[NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation

[Noah Carver]

Hi Kelsey,

Thanks for writing to the list.

Because of the myriads of excellent technologies now at our disposal, we can independently determine how we look on camera, what is in frame, etc. ON PC, I personally love JAWS' "Face in View" function for this purpose. Additionally, iOS devices now report whether your face is in the frame as well as where in the frame it is if you open the camera app while using VoiceOver. Also, I'm sure Be My AI, AIRA's Access AI, or another such Large Language Model AI can provide great results and input as you refine your camera placement. Other techniques for getting good framing also exist, and I am sure that many savvy students can provide better input than I can. Armed with these alternative techniques, you should be able to independently set up a camera view which is perfectly reasonable.

Given this, my belief is that if a professor expects students to be using their cameras, all students, including Blind students, should be doing so. I know from experience that I, a Blind person, have the same reasons for wanting to turn off my camera as the sighted students around me. Perhaps I'm in a messy room or a busy café. Perhaps I'm having a bad hair day. Perhaps I can't get my camera aimed perfectly. However, if the professor's expectation is that cameras should be on, a sighted person is not likely to be successful in using these reasons to justify a request to turn their camera off. I should therefore not expect different treatment simply by virtue of my Blindness. Further, I feel it is inappropriate to use an accommodation to exempt oneself from camera requirements. Accommodations are meant to ensure equity with our nondisabled peers, not to provide an advantage. In this case, I argue that requesting an exemption from camera requirements does just that.

I hope this helps. Best of luck in your college search.

Warmly,

Noah

--
Noah Carver (He/Him)
Candidate, B.M. '27, Applied Music (Performance) -- Voice
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
Board Member, National Association of Blind Students
Chair, Content Creation Committee, National Association of Blind Students
Chair, Students Committee, National Federation of the Blind of New York
+1 (207) 557-9143
noah.t.carver at outlook.com

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kelsey Nicolay via NABS-L
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 17:21
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Kelsey Nicolay <piano.girl0299 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation

Hello,
One of the colleges I am looking at offers courses in real time online format as professors want student$ to be eng at g during discussion. When I attended  their inform at tion session, one of the things they told us is that having your camera on during class is a requirement from most professors. Being totally blind, accurately positioning the camer@ for good video quality is difficult, so I was curious whether asking for an ex€mption from the camer@ on requirement would be a reasonable accommodation if I can demonstrate in other ways that I am actively participating.
Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone
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