So teaching in Zoom is literally teaching or giving a lecture through a computer. It’s like a void. Students can’t come to class because we are still under lockdown. We see them on the screen but not in person. We miss the interaction between the students and the teacher. The same thing with university professors, the interaction with their students.
The same thing with the presidential debate last year. It’s the interaction with the moderator. We can’t put a presidential debate in a Zoom debate; that would be impossible. Plexiglass walls were a good idea. Now capitol hill is surrounded by a fence wall. Walls do work.
We all miss our students. Having a lecture through a computer feels like a wall, and the interaction can be a glitch in the system. The video and audio go in and out, and it distorts the image and sound of the students; that would be funny to see.
And another thing is students sleeping during a Zoom class. I keep a cowbell and an air horn out of the frame so they won’t see it. So if they doze off. It would be a surprise to them.
And I had to change the way I teach the class. I don’t want to be too monotone in the classroom or doing a Zoom lecture. Students can tell. So I am like a comedian in the classroom. I was a classroom clown in the 1980s. Telling funny stories to my classmates and making them laugh. Now I would write my jokes in my lesson plans, but I stay on the subject of what I am teaching and use the class as a laugh factory. We have to keep our students entertained to learn something. Once this pandemic is over, if we go back to class with our students, I will continue entertaining in the classroom. Keep them motivated to learn something from me. Be funny in a good way.
But we still have to wear masks and be safe.