thought that the lesson went really well, and that she will remember what this idea for the future.

Burning a DVD works really well from a webcam. The file sizes are usually small, you never have to film it first, then put it onto the computer, and then burn it. There is even an option in the DVD creating program that allows you to capture your film right from your webcam.

I told a few teachers how it had worked. All of them said they would never want to step in front of a camera and record themselves for anything....however one teacher said she might use the unobtrusive webcam to make a recording of the special needs child in her class so specialists familiar with the child's condition can make recommendations as to how to help create a plan for success for that child. I hope it works.