Folosirea camerei off/on în timpul educației academice în mediul online

Abstract

The study aims to explore how camera usage during online classes is linked to social, personal, and psychological reasons, and to analyse its effects on student engagement in education. Furthermore, this research delves into exploring the dynamics of the relationship between teachers and students, as well as the interactions among classmates. It seeks to understand how the presence or absence of camera usage during online classes can influence these relationships and potentially impact the overall learning environment. The research method used in this study is qualitative, with data collected through 12 semi-structured interviews with Romanian students enrolled in Bachelor’s and Master’s programs. Thematic analysis is the method used to analyse the information obtained from interviews, identifying significant codes that emerged consistently across data sources. The research findings highlight both the advantages, such as social comfort, multitasking, and privacy, and the disadvantages, including low interaction, Zoom fatigue, decreased performance, and difficulties in maintaining attention, experienced by students when turning the camera off during online classes.