Forming an Argument

Introduction

In the current situation of the widespread outbreak of COVID 19 virus, all the sectors and businesses have been impacted negatively. Communication in academics has also been affected substantially. Most of the affected countries have incorporated a stringent lockdown which has compelled students to attend schools, colleges and Universities. In this situation, the interaction between the students as well as the teachers has been dependent on online resources. Zoom is a significantly useful online tool which helps in communicating with people from any part of the world with the help of internet connection. In academics, Zoom has been advantageous for the teachers and students as they have been able to interact and communicate with this tool. In the adverse situation of the pandemic, Zoom has helped in the continuation of learning worldwide. The Zoom application has also replaced the traditional classroom environment.     

Discussion

Theme 1: Zoom has helped medical students in learning and gaining technical knowledge with video conferencing.

All the different areas of education have been impacted by the spread of COVID 19 virus negatively. However, students pursuing medicine have been affected more than other students of other disciplines as their learning pattern is largely technical. The medical schools have also been shut down due to the pandemic. In this case, Zoom has become the only way of communication between the students and the faculties for regular classes. As per the views of Pather et al. (2020), due to the COVID 19 outbreak, the anatomical educational practices in the universities of New Zealand and Australia have been affected. As per the study, the medical imaging of anatomy has remained the same in Zoom calls. 

This has helped demonstrators to display curate imaging. The research also stated that the students have also been able to answer the questions of identification with the ‘annotation’ function on Zoom. On the other hand, Regier, Smith & Byers (2020), also stated that paediatric residents have been benefited by Zoom calls. The benefit of 'break-out rooms' has made the lecture and demonstration available for a significant number of students. The feature of texting has helped teachers to provide warnings to the students regarding the period. Therefore, all the required activities of a medical classroom have been completed and supported by Zoom which suggests that communication has been maintained between the students and teachers.   

Theme 2: Students pursuing higher studies have been able to continue learning in the pandemic with the Zoom app. 

Students pursuing higher studies have been compelled to discontinue going to the university for the ongoing pandemic. In this situation, most of the universities have started using Zoom for communicating with the students. As per the opinion of Crawford, Butler-Henderson, Rudolph & Glowatz (2020), the agility of higher education has increased significantly with the use of Zoom. In higher education, different kinds of study materials such as videos, voice-over PowerPoint, charts are required. Therefore, Zoom is significantly applicable in the scenario of higher studies. In the current situation, Zoom has helped students in the UK, UAE and South Africa to continue studying uninterruptedly. Similarly, Amaya & Melnyk (2020) also argued that university students are largely benefitted by the utilisation of Zoom.

 At the time of the pandemic, students and teachers stayed connected and shared wellness resources. This has also helped in creating a good understanding between the faculties and students. It has been also stated that Faculties have also improved their capabilities in this period to provide high-quality education. Faculties of Ohio State University have provided the detailed materials of the course with the help of Zoom for ensuring high accessibility. Therefore, the interaction of the teachers, as well as students, have been improved by the utilisation of Zoom.     

Theme 3: School education has been benefited substantially for the user-friendliness with the utilisation of Zoom app during the pandemic. 

 School students in all the countries have been forced to stay away from going to school every day. This has also affected the learning procedure as school students need to learn regularly for better learning. As per Malhotra (2020), in the school level, Zoom has also been utilised for continuing learning. As per the study, online learning has played a major role in higher studies. However, due to the pandemic, schools have also employed online learning. Interactivity is increased in Zoom which is required in a learning environment. School students can find it difficult to communicate online. However, owing to the user-friendly features of the application, students have not faced difficulties. On the other hand, Basilaia & Kvavadze (2020), in Georgia, school education has completely shifted to online due to the lockdown. Public schools in the country have been supported by Zoom and the company has offered many features of the application at free of cost.  

In a significant number of countries, the time limit of a zoom call has also been lifted to provide seamless education opportunities to the school students. Currently, in this country, Zoom has become a communication solution. Therefore, the interaction of school students has also improved with using Zoom.    

Conclusion

The current study has attempted to explore the effect of using Zoom in the interaction of students and teachers in various countries. The study has stated that Zoom application has benefitted the medical students in studying and knowing technical details of the course. The study has also postulated that in the worldwide pandemic, students pursuing higher studies have been helped by Zoom application. The students are regularly being provided with study materials for better understanding. The study has also stated that school students in various countries have been benefitted by the use of the Zoom app as well. As per the study, it can be concluded that in all the countries, learning procedures have been benefitted by Zoom. The interaction and communication between the teachers and the students have also improved substantially in this pandemic. Therefore, it can be further stated that the thesis statement has been proved.