Zoom’s new focus mode could prevent students from distracted

Zoom has announced a new Focus mode, which it says is intended to prevent students from being distracted in a virtual classroom, while still allowing the teacher to keep an eye on everyone. When enabled, Focus mode will ensure that meeting participants cannot see each other’s videos or screen shares, while the host is still able to see everyone’s webcams. world. It provides some of the control found in webinar mode, without the complexity and lack of flexibility that come with it – for example, a teacher can turn Focus mode on while presenting, then turn it off when it’s time to chat. class. And, while hosting a webinar costs money, Focus mode seems to be available for free accounts, based on my testing.

This feature comes as the new school year approaches in many districts and as the threat of COVID-19 remains serious. It seems likely that virtual classrooms are going to stick around for some, so it’s good that Zoom is adding features to improve distance learning.

While focus mode puts teacher video or screen sharing front and center for students, it won’t be the only thing on their screens. For one thing, attendees will always see their own video, as well as any videos or screen shares highlighted by the host. They will also be able to see the names of other participants, as well as any emoji reactions.

Overall, the feature appears to be a decent way to keep students from distracting themselves during lessons, and might even have its uses outside of a learning environment (for example, during corporate presentations, if managers are concerned that employees are not paying attention to the slides). The Zoom Focus Mode support article states that the feature can be enabled or locked for accounts, groups, or individual users. After activating it for your account, the feature can be accessed by clicking the More button during a meeting.