. Huma Farid; . Tania A. Siddiqui; . Rashna H. Sukhia; . Sana Jalil Hasan; . Ayesha Naveed; . Lubna Pasha
Volume 12, Issue 9 , October 2022, , Pages 1-10
Abstract
BACKGROUND: “Should students keep their webcams on or off during synchronous online classes?”is an unanswered question with educators’ opinions divided on this aspect. ...
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BACKGROUND: “Should students keep their webcams on or off during synchronous online classes?”is an unanswered question with educators’ opinions divided on this aspect. Along with educators’perspectives, it is also important to unfold students’ perspectives on this question. The objectivesof this study were to determine the routine and opinion of students’ regarding webcam usage andidentification of students’ reasons for not using webcams during online learning.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‑sectional study was carried out at Margalla Institute of HealthSciences, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Census was done for data collection by including all dental students(n=180)enrolled at the institute attending synchronous online preclinical and clinical operative dentistry classes.Data collection was carried out using a self‑administrated questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was used todescribe survey item responses. Pair‑wise differences between demographic categories (female vs. male,and preclinical vs. clinical) were analyzed using the Pearson Chi‑Square test. Correlation of routine andopinion with students’ reasons were done using Spearman correlation. Ordinal regression analysis wasdone to associate routine and opinion with reasons. The level of significance (P value) was set at 0.05.RESULTS: Out of 180 students, 141 submitted the survey form, with a response rate of 77.47%. Themajority of the students (n = 117, 83%) used to keep their webcams off during online classes andwere (n = 69, 48.9%) of the opinion that webcams should be kept off during online classes. The mostcommon reasons for keeping the webcam off during online classes were “comfort” (n = 87, 61.7%)and “distractions” (n = 84, 59.6%). A statistically significant association of gender was obtained, withfemales more likely than males due to distraction, self‑consciousness, and appearance (P = 0.000,0.003, and 0.016, respectively). The odds of gender highly influenced routine use of cameras, andthis was statistically significant (OR: 3.478, P = 0.011). Students tended to keep their webcam offwhen they were inattentative during online classes (OR; 3.743, P < 0.001).CONCLUSION: The majority of the students did not agree to keep the webcam on during onlinesynchronous learning. The main reasons for students’ reluctance to keep the webcam on wereself‑consciousness, surrounding consciousness, distractions, and technological issues. Studentscan be encouraged to turn the webcam on by framing strategies according to students' concerns.
