[NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation

[Steve Jacobson]

This is an interesting discussion.  I agree with Dave Andrews on this.  I've been in meetings where the person running the meeting looks at the attendees for reactions similar to what would be done in person.  Turning my camera off excludes me from showing reactions which is not to my advantage, at least most of the time.  I have also experienced meetings with people from other cultures where not having my camera on was seen as me being closed or "stand-offish".  I've also experienced meetings where having the visual contact seemed to help overcome language barriers as well.  There may be disabilities where having a camera turned on might cause a problem, but I don't see why blindness by itself should be used as a reason to turn a camera off.  It just doesn't have to be that big a deal.  To say it is a battle we must choose to fight or not fight as has been stated in another email seems like an exaggeration.  In saying all of this, I started out as one who was very hesitant to have my camera on.  Over time, I've gotten used to it and it just isn't that big a deal to me any more, and it does help in the instances I have mentioned above.

To be clear, if I am in a meeting and I can determine most cameras are off, I would certainly turn my camera off as well.  I just don't see a reason to assume that blindness is a reason, by itself, to not use a camera if it is a requirement.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Ronza Othman via NABS-L
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 6:46 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: Ronza Othman <rothmanjd at gmail.com>; nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Turning camera off as accommodation

Yes, 100%

I have this accommodation for my classes at Cornell.

Ronza Othman, President
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
443-426-4110
Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 10, 2024, at 6:22 PM, Kelsey Nicolay via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> 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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