Do Instructors’ Choice of Virtual Background in Online Classes Matter? Effects of Personal vs. Professional Virtual Background Use on Instructor Credibility and Student Learning

While the COVID-19 pandemic made the use of video conferencing software a common part of online teaching, little research has explored how to optimize the use of such technologies. This study set out to understand how instructors’ choice of professional vs. personal virtual backgrounds may affect students’ cognitive learning and instructor’s credibility. An online experiment was conducted using a 3 (virtual background: Beach, Architecture, and University) x 2 (student gender: male and female) between-subjects design. The data collected from undergraduate students (n = 466) through an online experiment indicate that female students assess the instructor as credible and have consistent perceived cognitive learning across virtual backgrounds. However, male students experience less perceived cognitive learning or rate the professor as less trustworthy and caring when personal virtual backgrounds are used.