Academics must not rage against ‘death by blank screen’

At this stage of young adulthood - undergraduates should learn to grapple with their social discomfort and make themselves visible. Pandering to their every discomfort and whim is overly indulgent. How are they going to respond to a face-to-face job interview request? Decline the interview or suggest special treatment so that they do not see anyone?

Though I can see their point; if you have a job interview, you'll take time to arrange the space, to ensure that the rest of the family aren't going to wander through etc; in a way that you can't in regular, day to day sessions. In a big group in anycase, only a few faces appear on the screen - even if you have teams, it's only up to 49, which is a lot smaller than many classes. Does that really help the teacher??

Students should have the right to decide not lecturers. Lecturers are paid and the students paying and if they want privacy then for whatever reason that is fine with me.

I suspect that the reason some female students do not wish to show their faces is because the lecture is being recorded and they do not wish to have their image captured. Or maybe they're just multi-tasking and the lecture is simply background muzak

I've been displaying a blank screen (or at most a photo) if not sharing slides myself - I left my webcam in my office, into which I have not set foot since 16 March! Lectures have remained interactive, however, often even more so that in a lecture hall, with lively chat running down the side of the screen (we use Blackboard Collaborate to deliver lectures, and it's particularly good at doing this). It's great to be able to be responsive to someone asking if I can go back a slide or explain something in more detail... many students hesitate to ask when we're face to face. When it comes to supervisions, some students turn their webcam on but many don't. If they don't want to I am not going to insist. It also must be realised that not everyone has great broadband. If their connectivity is poor, it is more important to use what bandwith they have to hear the lecture & see the slides.