The life of students has turned 360 degrees with the outburst of the pandemic at the beginning of this year. Going to class wasn’t anymore about running from one side of campus to the other with your friend to be on time but rather to open the computer, plug your headphones, and activate the camera. At first, it was supposed to be only temporal, but the situation got worse at a worldwide scale and zoom lessons became part of our daily life. Some students prefer the old school way and take notes with a pen and paper, others prefer to take notes on their computers. But if you ask them if they feel comfortable with zoom, most of them will say no. Zoom makes us feel far from each other and not connected, you are just talking to someone through a screen, which can feel a little bit weird. But we can not change the situation by complaining but by changing our ways to adapt the best way possible to what for now is our new reality. Focusing on zoom can be very challenging and require lots of effort from our part. These are a few of the tips that will help you enhance your concentration and motivation to learn and stay updated with the course material.
Zoom App Guide 101
Phone + Off
The first thing that one must do in order to stay as focused as possible during the class, is, of course, to turn off the phone or any other electric devices! Turning off your phone but leaving WhatsApp connected is the same thing as leaving the phone on. You may start doing something on your phone and lose track of the class. What you should do, is put your phone on a drawer, lock your door so there are no distractions. If you own a pet, then it’s very important to lock the door and not let them in during the class because they are going to demand your attention, and that will prevent you from focusing on the class. Also, it is important to note that leaving the camera on, despite what you may think at first, is going to benefit you at the end of the day, why? because when you have your camera on, you are forced to listen to the professor and not be on the phone in front of his face to not disrespect him.
Take Notes
Having a notebook and a pen or computer to tape in, is imperative when in class. Taking notes is the most efficient way to keep up with the course material and understand what the class is about. In addition, all the work that you do know will be less work than you’ll have to do in the future to study for the exams.
Get Dressed
Even if you are at home, wake up every day and get dressed as if you were heading to campus. Have your breakfast and get ready for class. Why? Because it will make you feel as if you are heading somewhere and will give you more energy and motivation to start the day and attend the class
