Video calls are becoming a necessity these days, whether they’re used for work, school, or online tutoring. However, staring at a computer screen for hours can be exhausting—a phenomenon known as Zoom fatigue. Fortunately, there are ways to combat Zoom fatigue. Check out our tutor-approved video call tips to help you stay focused and make the most of your screen time.
1. Minimize Distractions
Students, especially younger ones, are prone to getting distracted by their surroundings. While you can’t control your student’s learning environment over a video call, you can minimize distractions on your end.
If possible, find a quiet area and close the door. Give others in your household a heads up so they know not to disturb you. Keep cell phones and other devices silent and at a good distance, and encourage your student to do so as well.
Try to keep the background uncluttered. You can achieve this by pointing your webcam at an empty wall, for instance. If you can’t find an empty wall, you can try using a Zoom background filter. When using a background filter, make sure it’s something plain. There are plenty of exciting filters to try, but they’ll only prove distracting to you and your students. However, you can try playing around with the exciting filters during one of our next video call tips…
2. Take a Break!
The importance of breaks can’t be overstated—make sure to schedule lots! If your session is an hour long, take a five-minute break at the halfway mark. If it’s longer, consider adding more breaks, or take one longer one in the middle. This is a great chance for you and your students to drink water, run to the washroom, or get up and stretch.
Breaks might seem counterproductive, but they can help recharge the brain and keep great ideas flowing. If you feel like you’ve hit a wall, just take a break—you can pick up where you left off afterward. Your students will love you for it too!
3. Get Engaged with Educational Games
Beating Zoom fatigue is easy when you break up your lessons with fun educational games. You can play traditional word games, solve logic puzzles, or choose one of the many games available for free online. This can be especially useful when it comes to online math tutoring. A favourite of ours is Prodigy, the math roleplaying game!
4. Focus on the Things You Can Control
This seems simple, but it might be the most crucial of our video call tips. When working online, technological issues inevitably arise. There are some things you simply can’t control, like spotty wi-fi and other technical difficulties.
Wrestling with technology can be frustrating, especially when you’re under a time limit. However, it’s important to accept that hiccups will happen. No matter the circumstances, focus on doing what you can with the resources available to you. All things are made better by contrast, and we wouldn’t appreciate the good times if we didn’t experience the bad. So, rejoice at the sight of full wi-fi bars while you have them!
We’d Love to Hear Your Video Call Tips!
Have you tried any of our video call tips? Which ones did you like the most? Let us know in the comments below, or feel free to contact us with your own video call tips. If you’d like to know more about online tutoring, check out our online tutoring Q&A page. Thanks for watching, and happy video calling!
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