Post #2

Let me tell you a little bit about my journey with Zoom.

I was first introduced to Zoom when my workplace started using it during the pandemic. Prior to that, I had not heard of Zoom, but then suddenly it felt like it was everywhere around me. At my other workplace, they also started using Zoom. Even my mom’s church was using Zoom to host meetings. I started using Zoom to video chat with my friends. It went very quickly from something I had never heard of to something I was using every day.

At first, when I started using Zoom to teach, I was hesitant about how to do it. My experiences with using technology while teaching were limited to Google Docs. I had never used features like screen share or a virtual whiteboard when teaching. At first, I was slightly daunted by these new features I was suddenly exposed to. However, I quickly picked them up and found them very useful.

For example, this is a screenshot of the Zoom whiteboard where I had given a lesson on poetic devices:

Xu, A. © 2022

I have always preferred typing to writing, and I much prefer typing on a virtual whiteboard to writing by hand on a physical whiteboard. I like how there are also other tools on Zoom like drawing freehand and shapes. This is particularly useful for math lessons.

Xu, A. © 2022

Also, I like the annotation tool that has the same features. For example, for my math classes, I would open a PDF or PowerPoint, share my screen and use the annotation feature to add text or drawings to the screen. This makes it easy to do a question on the screen in a way that wouldn’t be possible with the tools in Adobe DC or PowerPoint.

Xu, A. © 2022

This week, I did some research on Zoom.

Zoom. (2022.) Retrieved from https://explore.zoom.us/en/about/.

On Zoom’s website, it says:

“Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for large enterprises, small businesses, and individuals alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California” (Zoom).

The Zoom website has many videos that help users navigate Zoom. Here is a video that shows you how to join a Zoom meeting:

I hope you’ve learned some things about Zoom, both as a software and as a part of my personal journey involving using technology to teach! 

References

Zoom. (2022). Video conferencing, web conferencing, webinars, screen sharing. Zoom. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://explore.zoom.us/en/about/