It seems like overnight Zoom went from something none of us had heard of to something we have to use every day. By now, we’ve probably all had one of those semi-awkward lectures where you spend more time looking at your classmates than you do paying attention to the lecturer.
But Zoom can be used for so much more than uncomfortable lectures. It’s a great way to organise chats with your friends as well as being an asset for people involved in clubs and societies in college.
Róisín Phelan, the Chairperson of the DCU Glee Society and the Director of the Glee Cast, has been using Zoom loads since DCU closed their campuses. She said, “Like everyone I have been using zoom for lectures and to talk to my friends, but more specifically I have been using it to have meetings and social evenings with the Glee Cast.”
The DCU glee society has unfortunately had to postpone their big showcase in line with the university’s closure after working tirelessly for the past six months preparing the show. Luckily, they all could access Zoom to keep in touch.
Róisín said when the college was closed, “We went from seeing each other every day in college to not seeing each other at all, so Zoom has definitely been a fantastic method of keeping our group chatting, socialising and positive.”
Róisín prefers to use Zoom over things like Facetime, WhatsApp video call or group calls on Messenger because it feels more official and organised. She said this is “because most people in our group use a laptop therefore, they don’t tend to click off or get distracted by other things.”
She also thinks the quality of video and audio is much higher on Zoom as her calls can have around 10-15 people on per session. They have tried to do a call with that many people on other platforms, but it would just freeze and not work.
Róisín thinks Zoom is an excellent way to both keep up with your friends and keep up with any societies you’re involved with as “it bridges the gap that you typically have when communicating over email or messages.”
It’s not just the Glee Club making use of Zoom as societies like Her Campus and the Journalism society have all organised their AGMs on the platform.
There are plenty of other fun things you can do over Zoom too. You can arrange pints at home with your friends where you can choose to dress up or be in your pyjamas. It’s also a fun idea to organise a pub quiz with all your friends, get everyone in the group to create a round on whatever topic they like, it can be anything from Geography to High School Musical Trivia. It’s more fun if you hide the topics until the call so that everyone is surprised, and no one has time to study.
Another nice idea is to do a home workout with your friends over Zoom. Not only will it be way more fun than doing one by yourself, doing it with your friends will help motivate you.