The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a rapid shift to online instruction with unknown consequences for student learning. An empirical study showed that students in classrooms who were instructed to have their cameras on earned higher course grades than students who received no instructions.
Session attendees will learn about the consequences of camera usage on course grades in online synchronous classes and discuss factors that facilitate successful online classes. Understanding student success in online classes is especially important as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of online instruction among educators in K-12 and in higher education. Information on effective online instruction and the results of a research study that investigated the effect of camera usage on course grades will be presented. PlayPosit will be used to create elements of interaction during this asynchronous session. Discussion questions and polls on the following topics will be posted: concerns that instructors have about online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, ways to promote student success in online learning, how to make the online classroom interactive, how to ensure students feel connected to each other and the teacher, and more!
The COVID-19 pandemic created shifts within school systems to solely online learning. The current research study took place during the Spring of 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic. Emergency shifts to online learning came quickly, without much time to prepare or train. There are many factors that may contribute to successful learning in an online synchronous class, including working technology, levels of interactivity, and student connection to other classmates and their teachers. We identified one factor that we believed may be particularly important for student grades and levels of participation in our online, synchronous classes: instructions about camera usage. In the following study, archival data was collected from 232 college students enrolled in four online, synchronous classes delivered via zoom. The two teachers gave different instructions to their classes: two classes were told they were expected to have their cameras on, while the other two classes were given no instructions specifically about camera usage. The two outcomes measured were final grades and participation in four time sessions across the semester.
The instructions impacted camera usage – more students had their cameras in the condition group than in the control group for each time session (except the last), although camera usage did decline over the semester. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that final grades differed based on condition. Students who were instructed to have their cameras on during class scored a letter grade higher than those given no instructions about camera usage. Class participation levels did not differ according to condition according to a mixed model Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), but participation did differ based on time sessions during the semester (e.g., topic discussed in session 2 sparked much more discussion than in the other sessions).
This study contributes to the literature on student success in online, synchronous classes. The influence of camera usage on student grades may have been due to the fact that students interacted more with the content, these students were held accountable, or that this format mimicked real-life and being able to be face-to-face during learning. The limitations of this study include that the instructors were not blind to the manipulation, due to logistical issues, and that there were significant differences for instructor differences due to years of teaching experience or variability in teaching methods. However, our study overall demonstrates that students seem to benefit from attending online synchronous classes with their cameras on. Instructions about camera usage is one small adjustment that can be implemented in virtually any classroom that can positively impact student performance.
The keys take-aways of the presentation include the following: (1) Shifts to online learning has resulted in increased interest in the field to study factors that promote student success, especially during the COVID-10 pandemic (discussion from attendees – how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your field of work?); (2) There are many factors that will be discussed in this presentation that influence online learning in synchronous classes in particular (as well as an opportunity for attendees to give their opinion on this topic – what are some strategies you have implemented in your class already?); (3) According to the results of the current study, camera usage is one factor that can influence student success (possible discussion from attendees – what are other factors that matter? How could this current research be extended?)
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