Don’t do this

       Connect students’ video use and eye contact time in participation points, grading, or school attendance.

      Remove students from the meeting if their videos are not on.

      Trick students into turning on their videos (e.g. class party; orientation etc)

      Give extra credit to students who have their video on.

Do this

ü  CHOICE: Let students’ decide whether to turn on, or keep on their video. Allow them to use virtual or blurred backgrounds and fun filters.

ü  REAL-TIME CHECK-IN: Ask questions often to assess students understanding. Allow students to respond via audio or virtual meeting tools (e.g. chat box, polls,  nonverbal reactions – “thumbs up, yes/no” )

ü  USE DIGITAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS: Collect different types of data to evaluate ongoing learning – Answer Garden, Kahoot, Gimkit, Google Forms, Poll Everywhere, Formative, Classkick, Ted-Ed, Ed Puzzle, Nearpod etc.

Why Does It Matter

PRIVACY: students might be uncomfortable displaying their living space to their peers.

SAFETY: Students (and their family members) may not want their image captured, recorded, or shared. Students could be cyber bullied if a classmate takes a screenshot of their video.

EQUITY: Students might have unreliable internet access, low bandwidth, devices without video capabilities, limited data, or limited access to a device,

PERSONAL: Students might feel shy or anxious to be on camera.

But I Don’t Like Teaching to Blank Screen

Teach students to setup their Zoom or Google Meet profile picture as their own decent favourite selfie. When the camera is off, the students’ profile pictures will show up, giving you a virtual audience to talk to.