The social networks In recent years, they have become important allies of many educators who have found in the most used technological resources and platforms among young people effective pedagogical tools to dynamically transmit knowledge of some subjects that are usually more complex or do not generate as many accessions.
It is the case of Adriana Gonzalez, which generated a subscriber revolution teaching math on Twitch, and of Florence “Pupina” Plomer, known on social media as the teacher who teaches history with memes, who told Télam about their experiences on the occasion of tomorrow’s Teachers’ Day.
“There are people who, in their free time, go for a walk, go for a walk or have tea with friends, I teach math classes on Twitch, and I love it,” said González, born in 25 de Mayo and a resident of La Plata, who works in several public schools of all levels of the Buenos Aires capital.
Encouraged by her 21-year-old daughter, who gave her the “push” to enter the networks, this teacher has been broadcasting on the famous streaming platform for just over a year with the account “Lademathematics” and that’s it it has 93,000 subscribers; did 240 classes and celebrated its first anniversary on Twitch with a 12-hour uninterrupted live stream.
But it was not the longest: “To celebrate the 100th class – which was in January – we did a live show that lasted 100 hours because I made an extension. We started on a Tuesday and ended on Sunday,” he said.
Their videos went viral after the recognized streamer Coscu will recommend it last year for explaining “in a very tender and disinterested way” to those who “do not know how to solve or clarify doubts about the subject”.
“I answer questions, maybe I do specials because they ask for it and they are uploaded or I propose topics. I recently did a special on Polynomials, but what I do is ask questions that are sent to me through the chat or through Discord, which is another application, with the picture of what they have to solve,” said the teacher.
For Gonzalez, “there are no people who do not understand mathematics”but “It is not always explained well, or the necessary times”. For this reason, he assured, if necessary, he explains “a thousand times the same thing” in his classes on Twitch.
Divisions appear among the most repeated queries. “People of any age, elementary school, high school, or university ask me about how to divide by two figures, it’s a generalized trauma,” she acknowledged.
about his followersthe teacher indicated that “there are people who are in high school Y others who are even lawyers, or who have studied engineering and are listening” and added that “they say they like to listen to my explanation; I find it exciting to look for a thousand ways until the other understands”.
Although he went through other careers, such as plastic arts, interior decoration, studied up to fourth year of engineering, and was part of a music band for more than 10 years playing the clarinet, today he understands that their place is to train, educate and teach mathematics: “I always think about how to teach better. I did training courses, networking and I trained in everything that is pedagogy, and everything related to applications for mathematics, that’s why I loved the Twitch format,” he said.
In 2021, the teacher won the “Golden Spicy” to the Best Alternative Streamer in the Koscu Army Awards. Although he acknowledged that his classes on Twitch do not represent an economic income for him and clarified that he does it because he “likes it”, his channel is open to donations.
history in a particular way
From Córdoba, “Pupina” Plomer teach history with memes through videos that exceed tens of thousands of reproductions.
The 33-year-old teacher said that the idea began in 2018 when she had a “very apathetic” course: “They got hooked on making memes and made an effort to see who was the funniest. That made them read more and try to understand better the subject”, assured
From that moment on, Plomer – who is also a researcher at the National University of Córdoba (UNC) – turned memes into a teaching tool with a critical and feminist perspective, although she clarified that “it is one more strategy that does not supplant literacy. nor other pedagogical processes”.
In search of new resources don’t just use memesbut also proposes to its students to carry out videos on the TikTok platform to consolidate learning. Many of these contents even go viral, such as the video made by a group of female students on Greek mythology and reached 860,000 views.
Between the advantages of using new technologies, Plomer explained that they make possible “a didactic transposition much more in line with the generational issue and allow new ways to ensnare students.
From the classrooms he made the leap to social networks more than three years ago when he started doing historical Disclosure, to later reach digital media as FiloNewswhere leads the section “EfeMEMÉrides”.
in your account Instagram with more than 96,000 followersplumber brings historical facts to the public with questions like this: “Can you imagine that from one day to the next they tell you that the whole city has to move? This happened 210 years ago, on August 23, 1812 during the exodus from Jujuy, one of the most greats of our history”.
Although its contents are all the rage on the networks, Plomer confessed to Télam that he is “a little embarrassed” to use them in classes: “Very rarely did I bring things for them to see and I try to adapt them to a format in which they do not see my face”.
Those who also use their videos are other teachers who write to you on the networks to thank you for your content or to tell you that they were encouraged to implement memes and new resources.
For plumber, it is “urgent” to rethink teaching practices and the way in which the classes are presented: “That master class format with one person speaking for 40 minutes to 30 people who are seated, all looking at their foreheads, is no good”.
“It is not just incorporating humor or memes, it is also incorporating new perspectives and understanding classrooms as heterogeneous spaces where not everyone learns in the same way,” he concluded.
