Zoom on Wheels vs. The Owl

With some students at home and others at school for hybrid learning, teachers have been using new equipment to simultaneously teach both groups. However, much controversy has sparked, as many students want to know which is better: Zoom on Wheels or The Owl?  

The two modes of teaching are incredibly different. Zoom on Wheels is essentially a huge TV screen that sits in the center of the classroom. It allows at home and in-person students to interact with each other because everyone can see one another through the TV. Typically, the teacher will stand in between the Zoom on Wheels and in-person students so they can cohesively teach both groups. 

The Owl, however, does not have a screen. It looks like a large speaker and sits in the center of classrooms. It has a 360 degree camera view, and teachers typically project the owl camera onto a whiteboard so students in class can see friends at home. 

After almost two months back in-person, many opinions on the controversial topic have been made. Sophomore Meley Haile prefers Zoom on Wheels because “the teachers can easily teach both people at home and in-person students.” Haile finds that teachers who use the Owl focus less on the Zoom students because there is not a huge screen of their faces to remind the teachers that they are there. In addition, Haile finds the owl is “really blurry and laggy.”

Similar to Haile, Sophomore Adele Atherton finds Zoom on Wheels more “interactive,” and she says “it’s easier to participate in class when I am at home.” In addition, Atherton also shared her opinion on the Owl. She said “the quality is not good. It lags a lot and the video is super blurry. I can never see what my teachers are writing on the board.” 

Both Atherton and Haile agree that Zoom on Wheels is a better teaching device that suits both in-person and online students. Many other students have voiced their concerns regarding the Owl quality and much prefer Zoom on Wheels because it is an interactive fix that works well during Hybrid School.