Ryan Shea

During the current global pandemic, teachers have taken to Zoom to keep classes going whilst not breaking quarantine boundaries. However, as the months roll by, the question starts forming: how accurate is Zoom’s recreation of the typical classroom experience?

On the surface, it seems like the most pressing issue would be that students have the ability to capitalize on the situation and forgo any sense of interaction with the class. In actuality, however, the biggest problem with Zoom is that it doesn’t fully capture the classroom experience, thus keeping it from feeling like an actually comfortable environment. According to fellow student Makayla Baddeley, “I do not think that Zoom replicates a classroom very well at all, actually. Some of my teachers are not requiring students to enable their cameras which makes it harder on the teacher and less like a classroom for the students.”

It should be noted that teacher experiences on Zoom still qualify for this study, as their ways of teaching have to be compromised to fit in with the new environment provided. Professor Stephen Cohen states, “Teachers are struggling just as much as students.” However, what’s most concerning is the psychological effect that Zoom has on students that would otherwise not be seen within the average classroom. Zoom is meant to allow for a more relaxed environment that can allow students to feel as though they’re not under constant pressure. In theory, the less pressure a student feels, the more they’re able to feel engrossed in their environment and use it to further their academic prowess. Even so, this isn’t without downsides.