‘Ekol Hoca’ center of attention on Periscope with his ’online prep school’

A teacher known as “Ekol Hoca” has gained attention after the CEO of Periscope thanked him for providing online lessons. (Photo: Todayszaman.com)
A teacher known as “Ekol Hoca” has gained attention after the CEO of Periscope thanked him for providing online lessons. (Photo: Todayszaman.com)


Date posted: August 15, 2015

AYŞENUR EREKER / ISTANBUL

A Turkish teacher known as “Ekol Hoca” who has been providing online lessons to students, especially those preparing for nationwide exams amid government’s efforts to shut down prep schools, via live video streaming application Periscope has attracted attention after the CEO of Periscope expressed his gratitude to the teacher.

Kayvon Beykpour, who co-founded Periscope, an app owned by Twitter, said on a live Periscope broadcast that it was “awesome” to see the Turkish teacher, Mustafa Mete Ekol, giving online educational classes to students.

Ekol, who has some 86,000 followers on Twitter, uses Periscope to broadcast live classes to hundreds of students, calling it an “online dershane.”
The teacher is a leading critic of the government for its move to shut down dershanes — a third of which are linked to the faith-based Gülen movement — and is using Periscope to demonstrate that the authorities cannot prevent him from teaching. When he broadcasts his lessons, hundreds of students on their phones or tablets listen to what is sometimes an hour-long class from the teacher, who teaches geometry and math.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Ekol said: “We have been in a lot of trouble for two years because of the government. If the Constitutional Court hadn’t annulled the law [seeking to shut down dershanes], we would be unemployed after Sept. 1. The government had promised to behave fairly and employ us as schoolteachers, but it didn’t. I have been teaching for 20 years and have seen my students coming in first in the [nationwide] exams. However, I would have ended up being unemployed if things haven’t turned out this way.”

Stating that he has been giving online lessons since 2006, Ekol added: “After I couldn’t give my website for online lessons much attention because of the latest disturbances [over the law to shut down dershanes], I thought about how I could use social media to educate people. At first, I posted geometry notes on my Twitter account. Later, upon seeing [Zaman daily columnist] Sevgi Akarçeşme’s Periscope broadcast, I discovered Periscope has an application for smartphones and I tried to give lessons with a cell phone in my hand. Since then, I have been giving lessons every day. Yesterday, about 1,500 students were watching my broadcast on Periscope.”

“Thanks to our sponsor, the NT book and stationery retail chain, every day we give a student a book as an award for answering certain questions correctly. We also organize reading activities starting at 5:30 a.m. so that students can make full use of their time. Students take a picture of the book they are reading and tweet it while mentioning me. I retweet them. Between 30 and 40 people attend these groups. We also arrange live broadcasts with well-known people. We did one with Akarçeşme, [TV show host] Murat Yeni and [an engineer working for Twitter] İbrahim Okuyucu,” he adds.
Ekol says the atmosphere of the online class is very different from regular classes. “Students from all across Turkey are watching and commenting on the Periscope broadcast. Students like talking and learning at the same time. They also motivate me to teach more eagerly.”

Referring to the government oppression of prep schools, Ekol emphasized that doing something useful makes him feel better about the situation. “Both students and their parents are worried about the situation. After the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the law [to shut down dershanes], a parent called me and said he is in fact more happy than us [dershane teachers] because he worries about his child’s future. Students of the Körfez prep school where I’m working rank among the highest in nationwide exams every year. If dershanes are shut down, all our hopes and efforts will be in vain. We have done nothing wrong. We are hoping for better times,” Ekol underlined.

“Tomorrow we will conduct a broadcast on Periscope with a Turkish engineer from NASA. Things are going great right now. I hope they remain this way,” he added.

Source: Today's Zaman , August 13, 2015


Related News

Number of Kimse Yok Mu volunteers triple

The aid organization’s volunteers number have increased three-fold despite a politically-motivated hate campaign launched by government in Turkey

Bulgarian student wins Turkish Olympiad song contest final

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Martin Yordanov from Bulgaria won the most prestigious medal for singing at the 11th International Turkish Language Olympiad on Friday night before a crowd of tens of thousands in İstanbul, beating 14 competitors from various countries. Foreign students fascinated thousands of spectators with their performances in song contest final as part of […]

Tensions rise in Germany’s Turkish diaspora, mirroring splits in Turkey

The group has been active in Germany for many years, operating 150 tutoring centres in the country, 30 government-recognised schools and a dozen interfaith dialogue projects. It has long been seen as a moderate Islamic group although it has faced criticism over a lack of transparency.

Turkey jails teacher to pressure husband into ‘confessing’

The latest victim of the Turkish government’s tactic of guilt by association with the purpose of blackmail is Semra Çakır, a 41-year-old teacher, and her 2-year-old daughter Zeynep Şura Çakır as part of its massive post-coup witch-hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.

Has Turkey arrested Christian to exchange for Fethullah Gülen?

Turkey’s Erdogan regime has arrested an American pastor whom they could use in a possible exchange for the Turkish Muslim cleric they want to extradite from the United States. The Muslim Fethullah Gülen is accused by the Erdogan regime to be the mastermind behind the latest failed-military-coup intending to depose the president.

13 recommendations to MGK secretary for inclusion in ‘Red Book’

The president pays attention to the current National Security Council (MGK). He is determined to declare Hizmet a terror organization. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not interested in the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Kobani, Syria, the approximately 3 million refugees and the murder of 40 people in violent protests. His only concern is Hizmet. Given that the MGK is designed to be a place to discuss personal concerns, I, as a citizen, would like to raise some points of recommendation for the MGK secretary-general for possible inclusion on the agenda of the council.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

GYV says Gülen did not send letter to Erdoğan

French editor says Gülen’s messages on anti-terrorism revolutionary

Why I Asked National Security Adviser to Stop Turkish Espionage on Nigeria

Former TÜBİTAK VP: Over 250 dismissed in 2 months

Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 1 – Asli

Beating ‘domestic enemies’ in the game of ‘advanced’ democracy

President Gul says debates over prep schools should not lead to ‘resentment’

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News