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Face Shield Information

Instructors may use a face shield when actively teaching in a room where 6 feet of social distancing can be consistently maintained from other individuals. Instructors should wear regular face coverings that enclose the nose and mouth while entering and exiting the classroom.

Instructors are urged to try the face shield option out for themselves and solicit comments from students before deciding to use one in their classrooms. Please be aware that a face shield may cause glare issues and/or fog up the wearer's glasses.

Testing results while wearing a face shield in a classroom:

• When wearing a face shield, there is a noticeable drop in voice level for the students listening via Zoom. Also, the intelligibility is slightly degraded.
• When combining a face mask AND a face shield, the audio quality for the students listening via Zoom is significantly reduced. If you clearly articulate and project your voice, the result is, at best, marginally acceptable.

Testing results while wearing a face shield from the instructor's perspective:

• Instructors will hear their own voice echo off the face shield. This echo is much louder for the instructor than it is for the students listening via Zoom.
• If instructors are in a larger classroom and are using a wireless lavalier microphone for the in-class students, the instructor will hear a loud, incredibly distracting echo.