The Impact of Zoom on Student and Teachers
Flashback to the year 2020, where most students and professors could be seen working, learning, and spending a majority of their time plastered to the screen on the software-based video conferencing system most commonly known as “Zoom.” This app has allowed educators and students of all ages to connect online through a “cloud-based communications app that allows you to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, webinars, live chats, and screen-sharing” (Antonelli). Although Zoom was first created in 2011, it was never fully made known until the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak which led us into a pandemic.
Throughout this time of Zoom learning, students of all ages were affected by these drastic learning changes as they were once attending classes face-to-face; they then had to attend classes virtually by seeing their classmates, professors, and colleagues screen-to-screen. This technology app has allowed students to connect regardless of their circumstances due to the app’s easy accessibility to all users. Gianela Campos, a sophomore at Saint Joseph’s University, states “Sometimes with work it’d be easier for me to like, ‘zoom’ into a class and I feel like a lot more people can access education with online learning.” Speaking for many students, the switch from in-person learning to remote was most definitely a challenge that many conquered.
From the usual everyday paper handouts to taking tests on paper, professors had to alter their way of teaching due to the unprecedented time. Many in the educational field had to change their way of instruction through synchronous and asynchronous teaching ways. This prompted challenges, like making sure the students received the best learning instruction while also building relationships with students through a screen. Zoom has allowed professors to adapt their ways of teaching by allowing students to join “breakout rooms” for small group discussions, sending private messages using the “chat” function if needed, and many other features that created challenging obstacles at first, but then with time, these obstacles soon disappeared. Dr David Hecker that works in the math department here at St. Joe’s states, “It’s really that personal connection that helps you to adjust how you’re teaching and what you’re doing in class. And without that you just lose at least 50% of what you want to do. And so I’d much rather teach in person.”
The impact of Zoom on high school and college campuses has been large, to say the least. Without the creation of this technology app, many students could have fallen behind in their grade level and teachers could have lost their job and most importantly what they love doing most; teaching students. In recent years, there has been a downside for teachers and students using Zoom in the classroom, but when looked through a greater lens the pros outweigh the cons.
