Is zoom an effective tool for sustained online classes?

As the corona virus takes over our lives, businesses close down, and universities close down/transition to an online approach, we have to find alternate ways to get work done and live semi-normal lives. Penn State is accomplishing this by setting up online classes via an app called Zoom. This app allows people to join a meeting with their professors and students in their class in order to conduct an online class scenario, some professors even record these Zoom meetings and then post them to Canvas for people who can’t “go to class/Zoom meetings”. As we students transition to this different style of learning I often wonder if this style of learning will be effective or if it will lead to lazy students and a lack of retention of the material that we are given. The thought is a good one but I’m skeptical if this method will allow students to succeed. I feel like determined student might not have a problem after they adjust to the situation, but I think that this provides the opportunity for kids to slack off and possibly let their grades slip or worse yet, not learn their material. Not being on campus, I don’t feel as motivated or engaged as I usually do when I am on campus. How do you feel about this whole scenario? Do you feel that you will be able to keep your grades up throughout the rest of the semester? Do you feel that Zoom is a good tool to use in this case? Let me know what you think.

https://zoom.us/meetings

9 thoughts on “Is zoom an effective tool for sustained online classes?

  1. I think that Zoom is the most effective tool considering the circumstances. It is hard to say if it will have positive or negative effects on students because every person is different. Zoom is the closest thing we can get to having classes together, and for me, it is nice that my classes take place at the same time as they normally would because it gives me some sort of schedule. I think that as long as the expectations of both the students and the professors are known and met, zoom will continue to be an effective tool. I also think the classes I use Zoom in are the classes that I am more conscious of or spend more time on work in. My classes that don’t use Zoom sometimes get stuck in the back of my brain because I am not interacting with my professors or classmates daily.

  2. I believe Zoom is definitely an effective tool for communication between professors and teachers in such a troubling time. I think that in a situation like this we have to worry more about communication than the in-person experience of classes. I think we as a school are going to have a lot of problems for later classes because of the distractions you might face in class. With pushes from different schools and universities to move to a pass/fail system I think it shows how we are still limited by Zoom’s capability. With the continuation of online classes for the remainder of the semester we are going to have students who have no problem and students with massive problems learning an online curriculum. I think this will be an interesting time for everyone involved and no one will be able to determine the outcome of online classes.

    https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/covid19.html

  3. I think that Zoom is definitely an effective tool for sustaining online instruction for the remainder of the semester. It has all the features of an in-person classroom: the professor, peers, the ability to ask questions. Also, we can still form groups to collaborate on projects or study together. While it, in a literal sense, is different than face-to-face instruction, the output is still similar and may lead some students to be even better off. Zoom gives students the opportunity to gauge just how much they really want to do well in school, and will thus determine who will succeed and fail in this new education landscape.

  4. Depending on the class, Zoom is an effective alternate form of education. Obviously, classes in this form are not as helpful as they are in person, but with the curtain situation, it is a good substitute. I think Zoom is helpful for classes, like ours, where a lot of information is presented through powerpoint and videos. Being able to share a screen, has made transition from in person to online, easy for this class. That being said, some classes cannot transition from in person to online as easily. Some students who take more science and lab base classes are struggling with the transition as they are limited to resources. I’m not quite sure how nursing students who were in clinical went from in the hospitals to watching through their computers. They get a different form of education this way.

  5. I agree with a lot of the comments and opinions posted above. I believe that in the situation we are in, it is absolutely the right route and choice for Penn State to move classes online for the rest of the spring semester, with the introduction of the application Zoom. While I feel this is the best way to continue classes without being in person, I do agree that many issues come up with its use. I agree with the point that you brought up relating to the motivation of students and how the transition might affect their performance. This situation has enabled the scenario to just be able to watch a live lecture in bed, but the lack of physical presence enables a ton more distractions by just being in a different environment. I’ve found myself going on my phone a ton more during online lectures simply because my professors can’t see me and I feel less accountable for my presence within the class. In my opinion, it’s really just up to students how they choose to take this experience and their determination to keep their grades up or just let them fall through the cracks, especially with the additional conversation over whether or not this semester will be pass/fail. On the other hand, being quarantined has led to a lot of boredom and having scheduled classes gives me something to do half the time. One other big issue that I’ve run into with Zoom, particularly in larger classes, is the lack of barriers to access the class. I’ve had several classes that have been interrupted by random individuals, who the TA’s later reveal aren’t actually members of the class at all and input random names when joining the lecture from a browser. This has made the class rather distracting at times and our professor has now introduced a password to access our lectures but it could easily still be shared with others. I don’t know if this is something that PSU could ever grasp full control of but it is a recouccirng issue that hopefully will die out overtime.

    Zoom has been profiting immensely during this time due to its exposure from universities and now just individuals wishing to communicate during social distancing. According to The New York Times, the app was downloaded by 600,000 individuals in one day a week ago. Overall, I do believe Zoom is the best option and application for students during this time because it does allow some form of interaction, despite being through a screen, and permits teaching to continue through examples.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/style/zoom-parties-coronavirus-memes.html

  6. I can definitely relate to you feeling less motivated and engaged with these online classes. I think that having Zoom as an alternative is really great so students do not miss out on credits and can still completet their semesters, but it does not have the same feel as taking classes on campus. When I am actually at school, the environment is completely different and we are all there doing the same thing. But being at home, I have so many other distractions and less freedom so I am much less productive and motivated to get my work done. I also find myself zoning out a lot during the Zoom lectures because it gets pretty boring just staring at a computer screen for an hour.

    I think that overall it is very beneficial to have this option to take classes remotely and finish out our semseter, but students’ performance is definitely going to take a toll.

    https://www.npr.org/2020/03/13/814974088/the-coronavirus-outbreak-and-the-challenges-of-online-only-classes

  7. I too agree with your statement on Zoom and its effectiveness. I think that Penn State has made the best decision based on the circumstances but I feel that my learning is going to suffer because of it. At home, it is nearly impossible to focus, especially because there is nowhere we can go to try and get a quiet space. There are 3 other people in my family and I cannot ask then to put their lives on hold so I can try and focus for my 50min Zoom lecture. In addition, all of my professors have not held back and I feel that I have more work at home then I did while up in State College. It is a tough and difficult time that no one really knows how to handle. At the same time, it has been significantly easier to get on Zoom to participate in my classes and I think attendance has been going up in all of my classes because of the coronavirus, for better or for worse. I believe all of my professors have been accommodating to all students and we need to realize that we are all in the same boat and be accepting of the situation we are in. Zoom is the best tool available and I think it is the only way teachers are going to be bale to teach lectures on a personal level, almost as if it were an in person class.

    https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/03/9561576/zoom-online-meetings-classes-coronavirus

  8. Given the current situation we are facing I believe it is necessary for professors to use resources as Zoom to give the material for their class online. I do agree that this gives the opportunity for a lot of students to slack off because material is generally posted after and is it harder to take attendance because we do not have the ability to use clickers through zoom. One solution to this problem is having in class activities as given in this course which can be answered in a discussion forum during the time of the class so that the professor can guarantee a higher attendance and makes students have a reason to connect to zoom and watch the class. I do believe I can keep up my grades throughout the semester but I will have to be more organized and motivated to do so because one can easily be tempted to skip a zoom session or simply avoid watching recorded lectures but given the free time I have because I am no longer attending extracurricular activities and do not go out of my house I can simply organize myself and watch lectures whenever I want. It is very easy to keep students engaged with the course using zoom if the professor dedicates the time to do so. Professors can share their screen, have in class activities to keep students engaged as mentioned before, breakout rooms to have students discuss an activity or certain topic and simply think of ways in which students would want to join zoom. Zoom is very simple to use and it can be very helpful depending on how each professor decides to use it but it is also important that every student has the motivation to keep up with the course.

    https://www.uctoday.com/collaboration/video-conferencing/introducing-zoom-key-features-benefits/

  9. I agree with the way you’re feeling about not feeling as motivated or engaged. I feel completely detached from school, and I’m struggling to find the discipline needed to succeed in online classes. And this situation is leading to many questions from all individuals involved, including the two of us. I personally don’t believe online learning is as effective as in-person learning, especially when it’s not something you signed up for, like our situation. However, there seem to be many pros to the online learning style even though I don’t like to admit it.

    According to Purdue Global, there’s actually significant effectiveness of online learning.
    Even though there may be many factors that must be considered like individuals learning styles, work environments, and work status, there’s been an increase in the number of individuals participating in online education versus the increase in traditional classroom education. Studies have shown that there seems to be a decrease in anxiety in an online group dynamic, and even though response times are slower, there is an increase in the quality of feedback in classes. Group dynamics have also proven to be more favorable and there’s actually more communication amongst groups in online learning styles. the biggest pro of them all, online programs offer greater convenience than traditional programs.

    Purdue University Global. “Classroom vs. Online Education.” Purdue Global, Purdue University Global, 15 May 2018, http://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/student-life/classroom-versus-online/.

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