Back to School: Getting in the Zoom Zone

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by Arabella Chamberlain

This year has been far from normal. A global pandemic, a "land hurricane" in Iowa, what next?

Things are finally starting to get back to normal though, as we return to classes, masked up and socially distanced. Even then though, a new challenge has approached 2020 - ONLINE CLASSES.

It's hard to find someone not in an online class this semester, even among those who returned to campus, which has brought on a plethora of new challenges as many of us find ourselves expecting Zoom Academy to look like this:

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When in reality, it looks a bit more like this:

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While I can't fix your connection issues, when you are on a video call for class, have you ever really looked around and considered the environment you're in? Back in the olden days of in-person classes, it didn't matter how messy your room was or the room lighting. But nowadays, every single virtual class you attend is a peek into your personal life!

True story, I completely forgot to pay attention to my surroundings last semester on a video call and I had some pretty embarrassing things in the background! Don't make the same mistakes I've made with online classes, follow these helpful tips for a productive, focused (less embarrassing) semester online.

• Set up a space for all your virtual classes. Whether that be at your desk, on your bed, or in the library even, pick a spot to consistently attend your virtual classes in. This will help you stay more focused on a class by being in a familiar environment each time. Just like when you attended in-person, always get settled in for class on-time.
• Wherever you set up, don't forget to remove or limit distractions in the background. If you're in a personal space, is there anything around you that you think will distract others or yourself during class? If so, it's gotta go! Try to have a neutral or uncluttered backdrop for video classes in your dorms. If that's not possible, consider a virtual backdrop! If you're in a public space, make sure you don't have random people who will be walking in camera view the entirety of your class. Try to sit with your back to a wall or in a space away from heavy traffic.



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• Focus on class while in class - not Snapchat! Just because you're attending class on your laptop or phone, doesn't give you a free pass to be on your laptop or phone while in class. Treat this just like a normal class - no Netflix or emails or texting while on a video chat! It's easy for things to get missed, especially when you're not paying any attention.
• Take notes - even if the professor says the slides are on Moodle. By writing down notes while in class, it gives your brain time to process and absorb the information you're learning. Plus, you won't be able to remember every little thing the professor mentions that's not on the PowerPoint, so having a piece of paper and writing utensil handy will help keep you on top of everything.
• Keep up with hygiene and self-care. Resist the urge to go to class in your pajamas or with your camera off. This will help keep you engaged and your professor will definitely appreciate it. You don't want to get distracted since your cameras off or something embarrassing ending up online if you accidentally turn your camera on though. So you don't need anything fancy, just try and remember to put on pants...

These are just a few tips to get you started. I know this year is a little crazy, but we're going to get through it. Let me know in the comments any study tips you have for this Fall!

Other resources:

How To Geek: 12 tips for video-conferencing while you work from home

NY Times: How to Pull Off a Professional Video Call From Home

The Verge: The do’s and don’ts of video conferencing

Why I Have Chosen a PWI instead of HBCU as a Minority Student

There is a controversial topic about whether a Historically Black College/ University (HBCU)
or Predominantly White Institution (PWI) is better for African American students to attend. Some
people of color look down on others for not attending an HBCU; however both types of education
have their downfalls as well as their benefits. I’m here at Coe, so I have obviously chosen the
PWI route; and from my experiences so far I could definitely explain the benefits:

1. Money

Coe college has various benefits, but the most important one to me was money. It is so
expensive to be educated, and though colleges cause so much debt, the career I have a burning
passion for requires a LOT of education. PWIs have higher endowments than HBCUs, meaning
they receive more money/ financial assets. More endowments means that they have the ability
to give out more scholarships. If a college really cares about preparing you for the real world,
they will want to surround you with diversity because the real world is diverse, so they are
willing to give out even more money to people of color because they want us to attend to
increase diversity and add to the environment so that we can see the world from different
perspectives and understand other cultures.

2. Diversity/ Preparation for the Real World

They are called Predominately White Institutions, but people from almost every race attend
these colleges and universities. HBCUs have mostly African American students, so to go to
one would be staying in my comfort zone, seeing that I went to a predominantly African
American high school, and lived in a predominantly African American neighborhood.
Being in a different community than usual has given me an opportunity to have a more open
mind towards opinions and beliefs that I have never had before. Also, regardless of whether I
go to an HBCU or PWI, I will graduate going out into a predominantly Caucasian world with
many different minorities as well; so being at Coe, I have been learning more about different
cultures and opinions than I could in an environment like my neighborhood. This is giving me
the experience with a multitude of people that I will need.

3. First Hand Experience

If you are raised in poverty, then you’ve mostly only been surrounded by people who look like
you. Impoverished neighborhoods are usually segregated and not racially diverse; and as it is
apart of the curriculum, in your classes you learn about all of the problems that happened in
the US, and you learn that most of these terrible things occurred when Europeans came here.
History shapes the Europeans as selfish, lazy, greedy, always using people of color for hard
labor and treating them poorly along the way, and a number of other things. If you are in an
impoverished community, with mostly only people who look like you, chances are you’ve
never actually talked to a Caucasian person in real life, so you look at them as if they are the
exact same terrible people who did everything that you have learned in your history book. If
you have never actually talked to someone in another race, as humans we tend to use
stereotypes; and it is normalized, so most people of color have these negative preconceptions
of Caucasians upon meeting them ourselves. It is fair to say that coming here, this is the first
time that I have been surrounded by so much diversity, and I have only had positive
experiences thus far; so it gives us all a chance to break out of using the stereotypes that
we’ve gotten so comfortable with.

I don’t disagree with Historically Black Colleges/Universities or Predominantly White
Institutions. These are the reasons that I personally made my choice. Here at Coe, I am
thriving so far; and I have no complaints! I couldn’t have made a better decision.