A Collaborative Dining Table

A response to the The Collaborative Dining Table Activity
created by Joanna MacDougall (@Joanna MacDougall)

Number of views: 131

This example of a collaborative dining table represents a pilot project I lead researching and selecting a virtual reality application to be used in the classroom.

People at the table: 

Faculty Lead (that’s me) – a subject matter expert with a special interest in tech tools and specifically virtual reality in education 

Faculty – SME – my colleagues within the organization who have volunteered to join the team and explore VR in education; from outside already have the knowledge and experience 

Admin – within our organization- hold the purse strings and make the decisions  

IT – Lead and support – within our organization – assist faculty with the technical expertise 

Software Companies – from outside the organization with the applications that we need to choose between 

Modes and Communication Tools:  Email, , Google Docs, Zoom, MS Teams and VR Apps (Meta) 

All communication tools worked well and offered different strengths. MS Teams, Zoom and VR Apps allowed remote meetings to occur in real time, all with virtual face to face meetings providing immediate feedback and answers to our questions. The VR Apps had the additional feature that we could interact with objects creating a greater sense of physical interaction. Google docs was used to collaborate on documents. Email provided the transfer of documents such as quotes and pdf user manuals.  While often almost immediate, there were sometimes delays in receiving feedback.  

Patterns and Gaps:  Typically initial “high level” communication might occur with emails, conferences and chat rooms. These would be followed by more in-depth communication in real time on MS Teams and Zoom. To view the product options an email with a link to a You Tube video might be the first viewing followed by a consultation with the company representative on MS Teams and Zoom who could show demonstration videos. The VR Apps were probably the best because it not only provided real time communication, but it also allowed us to interact physically with objects and ech other. This sense of physical interaction provided the greatest sense of connectivity. While MS Teams and Zoom offered the ability to record the sessions, the VR Apps did not (or at least not that we used the feature). One challenge with real time communication was time zones and scheduling meetings when everyone was available. Email, as always, presents a delay in communication and responses, which is even greater when working across multiple time zones.