{"id":907,"date":"2021-02-17T17:10:12","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T17:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/?p=907"},"modified":"2021-03-10T14:51:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T14:51:45","slug":"what-can-we-do-when-students-prefer-to-keep-their-cameras-off-during-online-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/what-can-we-do-when-students-prefer-to-keep-their-cameras-off-during-online-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"What can we do when students prefer to keep their cameras off during online teaching?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You might have probably noticed how students (even those who were known for being super-engaged in the classroom) tend to prefer keeping their webcam switched off during online teaching activities. This is likely to affect how we, as teachers, perceive and evaluate students\u2019 engagement. Being able to see students\u2019 faces and their behaviour while we teach, gives us a direct and constant feedback, and it is also likely to benefit online discussions. However, students might be reluctant to switch their cameras on, and there is no valid reason for forcing them to do so.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-913 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"825\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-1-2048x1536.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\" \/><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Firstly, it is important we\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">accept\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">that students might not feel confident in showing their own \u2018workplace\u2019 (I heard of students attending online lectures while seating on the stairs or in the bathroom because all the other rooms were already occupied by parents working from home and younger siblings playing). Moreover, some students might be self-confident and might therefore be distracted by their image on the bottom right side of the screen, just because they feel the need to \u201ccheck how they look\u201d (someone pictured this as \u201cimagining in-person teaching while having a huge mirror in the front of the classroom that everyone looks at\u201d).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Before looking at some strategies to encourage students to switch their cameras on during online teaching, I think it is important we think about the following questions:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Why do we want students to show their face during an online meeting?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> How is this helping them to reach the learning objectives we set up?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Is this the only way to reach such objectives? Can we consider using a different approach?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You might consider using\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">quizzes or polls\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">verify that everyone is one the same page\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">got the key messages<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">from a lecture or a seminar.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Students can use the MS <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Teams\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chat Box\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to ask\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">questions and clarifications\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">(which you can answer during the session or after, e.g., in a\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcl.ac.uk\/study\/learningteaching\/ctel\/technologies\/keats\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">KEATS<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0message\/announcement). The chat remains available after meetings have ended, allowing students to consult it if they need.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you would like to\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">brainstorm and generate ideas<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, consider using\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/microsoft-365\/microsoft-whiteboard\/digital-whiteboard-app\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Microsoft\u00a0<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Whiteboard<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/office\/add-and-use-a-wiki-tab-in-teams-35ec762d-72ec-4d7f-b858-2949f6cb6014\">Teams Wiki,<\/a><\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> or <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcl.ac.uk\/study\/learningteaching\/ctel\/technologies\/other-technologies\">Padlet<\/a><\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">K<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">EATS discussion forums\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">can be used for\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">asynchronous discussion<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, allowing students to think and consult teaching materials before they post their reply. You could also use discussion forums for\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">asynchronous Q&amp;A sessions<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">; for example, you might ask a question and ask students to think about it before posting a brief text in response. Using KEATS discussion forums is also helpful if you have lecturers with limited time (you can, for example, set up a 1- or 2-hour slot during which lecturer reply to students\u2019 messages) or if you have students in different time zones (you can, for example, let the discussion forum go for a week and, at the end of the week, ask students to summarise the key messages that originated from the discussion).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-914 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-1024x683.png\" alt=\"Online Video Meeting 2\" width=\"825\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/files\/2021\/02\/Online-Video-Meeting-2-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Since we a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">re working with adults,\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">trust and honesty\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">are very important. You might want to consider setting up a\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">brief poll\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">where students can anonymously express any\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">concern<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0they have about switching their camera on during online teaching. Based on the responses, you will be able to\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">make arrangements<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0accordingly.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Is everyone aware of background blurring and virtual background?\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It is important to ensure that everyone is aware of the possibility of blurring their background or using a virtual background picture to hide their\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">background, if<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0they want to do so. You can direct students to the <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/office\/change-your-background-for-a-teams-meeting-f77a2381-443a-499d-825e-509a140f4780#:~:text=Change%20your%20background%20during%20a,available%20images%20to%20replace%20it.\">official Microsoft support page<\/a>, which is comprehensive and updated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You could also encourage students to google something like\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">free virtual background picture<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and look for their own personalised background picture (this might also be an idea for an\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ice-breaker activity\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to do in the first session of your module!).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Organise a Virtual Background Competition\/Prize\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As it has been successfully done by\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Matthew\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Prina<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0(HSPR)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, you can organise a \u201cVirtual Background Competition\/Prize\u201d, encouraging students to turn their cameras on to show their chosen background. You can announce this on KEATS, as Matthew did:\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c..<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">we\u2019re going to have a small competition to make things more interesting. Each week, there will be an opportunity for you to participate into a contest for the most original background! Each week the competition will be themed, so you should change your background accordingly\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You could also award points for the winner and the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">runner-up, or<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0ask the class to vote their favourite each week. Amongst the many themes you can choose, you might want to consider: Movies; TV Shows; Nature; Colours (or pick one colour and ask students to choose a picture where that colour is dominant); Animals and Pets; Food; Holiday; Music &amp; Bands; Cartoons\/Disney\/Marvel; Weather.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Otherwise, you could choose something closer to your own discipline: if you do wet lab research, you might ask students to find a picture that represents their ideal lab or the institution\/lab where they would like to work one day (do not forget to be involved in the competition too; it is great for students to see that you are on board with every activity you propose!).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Why do you want students to keep their cameras on during online teaching?\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Even if your answer to this question is \u201cto feel like I am not talking to a wall!\u201d, students might be happy to hear it, and might become keener to switch their camera on when you share your thoughts. You could also show them that you are aware of the so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/science\/article\/coronavirus-zoom-fatigue-is-taxing-the-brain-here-is-why-that-happens\"><strong>\u201cZoom Fatigue\u201d<\/strong><\/a> and that for this reason you might think of having just some short periods of the session when everyone <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">keeps<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0their cameras on. As said before, being honest to students is important, so they might also be less reluctant to switch on their cameras when they know that sometimes we record our lectures from our living room, that we share our work environment with our pets, relatives, kids; and that we too sometimes do not like to be on camera for long periods of time where everyone is looking at us.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After all, we are all in the same boat!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Useful Links<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/digital-learning\/article\/2020\/10\/27\/long-term-online-learning-pandemic-may-impact-students-well\">Moving Into the Long Term<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/09\/learning\/what-students-are-saying-about-remote-learning.html\">What Students Are Saying About Remote Learning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jisc.ac.uk\/reports\/student-and-staff-wellbeing-in-higher-education\">Student and Staff Wellbeing in Higher Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jisc.ac.uk\/reports\/teaching-staff-digital-experience-insights-survey-2020-uk-higher-education\">Teaching Staff Digital Experience Insights Survey 2020: UK Higher Education Findings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW98066974 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW98066974 BCX0\">Written by Alessio\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SpellingErrorHighlight SCXW98066974 BCX0\">Bellato<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Alessio is a Teaching Fellow at King&#8217;s College London and a Post-Doctoral Researcher interested in ADHD, attention and autonomic arousal. He has previously worked as a psychologist in private and public health services, and in educational settings with toddlers, children and young adults.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You might have probably noticed how students (even those who were known for being super-engaged in the classroom) tend to prefer keeping their webcam switched off during online teaching activities. This is likely to affect how we, as teachers, perceive and evaluate students\u2019 engagement. Being able to see students\u2019 faces and their behaviour while we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[32,49,86,23],"class_list":["post-907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pedagogy","tag-academic-staff","tag-blended-learning","tag-microsoft-teams","tag-pedagogy","with-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":918,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions\/918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/digitaleducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}