Why Zoom is crap
I’ve been tweeting a lot last night and this morning especially about why Zoom is crap, and why I can’t understand those people or schools using it when they have GSuite and Office365 just sat there.
But then I realised I can understand it after getting many many replies.
When the pandemic started, and people went home many started using personal devices, where they can install anything they want. And so they did. One or two people talked about zoom – so they used it. Often for personal meet-ups, which morphed into using it for work, I mean why not?
Well, it’s crap. It’s basically malware. It’s unsafe to use in education. A quick google will show up a multitude of disturbing stories from respected journalists and techs. Even reading their privacy policy is scary enough.
Video chat is also one part of a remote working and learning eco system – and Zoom only has that part. 365 and GSuite have far more besides. Just look at assignments, the logging, accessibility in teams vs zoom, and that’s before it’s integration with OneDrive, SharePoint, Planner, Immersive Reader etc, and similar with GSuite.
Not only that, but I strongly suspect schools have not done a DIA for GDPR, or a safeguarding evaluation, because if they had, they wouldn’t be using it. But hey, what’s security in a lockdown over ease of use?
365 and GSuite are more secure and more safe for our young people. There are always risks, but on these platforms they are managed. On Zoom, they are not.
This is why your IT team manage your devices and works with leadership to adopt platforms that all play nicely and are safe. If your IT team hasn’t done that for your school, take a look at https://www.lourdesit.org.uk
Don’t use Zoom. It’s crap.
