Pictures of Students and Faculty in Online Classes

Should online teacher/mentors require students in online classes to post their picture?  Having a picture really helps online teacher/mentors and helps students keep track of each other. However, some students really do not want their picture in the class, even though it is a password protected site. In one class I had a police officer who often worked undercover, in another class I had a student who was being cyber bullied. Although Learning Management Systems like Moodle and Blackboard seem secure, remember that what is put into the profile is available to ALL THE STUDENTS IN THE CLASS, not just the mentor. Students are savvy enough to know how to copy and paste the picture into their computer, and how to manipulate it and post in an online Social Media site.

We cannot force students to update their profile but we can suggest that they might like to add a picture of their pet or a favorite scene.  We also need to be sure that they know how to do this. In most Learning Management Systems their profile does follow them through all their courses.

When I first started teaching online, which was in 1997, I was very surprised that at the end of the classes I often had students email me that they were so happy to be judged on their work, not their looks. I thought about this and must agree that we do judge people, subconsciously perhaps, on their looks.

What about posting the picture of the online/teacher/mentor?

First a funny story: I taught for an institution that puts instructor pictures on their Web site. I started teaching for them in 2002 so the picture is old. This year I emailed the head of the program, who has never seen me, with a new picture. He immediately emailed back that he was not going to put the new picture on the web site because it was “Not flattering” – but it really looks just like me! 

One of my online teachers when I was a Dean of Distance Education went to Glamor Shots in the Mall and had a picture taken there to put in the class. She said when students came to her office to see her they looked twice because they did not think it was her! Another teacher put Mona Lisa as her picture.  

My solution is to add an avatar. There are now many sites, which you can find at http://eduhowto.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/15-free-safe-avatar-creators/ 

However, I do post my picture at the end of the class.