VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Through the COVID pandemic, students and parents have gotten used to plenty of logging and signing on.
“They don’t have that socialization, so they rely a lot on technology," mother Taheerah Abdula said on an afternoon walk with her kids learning from home.
Now, schools in Virginia Beach are making sure turning on the camera is a part of the classroom experience.
"It’s understandable, the teacher can’t see what they’re doing and sometimes you need that body language," Abdul said.
New guidelines from Virginia Beach City Public Schools state that starting Wednesday, Nov. 4, students must turn on their cameras for attendance so teachers can actually see their faces, and must continue to keep them on through group instruction and group work.
"Sometimes they’ll talk to a teacher, so they were virtual. But other times if they’re doing classwork, the camera is off," Virginia Beach father William Murphy said.
The changes are a way to improve student focus, engagement and make sure kids are actually signed into their virtual classrooms.
"I get it, they could just be setting the thing up and going off to do their own thing. It’ll show their face, show accountability," Virginia Beach mother Ebony Lovett told 13News Now.
Students will also have to start using their real names in virtual classrooms starting November 4.
Kids who are truly uncomfortable with the camera being on, can choose the “hide” option so teachers can still know they’re there.