The Top 10 Things I’ve Learned About Teaching Online With Zoom

Scott Sechrist

By Scott Sechrist

10. I really should have gone with that high-end internet access deal last year.

9. If you intend to stand up during lecture, consider what you are wearing.

8. Students will fidget, eat, look at their phones, and get up and walk away during lecture. Just like in the regular classroom.

7. If you're recording a lecture with Zoom, one of two things will happen: you will forget to start the recording until you are halfway through the lecture, or you will notice an error in the middle of the PowerPoint slides you never noticed before. Depending upon your level of OCD, you'll need to record both lectures again.

6. The awkward silence in the traditional classroom when you ask, "Are there any questions?" is just as awkward on Zoom. Equally awkward is your ability to forget where the "End Meeting" button is at the end of every lecture.

5. When you're using Zoom to lecture, the camera adds 10 pounds, unless you've already gained 10 since the quarantine -- then it looks like 20.

4. When you're using Zoom to lecture, the camera adds 10 years. If you are seeking to become chair of your department, this may work to your advantage. Otherwise, you just need a haircut.

3. Your Zoom virtual background is funny only to you.

2. "Chat to Everyone" is recorded. Tell the students to be careful.

And the Top Thing I Learned About Teaching Online With Zoom:

1. Have a light source in front of you during a lecture, not behind you. Otherwise you'll look like someone in the witness protection program.

Scott Sechrist is an associate professor in the School of Medical Diagnostic and Translational Sciences.