A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep.
—W. H. Auden
A teacher’s job is to educate, not entertain. And it’s certainly not our responsibility to regulate students’ circadian rhythms.
But anyone who has taught online knows a harsh truth: remote lectures can be the educational equivalent of Ambien.
During the pandemic, I witnessed this reality firsthand. Covid-19 booted my college-aged son out of his dorm and back into the teen cave for several semesters. From a nearby room, I observed countless online classes—some synchronous, others asynchronous.
Regardless of the subject or format, my son usually multitasked during lectures.
He ate Cocoa Puffs.
He played Fortnite.
He watched YouTube.
Sometimes simultaneously.
It’s easy to understand why students drift during remote presentations. The typical online lecture features a miniaturized talking head next to a deck of slides. That format doesn’t exactly scream riveting entertainment.
Yet some lectures managed to grab my son’s attention.
When instructors inserted humor—whimsical quotes, funny images, or playful comments on slides—my son actually paused his multitasking. Occasionally he even put down his spoon.
Sometimes he even put down his phone.
Humor gave him a reason to look at the screen.
The key is planned humor, not random joking. Integrating small bits of humor into presentation slides creates attention resets that pull students back into the lecture.
In a physical classroom, humor has a built-in feedback loop. Teachers can read faces and instantly tell whether a joke works.
Online, that feedback loop disappears. Cameras are off. Microphones are muted. Silence rules.
Because of that, the safest and most effective way to use humor online is through the print elements of teaching, such as:
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presentation slides
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handouts
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announcements
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emails
A funny image, a clever caption, or a well-placed quote can wake up wandering attention.
Students may still view lectures as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. But humor gives them a reason to stay awake.
Think of humor as the instructional equivalent of Red Bull.
It won’t replace good teaching.
But it can definitely keep the class from dozing off.
Teaching tip
Add one humorous slide or comment every 10–15 minutes.
Think of it as an attention reset for tired brains.
