Deepening the experience

The iLRN2020 conference offered a wide variety of media types to presenters, from a standard presentation video, to a PC 3D environment, to a fully immersive 3D environment. I attended presentations in all these modalities to gain a better sense of how immersion impacts an informal learning experience.

I think we all know what it is like to watch a video. The live chat function expands the experience by offering an alternative communication flow, but also detracts by dividing attention from the video.

Video Example

The PC 3D presentations both looked and felt more like attending a presentation in a lecture hall. You could even sometimes hear the conference staff chatting on the stage, getting things ready. I even had to get up and move my seat once because the person in front of me was blocking my view while I was watching people set things up. The zoom tools in the software gave a good view of the presenter, though, whether you were in the front row or back up in the nosebleed section. The live chat could be helpful and/or distracting, the same way it was with the video. But it felt more like I was sitting next to chatty neighbors rather than like I was watching 2 simultaneous and somewhat interconnected conversations. The conference also hosted round table conversations. The space was set like a conference room, and people spoke at will around the table, led by the presenter. It was not quite as easy to converse without all the body language, but it was much easier than talking in chat form.

PC 3D

The headset VR experience was excellent. The group had thoughtful conversations. The avatars expressed body language more than the PC avatars, so the conversation was more fluid. Raised hands, gestures, and moving mouths helped guide everyone, along with floating hearts and other emoticons. I also found it easier to speak up in a crowd of strangers while comfortable at home and looking like a robot than when I'm in real space.

Headset VR

If you would like to explore how different modalities impact brain activity, check out the studies from the Cuseum, at https://cuseum.com/neuroscience.