{"id":22739,"date":"2024-04-12T09:25:50","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T09:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigbluebutton.org\/?p=22739"},"modified":"2024-05-17T17:44:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T17:44:48","slug":"boosting-student-engagement-in-online-teaching-the-webcam-dilema-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigbluebutton.org\/articles\/boosting-student-engagement-in-online-teaching-the-webcam-dilema-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Boosting Student Engagement in Online Teaching: The Webcam Dilemma \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Part 1 of this two-part series to help you increase student online engagement, we address one of the biggest complaints from online teachers: that they can\u2019t tell if students are actually learning when they don\u2019t turn on their webcams. <\/p>\n\n\n

Teaching to \u2018black boxes\u2019 often feels like you\u2019re not teaching to anyone. Some teachers even wonder if it\u2019s an act of defiance from the students or if the students have ghosted the lesson altogether. What has been learned, in this new era of online teaching, is that student engagement is not based on whether or not they turn on their cameras. There are a variety of reasons students might avoid presenting a digital close up of their faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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“What has been learned, in this new era of online teaching,
is that student engagement is not based on whether or not they turn on their cameras.” <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of whether students turn on their screens, a teacher\u2019s job is still the same: to share knowledge, provide guidance, and encourage student engagement. Encouraging student engagement might seem like the most challenging task. Just like how helpful it is for students to have informative feedback, it is also helpful for teachers to receive feedback from students to know how and when they are engaging with the material. <\/p>\n\n\n

This feedback doesn\u2019t have to come from their webcams. There are many skills that teachers already possess, especially if they have experience teaching in-person. But these skills may not have been adapted to the virtual classroom because staring at your own face while teaching is distracting, right? We all need reminders to recall those foundations, especially when teaching online is a new approach. How, specifically, can we encourage student engagement using in-person skills that we might already know?<\/p>\n

\"Student<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n

Transferring In-Person Teaching Skills to Online<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

Here are a few strategies to increase student engagement online:<\/p>\n\n\n