Digital Smarts - Should Teachers Require Cameras on During Online Teaching?

About 75% of educators report that students who learn via live online instruction are required to keep cameras on if they have them, according to a survey by the Education Week Research Center. This comes despite concerns from some teachers that the requirement could put some students at a disadvantage, including lower-income students who may not want their classmates and teacher to see their homes, or those with lower bandwidth connectivity. This is also a good reminder for checking the space your child uses for online classes and removing items that might be used later by cyberbullies (or hackers) as visual clues – posters, pictures, sports memorabilia - into their life. Best practice is to keep the space they use as background for their appearance on Zoom and other online class as neutral as possible.