While some public school districts have made efforts to distribute tablets and laptops to students, there are other financial burdens that need to be considered. Approximately 1 in 5 students live below the federal poverty line and lack access to the technology needed for online classes – from computers or tablets to Wi-Fi. Requiring students to use video during class makes assumptions about the ability or students or their families to pay for the requisite technology. Financial means and other kinds of access With the development of sophisticated facial recognition software, these concerns are amplified, especially when branches of law enforcement may have access to this technology. Online video risks exposing this information to authorities. For example, 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year and some may be fleeing abusive situations.Īdditionally, there are an estimated 3.2 million undocumented children and young adults in the U.S., and many more children who live with undocumented relatives. For some students, exposing this information can endanger their lives or their families. This concern is about more than just discomfort at others learning personal details. The information provided by students could be accessed by others and the content of the video could expose the location of the student’s home and with whom they live. Many of these online platforms are not secure - as evidenced by the “ Zoombombers” who have infiltrated classes, often disrupting instruction and sharing participants’ personal information. To turn on video means allowing others into their home.
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Right to privacyĪt school, students are not required to disclose details about their personal lives to their peers, but some of this privacy is lost in video-based classrooms.
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Many teachers also have to deal with these same concerns. It is worth noting that these competing obligations are not specific to students. These responsibilities may be distracting for others and embarrassing to the students involved.
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This may mean that some students multitask by caring for their kids or siblings while attending an online class. Students across all stages of education may be responsible for taking care of other family members or even their own children.Īccess to child care is even more limited than usual during the pandemic.
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While it would be ideal for all students to sit at home in a quiet room free of distractions during online classes, this won’t always be the case. These problems result in participants being less engaged and feeling drained. The multitasking required for engaging in a class with multiple active video chats is no different. Switching quickly between tasks can impair memory and decrease the ability to perform tasks. When there are many faces on the screen, most people try to pay attention to all of them – a type of multitasking called continuous partial attention. The face-only format also leads people to focus more on verbal cues, which can be tiring.
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The face-only format of online video still results in missing many nonverbal cues such as hand gestures, and requires people to work harder to interpret the ones they can see. Most of us learn much from nonverbal cues. While “ Zoom fatigue” may sound no different than regular fatigue, science suggests that it is different and that constant video engagement may exacerbate the problem. This can trigger the body’s “ flight or fight” response, leaving students feeling on edge and impairing their concentration. This discomfort is enhanced by the fact that the faces on the screen are often large and appear very close. Feeling as though everyone is watching can be distracting as students focus on how they may appear to others. This can result in feelings of prolonged eye contact, which can feel threatening and uncomfortable. Online, students are often expected by their teachers to look at the screen for the entire class and stay focused on the video feeds of their classmates. Here are five reasons why I believe students should be allowed to keep their cameras off instead. As the 2020-21 school year gets underway – both at the K-12 and college level – many students find themselves attending online classes via Zoom or similar teleconferencing platforms.Īlthough sticking with remote instruction may be the correct decision from the standpoint of public health, it is not without problems.Īs a researcher who studies behavior and the brain, I have found the evidence suggests that online instruction can pose a range of challenges for students if they are required to keep their cameras on during class.