It’s the third month of Zoom University for LHS students, and many have become accustomed to the ho-hum of technology issues and awkward breakout rooms. However, the little moments throughout the day — whether it be a mic left on, a funny Zoom background, a teacher tradition or another turn of events — have provided a touch of levity this semester. A survey was conducted on Drops of Ink’s Instagram, @lhsdoi, to highlight some of these entertaining virtual episodes at LHS.

The Vocal Performance:

Senior Kellie Hopper was in her English class when she accidentally turned her Zoom microphone on. At that moment, Hopper was singing “Light In the Hallway” by Pentatonix, the melody that she sang in choir rehearsal the previous period. Explaining that she frequently sings the tunes that are stuck in her head, Hopper mostly laughed at herself but was a bit embarrassed. The teacher interrupted, “someone is singing,” and chuckled at the situation, unaware of which student was belting their heart out.

The Honey Advertiser:

Many LHS teachers have utilized Zoom backgrounds, either to emphasize the class lesson or to pretend they are on vacation, according to the survey responses. However, freshman Eric Vu took Zoom backgrounds to a new level by playing “Shrek,” “Joey’s World” and honey commercials without sound to entertain his classmates. One teacher even remarked that he was running an advertising agency. 

The Student-Directed Class:

During her AP Economics class, sophomore Fatma Elmenshawy and her classmates noticed that their teacher, Erik Rogers, had been kicked out of Zoom due to technical issues.  Elmenshawy found the situation to be very entertaining when the students pretended to teach and asked each other questions. The class also joked about leaving the Zoom call completely.

Elmenshawy described how the event interrupted their normal routine, making the class a fun change from other Zoom calls. Mr. Rogers returned to the Zoom meeting about five to 10 minutes later.

The Harmonica:

Many years ago, Dave Lapish, an English teacher, spontaneously picked up his harmonica and played the “Happy Birthday” song for one of his student’s birthdays while the rest of the class sang along. That day marked the first of many birthday celebrations in his classes.

After becoming bored of singing the birthday song, Mr. Lapish began asking his students to request the songs that he should play. Mr. Lapish explained that he has continued his fun tradition over Zoom despite the slight embarrassment for students.  

Mr. Lapish joked via e-mail that although he does not have any scheduled harmonica concerts, he is “game for a random harmonica jam-session at almost any given moment.”

The Geography Game in Science Class:

Every Thursday and Friday, Mark Buesing, a science teacher, and his class play “Where in the World is Mr. Mark?” Mr. Buesing displays a Zoom background with a geographical place and gives the class 20 questions to guess the location of the photo. 

Mr. Buesing explained that he created the game for Zoom in an effort to make virtual class as enjoyable as possible. Awarding thousands of fake bonus points to his students for good guesses, he finds it fun to yell “5,000 bonus points!” in class. Mr. Buesing likes to teach a bit of geography, his second favorite subject, through the game.