Page 21 - EdViewptsSpring2021

building through this pandemic and narrow the student engagement gap students with the most requests
needlessly puts learning at risk in the through live learning sessions is a likely possess the most social
pursuit of administrative oversight” worthy pursuit if certain precautions capital and could serve as role
(para. 3). Waughn (2020) also warns and recommendations are followed. models for on-camera activities.
that mandating video can conflate Loya (2020) recommends strategies to • Be empathetic. Teachers should
students’ lives and school lives. encourage not require students to turn share with their students when
The practice of bringing school into on their webcams. These strategies they are reluctant to appear on
the home presents an intrusion include social-emotional learning, camera. Relate the challenges
that does not exist under normal game playing, and other options to they face, such as not feeling well
face-to-face, on-ground instruction. inspire students to appear on camera. or feel self-conscious about their
Waughn compares requiring video to Rooted in social-emotional learning appearance that day.
taking the entire class on a field trip (SEL), Loya advises the words matter Healthcare, disability rights, civil
to every student’s home, revealing and that teachers’ communications liberties, and data protection
family make-up, living conditions, and with students should be rooted in organizations urge educators to
intimate spaces for all to see. These building community, not compliance. explore alternatives to requiring
privacy concerns may explain some Teachers should leverage the following video (Zalaznick, 2020). Instead of
students’ reluctance to show their SEL approaches: requiring students to be on camera for
faces and the need to hide certain • Build relationships. Develop a the full live session, teachers should
parts of their surroundings. virtual classroom culture of safety consider other recommendations and
The requirement to use video may and a community of caring where practices where being on camera
also raise equity concerns, widening students feel comfortable showing is not required. First, classroom
the digital divide. Not all school their faces on camera. engagement can be measured in other
districts can supply families with digital • Survey students. Using a data ways, such as end-of-lesson quizzes,
devices and an affordable Internet collection tool, such as a Google the use of emojis, or a plethora of
connection with sufficient bandwidth. form, solicit from students what Web-based formative assessment
Underrepresented populations are deters them from appearing on tools. Second, allowing students to
especially vulnerable to this condition. camera. Once the barriers are use avatars protects their privacy
Waugh argues that mandating identified, teachers can work with while encouraging involvement. Third,
video can also lead to social harm. students to lower or remove those teachers should consider privacy and
While video can help build a sense barriers. equity throughout the instructional
of community, it is impossible for • Use icebreakers. Teachers should process. Having students pre-record
teachers to monitor behavior and try community-building activities a performance-based task allows the
changing conditions at each student’s to encourage camera use. Playful teacher to assess in an authentic way
home. In the hybrid instructional approaches such as bringing without the need to view it live. Finally,
setting, where a cohort of students is a school-appropriate object to teach students about privacy and how
sitting in a classroom with the teacher “show and tell” might prompt to safeguard it in their own lives. Help
while another cohort is participating students to participate on camera. students understand the implications
from home through a live session, • Play games. Have students play a of sharing personal information and
teachers are being asked to divide game that requires them to show instruct on how to adjust privacy
their attention between the physical an appropriate body part, such as settings.
and virtual worlds. It may not be rock, paper, scissors. Showing a Relying on the importance of making
possible for teachers to detect whether hand presents minimal risk and connections with students and build-
students are recording “intimate invasion of privacy. ing a community of care and trust is
learning moments” and posting to integral to engaging students remotely.
social media. Incidents of bullying • Allow visual voting to show Taking the principles of equity and
and harassment have been reported, understanding. Have students access into consideration when plan-
as well as weapons on display in vote with their thumbs up or down ning instruction at the institutional and
the background or even brandished on a topic or poll the class with classroom level will help educators
on camera during these sessions another signaling system that can avoid pitfalls and maximize opportuni-
(Reddy & Vance, 2020). These sorts engage reluctant students and ties. While the pandemic may cause
of violations cause school officials to build class consensus. pivots from in-person to hybrid to fully
apply administrative code and local • Leverage students’ social remote at breakneck pace, the edu-
policies and regulations in ways that capital. Consider using breakout cational community has learned more
were never foreseen. rooms in the videoconferencing about the diversity of student needs
Should educators abandon the platform. Poll students through than ever. It is of paramount impor-
camera mandate to avoid these pitfalls an electronic form to find out with tance that schools continue to look for
and unintended consequences? whom they would like to work a menu of ways to serve families and
Certainly not. Educators’ desire to on a collaborative project. The not let go of them post-pandemic.

Educational Viewpoints -19- Spring 2021