The Current Dilemma – Getting Intimate with Zoom
By Pamelagrace Beatty
Being forced to communicate through Zoom has opened the doors to a wonderful world of good, along with things I didn’t know, and in some cases didn’t want to know, but I am getting ahead of myself here.
What I didn’t know but I like!
I didn’t know the zoom app could do so many things. Like make me look younger and prettier by taking the lines out of my face. Zoom will even put makeup on my face so I don’t have to add another 30 minutes “doing” my face. I did discover that using zoom’s eyebrows app was a little dicey because when I turned my head, the eyebrows didn’t move with me. That was fun. Then there are all the options like clapping, raising your hand or giving a “thumbs up,” and more.
The latest discovery I’ve made is the immersive app, where you can put people in a classroom setting or in a kitchen, or the woods, or an auditorium. Am I sounding a little nerdy now? I haven’t actually used the immersion function, but I am looking forward to doing so. I also like the ability to take screen shots. I have found that to be a better way to take notes when the workshop leader or speaker has visuals or power point slides. It also helps me to remember, when it is my zoom meeting, who was there.
What I didn’t and don’t like so much…
I don’t like it when someone takes a screen shot when I am in the picture. I have seen some awful shots of me on zoom because I wasn’t warned that it was happening! Also, I have found it challenging to organize and run zoom meetings. It has taken forever to learn how to send a meeting notice while in the zoom app. I can do it now, but I swear how I send the email now is how I was sending it before, but now it works. I think zoom messes with us. It maybe changes how things work just to keep us on our toes.
I have paid for zoom so I don’t have the 40-minute limit. Yet I still have issues getting the right ID and password consistent. That’s not zoom; that’s me. Speaking of not-zoom-but-the-user, it took me a while to realize that when sharing screen, what I want the group to see has to be open before I open “share screen.” And, depending on what I was sharing, I have had to close “share screen,” open the next item and then open “share screen” again. If I was challenged just trying to zoom your average, run-of-the-mill meeting, think about how teachers felt when suddenly, they had to go from the physical classroom to a virtual one!
Braving the Virtual Classroom
I have used zoom as a communication tool for years and there I was feeling frustrated as I tried to make it work. Yes, new elements had been added, but still, I found it difficult at times to get everything to work the way I wanted it to. So, my heart went out to the teachers who, due to classes being taught online because of the pandemic, had to quickly embrace a new way of teaching. Initially, the teachers had to figure out how to transfer their classroom teaching to zoom on their own. Really!? Oh my gosh!
If you think about it, a zoom classroom and an in-person classroom are about as much alike as apples and fireplace logs. They have the one thing in common, in that they are a form of vegetable material but that’s it. One friend, who was a teacher, told me she was staying up to all hours of the night trying to turn her lesson plans into something she could teach online. There was no precedent nor “how-to” manual for her. She and her colleagues were in tears trying to make things work for the kids in virtual TV land. Needless to say, the children didn’t always cooperate.
Prime Example: Another friend, who was a teacher’s aide in the physical classroom, became one on zoom. I will call this friend Marie. She told me a story of two little boys who were acting out in the main zoom classroom, so they were assigned specifically to her. I’ll call them Jerry and Bobby. The scene opens on Jerry with his head down on his folded arms on the table. Bobby, the other child, is frowning and is refusing to do anything related to the classroom work. He babbles on incessantly about other things. He refuses to describe what about.
Finally, out of frustration, Marie said to Bobby, “Look, Bobby whether you learn this stuff or not is up to you. Frankly, I don’t care. I’m a grown person I’ve already gone through school, and I have everything I need. Doing your work in class will help you have what you need when you’re an adult, but if that’s not important to you, hey, you can just keep right on ignoring what we’re trying to teach here.” This caught Bobby’s attention! He said, “You’re not supposed to talk to me like that!” Marie replies, “Somebody’s got to, or you are going to get further behind, and end up pushing a grocery cart and living under a viaduct.” Bobby asked, “What’s a viaduct?” And the lessons began.
Meanwhile “Jerry” was still disengaged with his head resting on his arms. Mary asked Jerry if he was tired. Yes, he was. Then she asked if he had gotten enough rest the night before. Yes, he had. “Then why are you not paying attention to what we are doing here?” she asked. Jerry said he was hungry. There hadn’t been time for him to have breakfast that morning. Marie said, “Couldn’t your mom give you a snack?” Jerry shook his head, because there was a rule that the children could only eat at designated times while in virtual school. So, Jerry was suffering through the time until a break when he could get a snack.
Marie addressed her next question to Bobby saying, “Bobby, since Jerry is hungry and there are only two of you here, do you think it would be all right if we allowed Jerry to eat his snack before our next break?” Bobby appeared to give it some thought, and then replied, “Yeah, I guess so.” Then, a mysterious hand put a plate of sandwiches and fruit in front of Jerry at that moment. Jerry’s head popped up and he dived into his snack with gusto.
Here’s the cool thing about that interaction: Bobby was given the truth about what getting an education might mean to him. Jerry was given understanding and empathy. Bobby was given the opportunity to be a part of that empathy, and by asking Bobby for his permission, Bobby felt valued. Marie was teaching through example. Marie’s way of handling children in the classroom was always unique and effective. The way she dealt with her little clients on zoom demonstrated her insight into the children, her compassion for them, and her willingness to understand them.
Marie was able to work around the challenges of being on zoom. Her little fellows learned to appreciate her straight talk and obvious care for them.
I’m not so sure they all fell in love with school on zoom, but it was better than no school at all.
These times have been hard on us all. I mentioned the teachers because I felt for them when we all suddenly had to become zoom technology experts, even those of us who are retired and no longer have kids in the house or jobs demanding we attend meetings online. Many organizations have had to become creative, flexible and courageous with how they continue to keep the doors open when no one could come through them. I have been amazed at how people and organizations have changed on a dime and managed to keep going despite the pandemic and resulting shutdowns. I also send kudos to the parents who have had to manage the home life, working from home and managing the learning (as well as behavior) of their children now taking class in the living room or kitchen. It’s been a tough row to hoe. Fortunately, things are loosening up and we are trying to get back to some semblance of normal. But it will be a new “normal”. There will be some changes that will stay with us. Meanwhile, continue to know that change happens and the way to survive it is to find a way to change, with change.
