Table of Contents
Introduction
Teachers in a face-to-face classroom rely on nonverbal indications such as expressions of uncertainty or clarity, the ability to sit with a student and interpret their body language, and even the overall atmosphere or vibe of the class. All of these signals aid instructors in adjusting the curriculum, providing feedback, and meeting students’ needs. Last spring, when classes went online, video conferencing technologies like Zoom, GoogleMeet, and Microsoft Teams filled the gap. Video cameras were the primary means for educators to view their pupils in this new virtual world.
As the new school year begins in many parts of the country, email lists, social media, and even newspapers have covered discussions and issues about using cameras during video conferences: What happens if pupils don’t use their cameras? Is it preferable to have a policy that requires students to use them or to offer them the option? What about confidentiality and fairness?
The purpose of this essay is not to make a case for or against the usage of cameras and live video. Rather, the goal is to convey a diverse range of considerations. Because, as students return to school this fall, it’s possible that they’ll try to duplicate face-to-face interactions via live video. The usage of cameras may be associated by certain educators and leaders with student participation.
Others may use live video to foster a feeling of community or to make group work easier. Educators may even believe that it is the only way to establish a feeling of “normalcy.” These are all reasonable assumptions, but they come with the burden of addressing four crucial problems.
Digital Access:
According to recent research by Common Sense Media, 15-16 million children do not have enough Internet connectivity to facilitate remote learning, and nine million of those students do not have a suitable device. Despite the fact that districts made significant progress over the summer, the Centre for Reinventing Public Education reported that just 45 percent of districts planned to offer students with home WiFi, and only 74 percent planned to equip kids with a device.
Regardless, even if students have a gadget and internet access, they may not have enough capacity to broadcast content live. Teachers will need to examine how to best serve and involve all of their students, as most video conferencing services allow you to turn off the camera or even dial in by phone.
The Psychological Consequences of Screen Time:
The strain of feeling as if everyone is gazing at you on screen is related to Zoom fatigue. On Twitter, a teacher compared it to having all of the students stand in the front of the room for the whole lesson. Karen Costa, faculty development and trauma-informed education expert, has written about the psychological consequences of making students appear on camera. Even if they can’t see themselves because they’ve hidden their own video, they may still be traumatized by the continual sense of being watched.
Many of the usual pressures associated with adolescence, according to teachers interviewed recently as part of qualitative research conducted by the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, are exacerbated by video platforms. It not only forces students to gaze at themselves when they are already self-conscious, but it also heightens the sense of being watched all the time. One instructor saw that her pupils were afraid about seeming less clever on camera and that virtual learning exacerbated many of their maths anxieties.
A recommended practice in Universal Design for Learning would be to plan sessions to allow for student input and choice. Teachers should organize for audio, text-chat – both to the class and privately to the instructor – or synchronous activities like an interactive Nearpod or Classkick instead of depending on video as the major mode of engagement in class.
On the plus side, live video may help students develop a feeling of community and engage in significant social learning opportunities. However, before ordering all students to be on camera or publicly requesting a student to turn on their video, instructors should think about the psychological ramifications, since refusing to be on camera might be a symptom rather than a problem.
Zoom Fatigue:
When the world began to move more and more online, both the business and education sectors experienced “Zoom fatigue.” According to Professor Petriglieri, video conferencing demands more concentration and might lead to weariness. People spend more effort reading nonverbal cues because of the variety of faces.
Individuals may also sense dissonance as a result of their mind but not bodily connection to persons with whom they are conversing. Finally, while multitasking is simpler in a virtual environment, people may experience mental strain as a result of fragmented concentration and decreased productivity. People may feel bereft if they see their friends or colleagues on-screen but are unable to engage physically, according to Petriglieri.
Video conferencing may also cause a sensation of discontinuity, which is an emotion that happens while engaging with someone in a remote location. During a typical school day, children sit in classrooms, go through hallways, play outside, and have lunch conversations with their friends. At home, they don’t have the same interactions.
Students may sit for hours at a screen in a distant situation, straining to stay focused. With this in mind, teachers should examine if the video is always the greatest learning option for their students and setting. They could experiment with audio-only sessions or text-based activities that take place in real-time, such as co-editing a document while chatting.
Equity:
In theory, when children arrive at school, they should find themselves in an egalitarian atmosphere. They sit in the same classrooms at the same desks. They have lunch in the same restaurant and play on the same playground. However, after they return home, their surroundings may be drastically different. Video has the ability to accentuate and expose societal injustices.
The phenomenon was illustrated in an April 2020 New York Times article about two college friends who returned to two very different worlds: one spent the spring at her family’s second home, while the other worked in her parents’ food truck. Consider a student using Wi-Fi from a parked car or an older sibling caring for smaller siblings while attending class vs a classmate sitting in a well-equipped workplace.
Also read: Online Classes vs. Traditional Classroom Learning
FAQs
Question 1: Is it possible for a teacher to make you use a zoom on your camera?
Answer 1: No, they cannot legally compel you to reveal your identity. The regulations of a school or classroom, on the other hand, do not need to be legally enforced. If you don’t show up for class, the instructor can label you absent, with all the consequences it involves.
Question 2: Why should students not bring their cameras to class?
Answer 2: Outside of the little windows that students and instructors have grown accustomed to on Zoom, students and teachers will be able to see one other. Video Conference tiredness, socioeconomic variations between students, and bandwidth concerns are cited by those in support of allowing students to have their cameras turned off. Both parties’ worries are valid.
Question 3: Is it impolite to hide your face when using Zoom?
Answer 3: Zoom etiquette has changed in the last 18 months, and we should consider how we’ll be seen if we sit in a meeting with our cameras turned off. It’s perfectly OK to leave your camera off during other large gatherings when a presentation is being made and you are not expected to participate.
