Make Cameras Optional
Make Cameras Optional
We are now half way through the first marking period of the 2020-21 school year, and this year is one unlike any before. We have started adjusting to the new normal - online classes, virtual check-ins, Zoom staff meetings, and more. One of the most discussed topics this school year is student engagement. How do we get our students to show up and participate in their learning? Then, once they do show up, how can we tell what they are doing behind their computer screens?
MCPS has been very clear - cameras are encouraged, but not required. We can gently ask our students to turn on their cameras and tell them all of the reasons why we want them on - to see their faces, to gauge their confusion, to make connections - but we cannot require students to turn on their cameras.
At first, this was very frustrating to me. How was I supposed to teach if I couldn't see or hear my students? I started the school year with great hopes that my students would turn their cameras on, but also fear that they wouldn't. I felt I had an advantage - I was moving up with many of my students from last year, so at least they would know me, they would feel comfortable, and maybe - just maybe - they would turn their cameras on. I crossed my fingers and hoped.
On the first day of school, all of my fears came to light. In each of my classes, I taught to a sea of blank boxes. I told jokes, and didn't see any faces smiling or laughing back at me. I encouraged students to turn their cameras on, but they didn't.
As the weeks progressed, I kept encouraging students to turn on their cameras. I praised the few who would turn theirs on to wave hello. And I slowly lost hope that I would ever see more than 2-3 cameras on at once. But, I also started to wonder - Is a child turning on their camera the only true mark of engagement?
I started to celebrate students participation in other ways - through the public and private Zoom chat, through the Zoom participation icons, through unmuting, but keeping the camera off. I finally feel like I am making progress with my students. And slowly, more and more students are turning on their cameras. It may only be a handful, but that's more than the zero I had on the first day of school. And we have a lot more time to make more students feel comfortable enough to invite us into their homes.
As Ki Sung says in her recent article for MindShift, "When peering into one another’s lives through students’ cameras, kids will inevitably compare rooms or the strength of one’s internet connectivity and that can be distracting." This adds another barrier to student learning, and if turning off their camera can alleviate this stress, then they should be allowed to do it. We should be focused on making our students feel comfortable so that they are able to learn, not forcing them to turn on their cameras so that we feel more comfortable.
As always, it is important to remember that our students are just kids. I try to put myself in their shoes and wonder what I would worry about if I had to learn from home as a preteen. Sometimes, as adults, we forget the anxieties that plague adolescents. Sometimes we ask and expect too much of our students without even realizing it. If we want our students to open up to us and adjust to this new way of learning, we have to let them do it on their terms.
Rachel, I love this post. Initially, I felt that for students to be engaged in the lesson, they needed to have their cameras on. As the year is continuing on, they do not need their cameras to be on to be fully engaged in the lesson. Zoom has many different tools, as you have mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteWhenever kids message me privately, I make a point to celebrate their participation by saying "thank you" and awarding a classdojo point. I have also been using classdojo to encourage work submission by offering a prize at the end of the week if we meet our class point goal we have a dance off (or any game they want to play for the last 45 minutes on Friday. This has been working awesome.
I also have come to the realization that when your camera is on, it requires a lot more bandwidth. For students who have multiple children, your internet connection becomes unstable. This creates a downward spiral of potential effects. Ultimately, there are so many ways for students to engage. Just because their camera is on, does not always mean they are engage with what you are doing!
Rachel, I too crave that virtual "face-to-face" interaction while teaching. I miss kids laughing at my terrible jokes or when I do something silly. Luckily, I've never had to teach to ALL black screens, but some days I have more black screens than faces. I have realized that this is not a battle worth fighting. Despite screens being black, students are still logging onto Nearpod, messaging me in the chat, and participating in breakout rooms. As long as they are participating, I should not dwell on the fact that I cannot see their face.
ReplyDeleteAs educators, it's hard to face the reality that students may want to disengage during our lessons, whether literally walking away or just by turning off their screen. I feel the same way during some staff meetings. It's up to us to determine if turning off video is a sign of confusion, frustration or just stimulation overload.
I just got observed by administration about the black screens, and, although my lesson was very well put together, they did say that I needed to stimulate more conversation since I was not able to see students. For one, the "black screens" were a county option that was provided to students to share or not share their screens-privacy or due to the environmental status that they lived in. I felt slowly attacked; the class that I was observed in is my smallest class, but with a small attendance rate. My observer came into my meeting before I could do an SEL or icebreaker with them (which was already planned for the middle of the lesson). Sometimes I feel we (teachers) don't get credit when credit is due.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely frustrating to me. I don't understand how a comment like that can even be something that you could accept. Administrators know that you cannot force kids to turn on their cameras. A better way to approach that topic would have been to ask you "what have you done to engage the students?" or "What do you think we can do to encourage students to turn on their cameras?" Especially this early in the year, administrators have to understand that we are still getting to know our students.
DeleteLast week, I taught a PD session to teachers from all over the county - some new and some with years of experience. As I was teaching, I drew their attention to the fact that of the 27 of them present, only six cameras were on and it did not indicate that they were not engaged in the PD session. I asked them to consider the needs and personal circumstances of their own students and why their cameras may be off at times. It was interesting to see how many turned cameras on and how many remained off after. I felt the need to flip the script. It was a nice teachable moment. :)
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