Inequity in eLearning Courses?

I believe that building community in a classroom is extremely important. In my class I want students to feel comfortable, valued and appreciated. I want all students to contribute and to help each other reach our collective goal of getting better at math. I want my online class to be as similar as the face-to-face class as possible but this is no small task.

To help simulate the face-to-face class I provide students with a video of me giving the instructions for what needs to be done on a daily basis. I have heard from students that they really appreciate this. It allows them to see that there is a person behind the course. Likewise, I would like to connect with the student on the other end. As such during the first week or two I wanted students to use some video. I wanted them to create a short video about something unrelated to math so that they knew how to use the video tool built into the learning management system (LMS). This was meant to simulate the discussions you might have with students before class started or after it was done. It was also a way for them to figure out the technology before they needed it.

I also asked students to meet with me one-on-one using the video conferencing tool built into the LMS. Again the goal was to show them how to use the tool and to check in with them to ensure that things were going well so far.

What I noticed was that some students were reluctant to meet online. I get it. I'm a stranger to them and they don't know what to expect. Most eventually warmed up to the idea but here are a few things that I noticed.

When I met with the students, I had my video camera on. Some students right away figured out how to turn theirs on and did so without any prompting. It seemed natural for them to want us to see each other. Some students seemed reluctant to turn their cameras on and didn't do so until I explained how to and I asked them to try it to see if it worked. Most who turned on their cameras eventually warmed up to the idea of sharing video of themselves. I do, however, still have some students that have not met with me yet. A couple of them are boys who joined the course late. I'll have to reach out to them this week and try to connect. Some of them are girls, one of whom has admitted to being very shy. This had me wondering if there was a trend of female students who did not want to share video. I have been thinking a lot lately about if this is a trend, why that might be?

Is it possible that teenage girls are generally less comfortable on video than boys? Are they more self-conscious? Does self-image play a role here? Does it matter that I'm a male teacher? Would it be different if they had a female teacher?

These were all questions that have occupied my mind over the past few days. If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then I fear that the girls in my course will be at a disadvantage. And that scares me! I want to create an equitable learning environment for all students. I want all students to succeed, to be able to get the tools and information that they need to be successful in the course, and beyond. Are my (unconscious?) biases creating inequity in my course?

A natural next step might be to ask if it is necessary to use video in my class? Not at all. Is it helpful? I think so. When I'm explaining something to a student, in person, I use lots of cues, such as body language, facial expression, etc. to help me see how the information is being received. If the student has a confused look on their face, I know that I need to go into more detail, try another approach, or use a different strategy altogether and again their body language will help me find something that works. Without the visual cues I have to rely strictly on audio (or even worse, text). Sometimes you can hear in a student's voice when they are lost, but it's not always easy. The more information that I can take in as a teacher, the better chance I have of correctly reading the student. As a result, I feel that students who take advantage of the video options in the course have a better chance of being successful than those who don't. I don't have any scientific evidence or data to support this, but it's what my gut reaction is telling me.

I worry that I'm creating a class of inequity. And that scares me! Are boys getting more out of my course than girls? Along the same lines, are extroverts getting more out of it than introverts?

You might ask "Isn't this the same as in a regular class?" The difference is that in a regular class I try to reduce these factors. Most students aren't too shy to come to class (especially once they get to know me). Again, I can read a student's reaction to every interaction we have and adjust my approach until I find something that works for that student. This is a much harder and far more time consuming task in an online environment and for students who choose not to engage, it may never happen.

Another difference is that in a face-to-face class, the introverts can listen in on the questions and conversations of the extroverts. In an online situation, many of the conversations are one-to-one conversations rather than the one-to-many that happen in the classroom. Am I putting introverted girls at a huge disadvantage? By offering these online courses, are we inadvertently creating a system that favours outgoing boys? I sure hope not, but based on my small sample size and my unscientific method, it's something that has me worried.

The last and most obvious issue of equity that I've been thinking about is access to the course. There are some students who do not have access to the course at home. This is most often due to lack of internet access, but could also be as a result of not having the technology available at home. I tell students that they need to make a habit of using the time scheduled in the school day to work on the course at school. Some heed the advice, others don't. Some even have their eLearning course as an add-on to their regular day (meaning they have four courses at their school plus an eLearning course). I worry that students who have access at home have an advantage over those who do not. They can spend more time with the course than those who only have access at school. They also have greater access to me. I make myself available for students when I'm not teaching my face-to-face classes. The obvious downside here is that some students work on their eLearning course when I'm teaching. I make myself available outside of the school day to accommodate these students. For students who aren't able to meet with me during the school day and who don't have access to the course at home, their synchronous access to me is greatly reduced. This worries me!

I don't know what the solutions are to any of these issues nor am I entirely sure that they are big issues. I do, however, think they are worth pondering, discussing, investigating further and addressing if they are in fact real issues. If you have any suggestions, thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear them.