# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Early in the remote learning efforts of the spring semester last year, we found that many faculty members unaccustomed to teaching online made few adaptations to the new delivery mode other than substituting the Zoom room for the lecture hall. Of course, those who have supported and researched online learning over the past 25 years know that online pedagogies and best practices to achieve active learning are quite different online than lecturing face-to-face.

Much has been learned about Zoom and similar conferencing technologies. Zoom has updated the product monthly and even bimonthly as educators at all levels used the technology. It continues to improve. Zoom was so ubiquitous at the beginning of the COVID pandemic that is on its way to becoming an eponym, joining a long list of trademarked products and technologies that represent an entire field. However, while we use the term generically, several very powerful alternatives have emerged.

Google launched Meet, which was integrated into the hugely popular Gmail system. Daphne Kohler, co-founder of Coursera, has joined a team that launched Engageli, aimed at meeting the needs of higher education. Of course, many of the popular LMS products have proprietary meeting technologies. It is a crowded and evolving market.

The crucible of massive use of these technologies by less experienced faculty at all levels of education has exposed vulnerabilities and a host of less-than-optimum uses of online conferencing.

Zoom fatigue is a recognized condition. The popular media has picked up on this phenomenon worldwide. Some have suggested that the microdelays in audio and the extended focus on lower-resolution, poorly illuminated portrait images of participants contribute to fatigue. Almost certainly, there are a variety of such factors that contribute to the fatigue.

In "A Neuropsychological Exploration of Zoom Fatigue," Dr. Jenna Lee of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital writes, "The contributing factors, depending on their adjustability, serve as potential therapeutic targets to alleviate fatigue and salvage the aspects of social interaction that were once unconscious and taken for granted. Exploring alternative and more explicit ways to improve perceived reward psychologically during virtual communication may be a therapeutic approach for not only Zoom fatigue, but the mental and physical toll that comes with it."

Dr. Jeffrey Hall, author of "Relating Through Technology," is quoted in Psychology Today as explaining Zoom fatigue as a very real phenomenon. "Zoom is exhausting and lonely because you have to be so much more attentive and so much more aware of what's going on than you do on phone calls." If you haven't turned off your own camera, you are also watching yourself speak, which can be arousing and disconcerting. The blips, delays and cut off sentences also create confusion. Much more exploration needs to be done, but he says, "maybe this isn't the solution to our problems that we thought it might have been." Phone calls, by comparison, are less demanding. "You can be in your own space. You can take a walk, make dinner," Hall says.

Hall is not the only expert suggesting that wherever possible you revert to audio-only or text media to communicate. Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy in Harvard Business Review suggest several recommendations to alleviate fatigue, including more breaks, reducing multitasking and other online stimuli, as well as switching to audio phone calls or email.

So, as we move into this new year, it may be wise to resolve to reduce the number and frequency of Zoom conferences. Check yourself as you begin to create an invitation to Zoom; ask if this could be done as well via email or a phone conference call. Consider your "standing" Zoom meetings, whether they be every week or (gasp) every day. Could you take the lead on this by using less intense -- and more reliable -- media? What is it about the videoconference that you must have to achieve your goal?

Reducing the number and frequency of Zoom meetings may actually enhance productivity, lower frustration and anxiety, and make everyone just a bit happier in these COVID-plagued times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Early in the remote learning efforts of the spring semester last year, we found that many faculty members unaccustomed to teaching online made few adaptations to the new delivery mode other than substituting the Zoom room for the lecture hall.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At the end of 2019, roughly 10 million people in the United States attended meetings on Zoom. By May 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic shut the country down, usage had exploded to 30 million. For educators and their students, Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, however imperfect, were indispensable in powering remote instruction for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

The optimistic view was that videoconferencing would for the most part be left behind as things returned to normal. But they haven't. Ten months after the pandemic broke out, many educators continue to teach and interact with their students, parents, and colleagues via video conferencing software, either part of a hybrid model or full-time.

It should be no surprise then that 'Zoom fatigue" has and will continue to be a serious challenge for many of these educators.

Zoom fatigue occurs when we feel tired after overusing video conferencing. It is not, however, merely a matter of tired eyes, a stiff neck or an achy lower back. We can actually feel exhausted after spending too much time on these calls. The reason, says Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, a clinical psychologist, lies in the fact that communication over these programs isn't in fact real-time. For educators and students specifically, so-called "synchronous" learning over a computer isn't really all that synchronous. And brain science tells us why.

"Our brains are used to picking up body language and other cues, not to mention increases of dopamine, that are experienced during face-to-face communication," explains Wiederhold. "On a video call, something is off, and our subconscious brain is reacting to that. Communication isn't in real time, even though we may think it is."

Despite high-speed internet connections, there's a lag, maybe a millisecond delay and that can trigger the brain to look for ways to overcome that lack of synchrony. The brain begins to fatigue, causing us to feel tired, worried and anxious.

It's not just the delay. Unsurprisingly, we get more out of in-person interactions.

"There's more biochemical bang for our buck during face-to-face contact because it offers a richer stream of social signals," says psychologist Susan Pinker.

Teachers especially value seeing their students' reactions in real-time and being able to pick up on various subtle cues - micro-expressions, body language - that are more evident in a classroom setting.

The fact that most videoconferences frame only a person's face eliminates access to many of these nonverbal cues, says Wiederhold. In addition, speakers on video calls - a teacher, student, parent, colleague, or an administrator - can appear too large on the monitor. Studies have indicated that many individuals find this uncomfortable, even intimidating - especially if the monitor is on the large side.

"Our brains are used to picking up body language and other cues, not to mention increases of dopamine, that are experienced during face-to-face communication. On a video call, something is off and our subconscious brain is reacting to that. Communication isn't in real time, even though we may think it is."

"When you have that large face in front of you or several large faces, it can ignite that fight-or-flight response," Wiederhold explains."So the cortisol goes up in your body, your heart rate increases. And that has to be difficult for teachers, because if you can't turn off those 10 or 15 students or those parents, it might have rev up your stress response."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How 'Zoom Fatigue' Impacts Communication With Students | NEA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At the end of 2019, roughly 10 million people in the United States attended meetings on Zoom. By May 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic shut the country down, usage had exploded to 30 million. For educators and their students, Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, however imperfect, were indispensable in powering remote instruction for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

# data[].attributes.headline
Final class question: How can we utilize zoom and asynchronous learning in a way that is effective and productive?  Why does this matter?  How is it connected to justice?

# data[].attributes.subject
Final class question: How can we utilize zoom and asynchronous learning in a way that is effective and productive?  Why does this matter?  How is it connected to justice?

# data[].attributes.body
Choose 1 or more math concepts that you will use to create a model to answer the class question. Create the model.

# data[].attributes.body
Set parameters to your answer to the class question (e.g., what data you will use - you can't use everything). Make assumptions such as what "productivity" means in relation to the question. Make choices - choose how you will address the class question. Remember that you won't be able to address everything. Choose at least one direction to go in.

# data[].attributes.body
Research at least 5 different sources of information that will help your group answer the class question. Post your resources in your padlet

# data[].attributes.body
1) Identify a topic (done)
2) Share why this is important (done)
3) Make connections (done)
4) Identify a class question (done)