Cameras on or off during online synchronous courses? That is the question: an analysis of university faculty caring intelligence

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cameras may be viewed as an essential tool in online synchronous classes. They may give a sense of connectedness between the students and faculty. In fact, social presence is considered a vital factor in distance education. In our study, we examine faculty’s perception of accepted reasons for students to turn off their cameras and perceived student engagement within synchronous online courses. In this exploratory research, participants (N = 84 faculty members) completed a survey to provide insights into their perceptions. Exploratory factor analysis with polychoric correlation indicates the five most substantial faculty-accepted reasons for students turning off their cameras during synchronous online courses. The reasons are as follows: student concerns about their appearance, family or friends in the room, webcam not working, physical location, and if their appearance on camera would be a distraction to the class as justifiable reasons for having their camera off. Correlation analysis found strong associations between the identified faculty-accepted reasons for students turning off their cameras during synchronous online courses and faculty’s perceptions of course engagement with cameras turned off. In addition, we discuss the limitations and recommendations for future studies.