# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CLC-BChB6yn
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20303946-edutopia-instagram
- **Posted:** 2021-02-08T21:31:16.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

The Great Camera Dilemma arrived, unheralded and largely unexpected, at about the same time that Zoom burst onto the educational scene.

Should students attend virtual school with the camera on to promote class cohesion and attentiveness, teachers wondered, or be given the choice to shut if off to protect privacy and honor individual preferences? Like many issues in contemporary education, the dilemma pitted traditional notions of classroom order against emerging concerns about equity.

But most students aren’t staying off-camera for the anticipated reasons, according to a new study. The most-cited reason? 41% of students said they turned their cameras off because they were “concerned about their appearance”: they had messy hair, were wearing pajamas, or hadn’t yet showered, the study reported. Relatedly, 17% of students with cameras on felt that everyone was watching them, creating a sensation of unbearable self-consciousness. 

Equity-related issues did crop up. Underrepresented minorities were twice as likely to be concerned about their homes being visible, and were 12 percentage points more likely to cite a weak internet connection—perhaps a reflection of how the pandemic can exacerbate the digital divide.

Despite months of hard work, educators are still working through the protocols of when and how to use cameras. While we can’t force students to be on camera, says visual arts teacher Liz Byron Loya, we can encourage camera-on participation in context.
 
She has several ideas to promote camera use while respecting boundaries:
Survey students to identify the barriers preventing them from participating.
Use icebreakers, games, and individual greetings to create a positive classroom culture.
Use Zoom’s “Ask to Start Video” feature to invite students to turn cameras on.
If students want to keep their homes private, encourage them to use a virtual background.
Give students the option to submit a prerecorded video in lieu of a live presentation.

What tips do you have to handle the camera dilemma? Let us know in the comments.

Link to study: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7123

#TeachersOfInstagram #OnlineClassroom #DigitalClassroom #ZoomClassroom

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teachersofinstagram, digitalclassroom, onlineclassroom, zoomclassroom

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