I was not a hard-ass about this last Spring, but it was very bad. Maybe make participation credit (10% of grade for me usually) contingent on being on camera?
We May Be Going Back Online: How to make students keep their cameras on?
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I was not a hard-ass about this last Spring, but it was very bad. Maybe make participation credit (10% of grade for me usually) contingent on being on camera?
That would be illegal, azzhat. Many students live in shared accommodations, and there are important privacy concerns.
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I was not a hard-ass about this last Spring, but it was very bad. Maybe make participation credit (10% of grade for me usually) contingent on being on camera?
That would be illegal, azzhat. Many students live in shared accommodations, and there are important privacy concerns.
They own you. Give an A
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I was not a hard-ass about this last Spring, but it was very bad. Maybe make participation credit (10% of grade for me usually) contingent on being on camera?
That would be illegal, azzhat. Many students live in shared accommodations, and there are important privacy concerns.
I don't know that it would be illegal, but it's definitely kind of a d!kc move.
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Why? I found that this was a problem in Spring, though not earlier in the pandemic. In a class of 200 people, maybe it doesn't matter. And in a seminar, they will keep cameras on. But in the 20-40 student range, that's where the problem comes in. Teaching to a brick wall is not good. Students are less engaged and it's not good for their education.
I was not a hard-ass about this last Spring, but it was very bad. Maybe make participation credit (10% of grade for me usually) contingent on being on camera?
That would be illegal, azzhat. Many students live in shared accommodations, and there are important privacy concerns.I don't know that it would be illegal, but it's definitely kind of a d!kc move.
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What is this privacy BS? This semester students have had to attend class. Are they monstrously deprived of privacy as a result of this onerous policy?
If a student's privacy choices bother you that much that you're willing to retaliate against them by giving them an unfair grade then you have serious mental health issues and you shouldn't be allowed to teach a class in the first place.
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It is annoying having students not tune in the ENTIRE semester (some are obviously doing other things and leave zoom on after class ends, or aren't there when you call on them).
Also, other students, in their evals, complain about this - Professor didn't make the other students turn their cameras on and call on people in class. I would be less concerned if it didn't bother the students who are tuned in.
Obviously, some kids have technical issues (I get it), and some students are living in crowded conditions (some with their own kids in the background). That's ok. It's the students that never, ever turn them on that are the issue. They're the same ones who are on their cellphones the entire class in an in-person seminar.
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If a student's privacy choices bother you that much that you're willing to retaliate against them by giving them an unfair grade then you have serious mental health issues and you shouldn't be allowed to teach a class in the first place.
No. Cameras off makes a gigantic difference in the quality and quantity of student participation. It makes a huge difference in how actively students engage the material. And it’s a collective action problem. Students will do what the others do. If students have essential privacy issues, they can consult with me to make special accommodations (just as for in-person lecture classes i had a no laptops policy with room for special opt-outs). Is this perfect? No, nothing is. But avoiding a hugely negative impact on overall learning outcomes is worth it.
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I would suggest reminding them fairly often that you really prefer for them to have their cameras on, but that you understand if for some reason their situation doesn't allow for that. That should have most of them keeping their cameras on but allows ones who really don't want to or can't to not have their on.
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In the Spring when I did that only a few listened. It really was some impressive negative sulking collective action by students.
I would suggest reminding them fairly often that you really prefer for them to have their cameras on, but that you understand if for some reason their situation doesn't allow for that. That should have most of them keeping their cameras on but allows ones who really don't want to or can't to not have their on.
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If a student's privacy choices bother you that much that you're willing to retaliate against them by giving them an unfair grade then you have serious mental health issues and you shouldn't be allowed to teach a class in the first place.
No. Cameras off makes a gigantic difference in the quality and quantity of student participation. It makes a huge difference in how actively students engage the material. And it’s a collective action problem. Students will do what the others do. If students have essential privacy issues, they can consult with me to make special accommodations (just as for in-person lecture classes i had a no laptops policy with room for special opt-outs). Is this perfect? No, nothing is. But avoiding a hugely negative impact on overall learning outcomes is worth it.
I decided to do my classes next semester asynchronous totally online because the live zoom camera thing was so bad. The funny thing is I think the students at our school prefer the async. I just record the lectures, they watch it when they want and all is good.
