Oh, what a well-timed question, unfortunately.
Last night was our 4th Annual Rammy Awards (our mascot is the ram, which you probably figured out, but that's another story, nevermind, anyway) and it was held on Zoom. I paid to upgrade to Pro so that I could require registration beforehand, hoping that this would add a layer of security. Unfortunately, children are not always the brightest lol. One of our students was having trouble getting into the room, so a friend (who is a tech geek and should have known better) gave him his join information--in a chat on Discord. Ten minutes later, the room was flooded with vitriol spewed by 5 people with the original student's name (I had turned off "allow participants to change name").
Because I was sharing my screen and knew I couldn't focus with chat popping up, I had it minimized, so I didn't know what was going on until my husband and my 12th grader burst into my room to tell me. I immediately locked everyone's microphones and cameras, but in my panic, couldn't find the "disable chat" feature. I booted all 5 of the intruders, which actually booted the original student- who then missed his own award win. Even though I had set up the option to block people from reentering the room once they were booted, at least one of them found their way back in, and actually apologized, saying he wasn't from our school, and didn't know the boy whose name he was using, but just thought it would be funny. By that point, I managed to find the disable chat button.
During all of this, the "real" student was texting me to tell me that it wasn't him, and that he was so sorry. He was on the phone with my daughter, asking her to apologize to me, near tears. I spoke with him to tell him that I know it wasn't him and that he would never say or do the things that were happening. Right after I ended the meeting, I wrote a statement apologizing to everyone in the room and asserting that none of this was him, and sent that out through the Evite.
Reading the chat transcript this morning, it's pretty clear that these "hackers," as they called themselves, were just obnoxious 12-year-old boys, whether chronologically or as far as their maturity level goes. Lots of eggplant emojis and schoolyard name-calling.
I made a copy of the saved chat and went back and edited out all evidence of the fiasco, and I'm going to share it with the kids. There was SO much sweetness and love, cheering each other on, thanking each other for the heartfelt tribute videos, and just celebrating each other and the work they all did. I want them to have that. They definitely deserved it.
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Jodi Disario
Director of Theatre Arts
Willow Glen High School
San Jose, CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-30-2020 10:28
From: Jean Klein
Subject: Using Zoom
Hi, all, and thanks for all the interesting topics you continue to raise.
I'm writing a series of blogs about academics, theatre, and the pluses and minuses of using various alternatives. I know that many of you are using Zoom to overcome social distancing.
If you have any advantages, disadvantages, or just plain funny or awful experiences using Zoom in your classrooms educating theatre students or in performances, I'd love to hear about them. You can message me if you like. What are some advantages you've found--some disadvantages--or advice? How has it worked for you.
I'm currently experience the ups and downs of this digital world as a playwright and a teacher of playwriting. I'd love to know how the rest of you are handling it.
Could you also let me know if I can quote you? I will respect anyone's privacy. Thanks for your time. This group is amazing at finding ways to overcome hurdles.
Jean
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Jean Klein
Playwriting Teacher in MFA program, Wilkes University]
Virginia BeachVA
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