"Now you see me, now you don't": why students avoid turning on their cameras in synchronous online lessons?

Abstract

ABSTRACT One of the phenomena that lecturers who switched to online distance learning during COVID-19 reported is the refusal of students to turn on their cameras during online classes. This study aimed to examine the factors that predict the opening of cameras in class. The study examined this issue regarding three types of predictors: resistance factors, learning environment factors, and personal factors. The population included 205 students from higher education institutions in Israel who studied online during the COVID-19 period. Data were collected using an online questionnaire and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings show that camera opening among students during academic classes is indeed relatively low and only partial. The study also revealed four rejection factors to turning on cameras and personal characteristics, such as gender and self-image, that predict students’ rate of turning on cameras. However, the more the lecturers demanded to open cameras, the higher the students’ responsiveness, and the smaller the classroom, the greater the willingness to turn on cameras. Finally, the findings may help lecturers better understand the students’ perspectives of camera use in online classes and develop effective strategies to increase turning on cameras by students.