Turn the camera on to get better grade: Evidence from a field experiment

Jan L. Anderson and Leonid A. Krasnozhon

International Review of Economics Education, 2024, vol. 47, issue C

Abstract: The economics literature provides mixed results on the effect of online classroom technology on student outcomes. An emerging body of behavioral studies suggests that videoconferencing is a cognitively exhausting activity and that the camera that is a salient feature of virtual meetings is a leading cause of this fatigue, with a more pronounced effect on women. Thus, economists and behavioral scientists debate whether online education and its technology provide an effective method of instruction. We use a field experimental design to examine how camera use in online synchronous economics classes affects learning outcomes. We find that changing the method of student engagement from turning the camera off to turning it on increases quiz grades by 0.18 standard deviations while we control for students’ gender and aptitude.

Keywords: Videoconferencing; Economics of education; Online education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A20 I20 I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ireced:v:47:y:2024:i:c:s1477388024000197

DOI: 10.1016/j.iree.2024.100301

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