Zoom etiquette on syllabus

[jerseyjay]

Like many people, my entire fall semester looks like it will be online. I polled my students and they strongly preferred a lecture/discussion component through Zoom.

I am trying to write my syllabus and include something about Zoom etiquette (which I believe I saw suggested in an IHE article). I figure the first class they should show their faces, so I have a sense of who they are. But after that, I don't really care if they show their faces (I prefer not to during meetings), just that they attend. But if they do use the camera, they should wear appropriate clothes. I also think they should not just all speak at once and instead signal that they want to speak. I might have a line about not using the camera feature while driving (somebody did this at a meeting I attended and it really scared me, since he kept turning to talk into the camera).

Do other people have such material in their syllabi? If so, what do you say? Or is it all just common sense and a waste of time?

[Morden]

We're not supposed to require our students to use their cameras (privacy concerns). It can also be really hard for individuals with lower bandwidth if everyone has their camera on.

[the_geneticist]

I might not put anything specific to Zoom in my syllabus and would instead have statements like (students are expected to use appropriate, respectful language during class; participation is worth XX% of your grade; etc).  I would have logistics & expectations for Zoom as part of the first day discussion.  We have also been told that we can't require them to have their video on (privacy, bandwidth, etc.), but we can encourage them to at least have a picture and not just their name on a screen.

[apl68]

Will there be anything in the etiquette policy about belching, throat-clearing, unrestrained flatulence, etc.?

[Caracal]

I might not put anything specific to Zoom in my syllabus and would instead have statements like (students are expected to use appropriate, respectful language during class; participation is worth XX% of your grade; etc).  I would have logistics & expectations for Zoom as part of the first day discussion.  We have also been told that we can't require them to have their video on (privacy, bandwidth, etc.), but we can encourage them to at least have a picture and not just their name on a screen.

Yeah, I was thinking about this and it seems like the sort of thing that probably works better to talk to students about instead of having it be on the syllabus. However What I want to get across to them is that I think it will feel less alienating and lead to a better experience if most people are visible, but that I know that, for various reasons, that might be something that some people are going to not want to do and that's fine. I probably will also just go over basic zoom etiquette, like keeping yourself on mute until you want to say something. But I think geneticist is right that you don't really need that stuff on the syllabus and it can make it look like you're too persnickety. A little like how I give first year heavy classes a quick spiel about leaving the room (If you need to step out for a second, that's fine, you don't need to ask me, but it is disruptive if everyone is just taking recreational strolls in the middle of class.)

[mamselle]

Maybe with a small class of middle-schooler's it's different, but I don't let my 5 theory kids do the "blank screen" thing because I call for replies to quick questions all the time throughout the class, to keep them on their toes, and it's too weird to have this disembodied voice answering "Cm-7th" out of nowhere.

Also, if they get something wrong, I need to check in with them about the misunderstanding, and I need eye-and-mouth cues to tell what they're having trouble with--wrinkled forehead means they're trying to sort it out; looking off into space tells me they're not paying attention.

It just feels rude, like they're checking out and not staying with us, and it bugs me not to be able to see someone when I'm talking with them.

Obviously, that's just me, but if I had an expectation like that and knew that it were a bit "against the grain," I'd be putting it in the syllabus (as well as going over it in the first class) to be sure we wouldn't have uncomfortable moments later on.

Also, it's disgusting (and torturous) to watch someone tearing apart their apple-spinach-and-melted-brie crepe and devouring it in front of everyone else. So, water or coffee/tea, OK, but no food while we're online.

M.

[doc700]

We're not supposed to require our students to use their cameras (privacy concerns). It can also be really hard for individuals with lower bandwidth if everyone has their camera on.

I don't understand how having the camera on zoom on is a privacy concern? Students show their faces in an in person class. One can add a virtual background in zoom if you don't want to show your setting.

I've required the students to have the video on and asked them to private message me if they have a concern (I'll read those after class). If they message that they have bandwidth etc problems that's fine but I've tried to set the default that videos are on. My university has mailed hotspots to students with bad internet to at least try to help.

[jerseyjay]

Thanks. These are all useful.

I hadn't thought about the bandwith issue. I am actually quite sympathetic about this, since my home office is at the other end of my apartment and often the wifi is spotty. (In part because I have so many books lining the wall, I think.) I am actually trying to figure out how to get enough bandwith to run Zoom. (My new router extender doesn't seem to work all the time.) I also have the added complication that sometime in the last four years of putting a sticky over the camera, it became damaged and is now blurry. (My new laptop, however, solved that issue.)

I am also sympathetic about privacy. For meetings of more than a handful of people, I always keep my camera off. I also understand that some people have nicer houses than others. (I have long given up smoking, but I couldn't see being able to through a Zoom meeting without smoking a cigarette when I was a smoker, but given current attitudes, I might be trepidatious about doing so on camera--and to be honest, it is still hard to get through most Zoom meetings without a stiff drink.)

I guess I will just state my basic policy about attendance on the syllabus and have a general statement about maintaining good etiquette then go into more details in the first class.

[Bonnie]

We're not supposed to require our students to use their cameras (privacy concerns). It can also be really hard for individuals with lower bandwidth if everyone has their camera on.

I don't understand how having the camera on zoom on is a privacy concern? Students show their faces in an in person class. One can add a virtual background in zoom if you don't want to show your setting.

I've required the students to have the video on and asked them to private message me if they have a concern (I'll read those after class). If they message that they have bandwidth etc problems that's fine but I've tried to set the default that videos are on. My university has mailed hotspots to students with bad internet to at least try to help.

Virtual background does not work on all computers. The one I had in spring--nope. Got a new work laptop this month and now it does work. Know that is not an option for all your students. Students may be sharing their space with family. One thing that can mean is younger siblings or their children being in the area. Turning off video so those minors are not seen by the class is reasonable. Others may simply feel uneasy sharing their environments. And that should be okay. And of course bandwidth issues you mention. My university certainly did not have enough hot spots to meet need.

I was a bit put off by lack of students using video in my last class of the day last week. But that's on me. I will get comfortable. And most of those students are using video in breakout rooms, so it may just be a video noise issue for them.

[doc700]

Our university did some technology survey over the summery and is providing laptops (and/or hotspots) to students with inadequate computers for online learning.  I am in physics so I think there is also some loaner iPad program so that they can use the stylus to write equations on the Zoom white boards.

Our semester hasn't started so I'm not clear if all demand was meet or what conditions will truly be like this term.  I also recognize even with a virtual background and hotspots there may be a few students who cannot leave the camera on or need to turn it off for periods in some classes.  My goal is not to get 100% but have a culture of opt out, not opt in. 

If I can get 80% of the cameras on, I think that sets a tone in the class that cameras should be on.  I have found when I am meetings if I have my camera on I am much more accountable to paying attention; with it off, I am often multitasking.  If you enter a Zoom room and only 10% of cameras are on, there is little incentive to turn yours on even without technology/home problems.  So I am hoping for a tipping point where students without technology issues leave the cameras on and students are more engaged.  No one loses points if their camera is off but I don't see how this is a privacy issue to have a push towards cameras on.

Last spring I taught an intro freshman course.  I actually had 3 younger siblings tuning into the lecture with their older sibling enrolled in the class when we went remote.  It was super charming.  These were high school aged siblings but still a really fun experience to have a set of sisters sitting side by side working on the problems in the breakout rooms.

[Cheerful]

I don't understand how having the camera on zoom on is a privacy concern? Students show their faces in an in person class. One can add a virtual background in zoom if you don't want to show your setting.

I would hate to be in your class and suffer the stigma of not having my camera on.  I am opposed to requiring students to show their faces on camera.  It is not the same as being in class in-person.  The presentation on camera is not natural.  The fake backgrounds often leave weird shadows behind the head.

There are many reasons not to require such.  Some may be opposed, on principle or for safety reasons, to having their face shown in an online format -- someone can take a screenshot of their image, for example.

Why do you have to see what someone looks like?  Isn't it what they say that matters?

I have found when I am meetings if I have my camera on I am much more accountable to paying attention; with it off, I am often multitasking.  If you enter a Zoom room and only 10% of cameras are on, there is little incentive to turn yours on even without technology/home problems.

I'm probably in the minority -- I do not want to see everyone's face on camera during meetings.  Annoying, distracting ceiling fans whirring over heads, cats walking by, messy rooms, people eating, etc.

When someone isn't speaking, their camera and microphone should be off.  This is helpful for many reasons.

[jerseyjay]

Well, I didn't mean for this thread to develop into a discussion about whether cameras should be on, but there you go.

The reason I wanted to have them on for the first class is so that I could put a face next to a name for my students. Having taught online for a decade, one of the things that has always been strange is that I could pass by a student on the street and have no idea who he or she is. Given this discussion, I may not even have the requirement that students use the camera the first class.

I can see lots of reasons for not wanting to show your face. My house is my castle (or hovel) and I don't want people to come in uninvited. My housekeeping, living situation, children, pets, and interior decorating tastes are not really anybody's business. I will solve this issue by doing the course in my own home office, full of books, but, as we know, not everybody has a room of their own.

From an instructor's perspective, I am not sure that requiring Zoom will lessen multitasking. I am not sure I care if a student eats their lunch or folds their laundry or washes their dishes while I am talking--as long as they listen. And if a student will text in front of me in class, why won't they do so on Zoom? One of the ways I pass time in boring Zoom meetings is to scroll through the images of people attending and look at their books, their cats, etc.

All of this, mixed with the bandwith issue, is making me less intent on requiring students to turn on their cameras. In fact, I might suggest they turn them off.

[Caracal]

I would hate to be in your class and suffer the stigma of not having my camera on.  I am opposed to requiring students to show their faces on camera.  It is not the same as being in class in-person.  The presentation on camera is not natural.  The fake backgrounds often leave weird shadows behind the head.

There are many reasons not to require such.  Some may be opposed, on principle or for safety reasons, to having their face shown in an online format -- someone can take a screenshot of their image, for example.

Why do you have to see what someone looks like?  Isn't it what they say that matters?

I don't care what they look like, obviously, but I like to see people when I am talking to them and they are talking to me. I suspect a lot of students feel the same way. I think it is best framed as a preference rather than a requirement for all the stated reasons.

[doc700]

I already know what the students look like in my course.  100% have an ID photo on our university website (available to all other students/members of the community, none with a block) and all have a Canvas profile picture uploaded.  I've also taught 2/3rds of them in a previous semester and know several others since they work in a colleagues lab.  I am teaching an upper division specialized course with about 15 students.

We had open office hours during enrollment week and about 3/4 of the class came -- with multiple students in the Zoom call at a time.  All had their videos on.  No videos froze or had other issues.  I didn't mention anything about videos at that discussion but none seemed to have a problem. At least from my experience teaching it in the past, the students all know each other from prior courses so they know what their classmates look like/have worked on homeworks/projects with them.

I understand that there are legitimate reasons individual students to have their cameras off on a particular day or all semester.  But I think I nudge towards all cameras on prevents a tipping point where no one turns it on since they are all off.  No one loses points for turning off the camera or has a stigma.  I am teaching all online this year but my campus is normally all in person.  I find that with videos on I can see students nodding or looking confused -- which gives me some feedback on my lecture to more accurately replicate how I would engage with the class while teaching in person.  I personally find it very unnatural to lecture into silence with muted students with black squares.  So having that human interaction helps me give better lectures.  Last spring on the course evaluations students only complained that more students didn't have videos on in their breakout rooms and how unnatural they found the interactions.  As I've mentioned my university has at least tried to mitigate some of the common problems of bandwidth and device compatibility to enable this.

[bio-nonymous]

Nevermind whether their cameras are on or off, my pet peeve is people who leave their microphone on when they are not the one presenting...then every time they rustle a paper, or burp, or their cat meows the video feed switches to them. Please turn off your mikes people! OK, maybe I should have put this in the "thing you want to tell people" thread or something... ;)

Seriously though, I do tell the students to make sure they are dressed appropriately for live interactive virtual sessions...you never know.