VR Conferencing : a business opportunity underlying virtual reality participation

Advancements in digital technologies continuously prompt changes to both academic and business ecosystems. And by bringing opportunities for sustainable and economically feasible developments in parallel, the organizing capabilities of such technology have received an increasing amount of interest. Building on this momentum, this dissertation sought to investigate the viability of a business opportunity underlying the idea of virtual reality participation at events such as conferences. For the purpose of this research, data were collected through two online surveys. These surveys targeted those who would ultimately provide the participation option (event-organizers) and those who would drive its demand (eventparticipants). The results, through an expressed measure of interest among the respective samples of 31.6% and 51.5% accompanied by a fair demand and willingness to supply the option, seem to encourage the pursuit of an underlying business opportunity. The analysis further directs future effort by making distinctions in demographics and attitudes in terms of interest and finds thereof that the concept appears to show at least as, or even more, prominence amidst short educational programs. It also shows that the concept can be extended to serve other purposes, for instance, business meetings. Additionally, a business model configuration that could potentially exploit the opportunity is explored, and the model suggested by this work is presented as an intermediate platform. However, more research of which is required prior to the development of a defined business plan.Os avanços nas tecnologias digitais provocam alterações contínuas nos ecossistemas académicos e empresariais. Paralelamente, ao trazerem oportunidades de desenvolvimentos sustentáveis e economicamente viáveis, as capacidades de organização dessas tecnologias têm recebido um interesse crescente. Com base nesta dinâmica, esta dissertação procurou investigar a viabilidade de uma oportunidade de negócio subjacente à ideia de utilização da realidade virtual em eventos como conferências. Para efeitos desta investigação, os dados foram recolhidos através de dois inquéritos online. Estes inquéritos foram simultaneamente direcionados a indivíduos que proporcionariam a opção de participação (organizadores de eventos) e àqueles que impulsionariam a sua procura (participantes em eventos). Os resultados, obtidos através de uma medida de expressão de interesse entre as respetivas amostras de 31,6% e 51,5%, acompanhada por uma procura razoável e da disponibilidade para fornecer a opção, parecem incentivar a procura de uma oportunidade de negócio subjacente. A análise visa ainda um esforço futuro, fazendo distinções demográficas e de atitudes, em termos de interesse, e conclui que o conceito parece mostrar, tanta ou mais proeminência, no meio de programas educacionais curtos. Mostra também que o conceito pode ser alargado para servir outros propósitos, nomeadamente reuniões de negócios. Além disso, é explorada uma configuração do modelo de negócio que poderia potencialmente explorar esta oportunidade, sendo o modelo sugerido por este trabalho apresentado como uma plataforma intermediária. No entanto, é necessária uma investigação mais detalhada antes do desenvolvimento de um plano de negócios definido

Tutor In-sight: Guiding and Visualizing Students Attention with Mixed Reality Avatar Presentation Tools

Remote conferencing systems are increasingly used to supplement or even replace in-person teaching. However, prevailing conferencing systems restrict the teacher’s representation to a webcam live-stream, hamper the teacher’s use of body-language, and result in students’ decreased sense of co-presence and participation. While Virtual Reality (VR) systems may increase student engagement, the teacher may not have the time or expertise to conduct the lecture in VR. To address this issue and bridge the requirements between students and teachers, we have developed Tutor In-sight, a Mixed Reality (MR) avatar augmented into the student’s workspace based on four design requirements derived from the existing literature, namely: integrated virtual with physical space, improved teacher’s co-presence through avatar, direct attention with auto-generated body language, and usable workfow for teachers. Two user studies were conducted from the perspectives of students and teachers to determine the advantages of Tutor In-sight in comparison to two existing conferencing systems, Zoom (video-based) and Mozilla Hubs (VR-based). The participants of both studies favoured Tutor In-sight. Among others, this main fnding indicates that Tutor Insight satisfed the needs of both teachers and students. In addition, the participants’ feedback was used to empirically determine the four main teacher requirements and the four main student requirements in order to improve the future design of MR educational tools

Desktop video conferencing

This guide aims to provide an introduction to Desktop Video Conferencing (DVC) and forms part of the ESCalate Busy Teacher Educator Guides. You may be familiar with video conferencing, where participants typically book a designated conference room and communicate with another group in a similar room on another site via a large screen display. Desktop video conferencing allows users to video conference from the comfort of their own office, workplace or home via a desktop / laptop Personal Computer. DVC provides live audio and visual communication in real time from a standard PC and allows one to one and multiple user conferences by participants in different physical locations. Some software features a a ‘whiteboard’ on the computer screen for information exchange and the option to show or share documents and websites between the participants

Wearable learning tools

In life people must learn whenever and wherever they experience something new. Until recently computing technology could not support such a notion, the constraints of size, power and cost kept computers under the classroom table, in the office or in the home. Recent advances in miniaturization have led to a growing field of research in ‘wearable’ computing. This paper looks at how such technologies can enhance computer‐mediated communications, with a focus upon collaborative working for learning. An experimental system, MetaPark, is discussed, which explores communications, data retrieval and recording, and navigation techniques within and across real and virtual environments. In order to realize the MetaPark concept, an underlying network architecture is described that supports the required communication model between static and mobile users. This infrastructure, the MUON framework, is offered as a solution to provide a seamless service that tracks user location, interfaces to contextual awareness agents, and provides transparent network service switching

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Face-to-Face and Virtual Communication: Overcoming the Challenges

Virtual communication has become the norm for many organizations (Baltes, Dickson, Sherman, Bauer, & LaGanke, 2002; Bergiel, Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008; Hertel, Geister, & Konradt, 2005). As technology has evolved, time and distance barriers have dissolved, allowing for access to experts worldwide. The reality of business today demands the use of virtual communication for at least some work, and many professionals will sit on a virtual team at some point (Dewar, 2006). Although virtual communication offers many advantages, it is not without challenges. This article examines the costs and benefits associated with virtual and face-to-face communication, and identifies strategies to overcome virtual communication\u27s challenges

Refining personal and social presence in virtual meetings

Virtual worlds show promise for conducting meetings and conferences without the need for physical travel. Current experience suggests the major limitation to the more widespread adoption and acceptance of virtual conferences is the failure of existing environments to provide a sense of immersion and engagement, or of ‘being there’. These limitations are largely related to the appearance and control of avatars, and to the absence of means to convey non-verbal cues of facial expression and body language. This paper reports on a study involving the use of a mass-market motion sensor (Kinect™) and the mapping of participant action in the real world to avatar behaviour in the virtual world. This is coupled with full-motion video representation of participant’s faces on their avatars to resolve both identity and facial expression issues. The outcomes of a small-group trial meeting based on this technology show a very positive reaction from participants, and the potential for further exploration of these concepts

Technology that enhances without inhibiting learning

Technology supported information sharing could be argued to both enhance and inhibit learning. However, social and affective issues that motivate learners' technology interactions are often overlooked. Are learners avoiding valuable learning applications because of privacy fears and trust issues? Will inaccurate technology assumptions and awareness inhibit information sharing? Do learners need control over technology enhanced safe creative spaces or can they be motivated to overcome badly designed systems because sharing is 'valuable' or 'fun'. This presentation details a model of privacy and trust issues that can be used to enhance elearning. Several OU case-studies of multimedia, mobile and elearning applications (conducted within IET, KMI and the Open CETL) are evaluated using this model. The model helps to identify trade-offs that learners make for technology enhanced or inhibited learning. Theories of control, identity, information sensitivity and re-use are discussed within the context of these elearning examples

What did the Romans ever do for us? ‘Next generation’ networks and hybrid learning resources

Networked learning is fundamentally concerned with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to link people to people and resources, to support the process of learning. This paper explores some current and forthcoming changes in ICT and some potential implications of these developments for networked learning. Whilst we aim to avoid taking a technologically determinist stance, we explore the potential for future practice and how some educational and pedagogic practices are evolving to exploit and shape the digital environment. We argue that we can change both the ways in which connections between people (learners and other learners; learners and tutors) are made and the nature of the resources that learning communities (particularly distributed communities) can engage with. In doing this we draw on two strands of work. Firstly, we draw on the ‘IBZL Education’ a UK Open University initiative to develop new scholarship in the context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through which educators are encouraged to think about technological change in the next five to ten years and ways in which we can intervene and shape these developments. We use problem-based learning as an example of a learning experience that can be difficult to implement in a networked learning environment. IBZL identified two broad strands of significant technological development. 'Superfast' broadband networks that are capable of supporting novel applications are being rolled in the UK (and elsewhere). Also, boundaries between the real and virtual worlds are becoming blurred as in the ‘internet of things’ where, for example, RFID tags enable information about the real world to be brought into the virtual one. We use the term ‘artefact’ to describe designed components, whether entirely digital, such as a computer forum, or material, such as a tablet PC. Networked ‘hybrid’ technologies of virtual and material components have may great potential for use in education. Secondly, we illustrate how these changes may be beginning to happen in distance education using the example of TU100 My Digital Life, a new introductory Open University. . TU100 Students use an electronics board in their own homes to work on a programming problem in collaboration other students through a tutor-led tutorial in a web conferencing system. We also note some of the evident complexity that establishing such resources as part of wider infrastructures of networked learning would be likely to involve