Our Professors Exceed Their Job Descriptions For Online Learning – The Least You Can Do is Leave Your Webcam On

As I’m logging onto Zoom, so is my professor, Dr. Janine Peterson, coordinator of Medieval and Renaissance studies and a professor of history at Marist College. Although my honors seminar is small enough to meet in-person, the past two weeks we have met online. Once for our midterm and then again due the college’s temporary pause. After taking twice as long to prepare for a class in a virtual format, Dr. Peterson unchecks the “turn off my video” button. As she turns on her webcam, Dr. Peterson can’t help but wonder if she will log on to see black screens instead of boisterous smiles: usernames instead of learners. 

When logging onto a Zoom call, users have the option to determine their video and audio settings, which students can use during class Zooms. Source: Alexis Colucci, ‘23

This is a common dilemma for professors in the digital age of teaching caused by COVID-19. Despite the exposure to digital education since March, students still remain reluctant to turn on their cameras during live classes, leaving many professors to deliberate on whether or not to enforce webcam usage. 

Believe me, for my 8:00 a.m. classes, my Zoom etiquette is certainly Zoom eti-can’t. As difficult as it is waking up on a Saturday after a long week, our professors are doing the same, in addition to overhauling their previous models of teaching. According to the American Enterprise Institute, many professors have been forced to alter their course delivery, lesson plans and support services for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. They must blur the distinction between their personal and professional lives just to supplement student learning sent awry from something out of their control. 

Logging onto a Zoom class without video — just to scroll through Instagram during a lecture — wastes both students and professors’ time. Most professors don’t want to teach completely online any more than their students want to learn that way. As students, the least we can do to aid professors — who routinely exceed their job descriptions —  is to turn our cameras on. Not only does it partially ease the burden of virtual teaching by better mimicking the traditional classroom environment, it also gives educators the respect they deserve while simultaneously enhancing student education. 

In my discussion-based seminar with Dr. Peterson, my classmates and I all utilize our cameras. However, I still wanted to investigate the beliefs about the efficacy of webcams for remote learning that other Marist students have formed. To better understand the college’s Zoom habits, I spoke with Dr. Peterson, a professor with experience teaching traditional and remote classes. I also disseminated a Google Form through social media, sharing it with friends, group projects and clubs. I collected a total of 54 responses from all grade levels. Having a professor's perspective and conducting my own research on students’ opinions, led me to conclude that a college-wide mandate of using webcams during online class, excluding extreme circumstances, is a reasonable measure that Marist professors could take to offset academic impairments invoked by COVID-19.

It is important to note that the inference I make from these sources is solely my own. I interpreted these sources with the goal of noticing a trend, which I ultimately discovered and led me to conclude that professors should adopt a webcams-on policy. My survey found that of those who participated, 62.5% already leave their webcam on during Zoom classes. Out of these 30 students, approximately 37% listed their primary reason for doing so, was because they “like to see [their] peers/professor.”

According to Dr. Peterson, the same reigns true for professors, as seeing their students encourages participation, which thus helps the lesson unfold closer to the way it would in the classroom.

“If many students have the camera off, it can be demoralizing, which can undermine a vibrant presentation of the material,” Dr. Peterson said. “It is by looking at students’ faces that professors can tell who is engaged in terms of participation and if some concepts need further clarification.”

My research supported both Dr. Peterson’s and my own opinion about the value of seeing one another during virtual class. As previously stated, the results of my survey corroborated this, while also showing that students found other benefits to webcam usage. More than half of the participants, 57.4%, stated that utilizing their webcam bolstered their quality of learning with increased focus, forced accountability for material, better engagement with the class and the ease with which they can ask professors questions, which EdSurge further verified. 

One response from my survey cited multiple benefits to using a webcam during class. “I feel like it’s definitely more interactive and I get a lot more out of [class] when I’m seeing the professor and I’m actually paying attention,” the respondent said. “[In] one of my classes, I’m the only one that has my camera on and I usually have a really good idea of what’s happening… I also see a difference in the professor as well, because they seem happier when the cameras are on.”

Dr. Peterson agreed that active participation by both faculty and students, which if possible includes a live webcam, can help the classroom dynamic by boosting academic performance and improving material retention. 

“From past experience, often test or quiz grades that are online, end up having a slightly lower average score than those given in a course in a traditional on-ground format, which does suggest a disparity,” Dr. Peterson said.

While the students surveyed generally agreed that seeing themselves and their professor during online classes benefited their learning, one response noted that despite this, they would still leave their camera off due to comfort. This raises the common concern of privacy in video calls. 

Dr. Peterson acknowledged that some students have living situations they may not feel comfortable disclosing. Some students are non-traditional-aged students, some have family responsibilities and some have mental and emotional reservations, among various other hestiations. Again, my research aligned with Dr. Peterson’s recognition of unique student situations. Out of the 18 students that do not routinely use their cameras during Zoom classes, 29.6% cited the main reason was due to self-consciousness.

Luckily, Dr. Peterson cited the willingness of Marist faculty to work with students in these circumstances. Students should understand that professors who require webcams often do so because they are a huge asset in facilitating digital learning.  

Therefore, we should establish the precedent that a student’s webcam must remain on for a successful online class. Those with concerns about attending class with a webcam should notify their professors and make arrangements, which the college can likely accommodate. Even with the educational value it poses to students and professors alike, it’s just plain respect.

“While I can’t speak for every professor, if students tried to stay engaged in Zoom classes by participating as active learners even in a different format, it is helpful in terms of morale and the classroom dynamic,” Dr. Peterson said. “I would also add that professors would appreciate students recognizing and being sympathetic to new issues, such as the fact that written work now takes much longer to grade and hand back due to the increased prep time and Zoom and screen burnout from meetings and online office hours, as well as online classes.”

During this pandemic, students and professors must work together using input from each other, to gather a comprehensive view of the challenges created by online learning and thus find a way to mitigate them. 

Everything seems to be declining during COVID-19 – morale, the economy, health – but by getting students to use their webcam for better participation in class, we can make sure that education isn’t one of them.

By instituting a webcam rule, professors would not only ensure student’s comfort but also optimize their learning. While seeing yourself and friends on screen can be intimidating or distracting, a webcam mandate would do more good than harm in helping students learn during COVID-19. Since webcams improve schooling in a variety of ways, we must learn to embrace them despite our initial discomfort. 

You can access the full survey results here.