Zoom has launched a new feature called Focus Mode, which is designed to help students remain focused during virtual sessions and avoid being distracted by others. It allows professors to hide student recordings and screen shares so that they are unable to see what their classmates are up to in class.
At the same time, teachers will be able to see all of their students’ screen shares. Zoom’s Focus Mode will also provide hosts the option of deciding when participants should be visible to others during meetings.
This means that, in the case of virtual classes, teachers will be able to turn off Focus Mode in the middle of the session to allow students to concentrate.
When Focus Mode is turned on, students in a Zoom virtual class won’t be able to see their classmates. Students will still be able to watch their own videos as well as the names and emoji reactions of other students in the same class, so this does not mean that they will only be able to see their teachers. When they are not muted, they will be able to hear other students.
With the addition of the Focus Mode feature, Zoom appears to be pleasing instructors who hold virtual classrooms. It can, however, be used in other situations, such as virtual business meetings. You can use Focus Mode during your next workplace meeting if you’re giving a presentation and want your colleagues to focus on what you’re showing.
The whole experience of keeping participants hidden from others sounds a lot like the one we have during webinars. You may also use Zoom to host a webinar. However, Focus Mode makes it simple for hosts to choose when participants should be concealed from others and when they should be visible to everyone.
On a Windows or Mac PC, you’ll need Zoom desktop client version 5.7.3 to enable Focus Mode. This implies you won’t be able to use the feature if you’re hosting a meeting on your mobile device. Participants on previous Zoom versions, on the other hand, will be affected by Focus Mode and will be unable to view others in the meeting if the host is not visible.
