“Sometimes teachers don’t understand the software. It’s just hard to understand,” Navaid said. “I think embarrassing moments are starting to happen over Zoom more often because in this environment. Navaid said unfamiliarity with distance learning is a factor that, alongside carelessness, contributes to embarrassing Zoom moments. Sophomore Abdullah Navaid hasn’t yet had his own embarrassing moment but has witnessed several. To avoid his own embarrassing moments, Stone said he is cognizant of what is behind him and visible on his screen, but also said it is easy for teachers and students to forget to be cautious in the comfort of their own homes. Or maybe you stand up and you forget that you’re wearing like your PJ bottoms,” Stone said. “On Zoom it’s so easy for somebody to be in the background or for you to say something to someone who’s just off screen or to your mom walking in and maybe forget that you’re not muted. Paly teacher Greer Stone, who said he is glad to have not yet had an embarrassing Zoom moment of his own, agreed with Ehrich that a spike of embarrassing moments happening in class is because people tend to be more careless over Zoom than they are in person. But just as the situation with online learning is unprecedented, so are the number of Zoom bloopers.
“Embarrassing moments are definitely happening more often now over Zoom because it’s easy to be careless while on Zoom rather than when you’re in class,” Ehrlich said.įrom accidentally falling asleep on camera to forgetting to mute and blurting out an expletive, online school has a learning curve many Paly students are progressing through via trial and error.Įven before school went virtual, students and teachers had their share of embarrassing moments. And to make matters worse, because she was late, Ehrlich said all eyes were on her when she logged onto the class.Įhrlich attributes embarrassing Zoom moments like these to the fact that students are more absentminded and lazy over Zoom because they are at home for school.
“I quickly grabbed my computer and got on the Zoom, but my camera was on and the whole class saw me lying in bed completely unprepared for the Zoom.”Įhrlich said that moment was so embarrassing for her because she woke up as a mess and had no time to get ready. “I woke up to my friend calling me to get on the Zoom, but I was still in bed,” Ehrlich said. Ehrlich overslept and showed up unprepared for her final. At the end of last semester when senior Tessa Ehrlich was supposed to be logging onto the final Zoom call for her US History class, she was sleeping instead.