Lower the Stakes with Virtual Meeting Spaces

Lower the Stakes with Virtual Meeting Spaces

In our previous post Virtual Classrooms for Virtual Learning, we examined the alternatives in virtual reality. With the world changing dramatically and our meetings, instruction, and lives racing to catch up, the burn out from repeated video calls is real. There is an issue with this constant level of self-inspection and voyeurism involved in spending your day on video calls. Not only is it challenging to engage in video conversations with multiple people at once, but it can be incredibly draining to continuously worry about appearance, who is running through your background, and if you are reacting appropriately (or overreacting) on the screen.

All of you have seen the video meeting with the person who nods excessively (I’m guilty) or the person who poorly hides the huge mess on the sides of their camera only to accidentally move the screen displaying their home disaster, or if you are like me, a child running behind doing god only knows. Working from home has definitely changed the dynamic.
At this point in our distance working/learning journey, most of us have seen if not experienced “Zoom burnout” With more evidence starting to show just how challenging it can be to find yourself recorded or on-camera repeatedly day after day. As we have alluded to in previous posts, there is an alternative that lowers the stakes.

First, not everything needs to be a video call. Some things, as they were back when we were in person, could be an email. In the new world of Zoom and Meet we continuously assume we need to do a video call rather than a simple voice call.  If you don't need to view someone's screen there are many times when a voice call will suffice.

Second, we have all been in meetings that didn't need to be meetings. If you're in the workforce, or even in school, you've been to a meeting that could have been an email.  Just because it's a video call doesn't mean it couldn't just be an email.

 Other things are fine as a conference call. But, when you are continuing to need more than those more basic options, there is still a great opportunity to convey important messages, share screens, and interact in a lower-stakes environment. Now is the time to explore the world of virtual reality meeting spaces.

Now is the best time. Why? You ask. Simple. All of our students, teachers, staff, company meetings are all struggling to endure yet another video call. Sure it can be fun to catch up with friends, but when it’s business/school, it can be a little more stressful. Using platforms that are accessible from nearly any device, like Mozilla Hubs, can create a low stakes environment to share and learn. Hubs has controls that a similar to most video games, includes powerful sharing and presenting tools, and allows you to exist nearly anywhere you can imagine with up to 30 people. 

 

Hubs is one of many great tools, and while there are companies like Immersive Technologies that are doing amazing things, in this time of stress, struggle, and limited access, we should all be looking to provide the most access points to the most people.

Be on the lookout for more post from the HIVEXR Team including:
Let them Play: How to Engage Students in Building Immersive Tech