Attend an event in virtual reality with Altspace VR, feedbacks for "Educator in VR 2020" summit.

• The Educator in VR’ community:

Educator in VR and all the participants, speakers and people on the facebook page and the discord are simply cool. They are brilliant, humble, simple and accessible people.

• Avatars:

Most of the people  were attending this events for professional or business reasons and yet, unlike many professional events I have attended, it was cool and relaxed. I did not feel that I was approached to sell me something or check what was on my badge. No one wears a badge, anyone can use a pseudonym and an avatar. I think this contributes greatly to equality.

When you attend an event in virtual reality there is no judgment because we are all in an avatar state. I even dared to choose purple hair like the XR PEDAGOGY logo, something I would probably never dare to do in the real world of my French culture.

• the expertise and professionalism of the speakers:

The speakers really deserved a huge respect because making a presentation in virtual reality is not easy. The codes are different, the approaches are different, it is necessary to face the small inconvenience of the direct. I have not yet tested it myself, however it must not be easy to manage a presentation in front of avatars acting sometime a little bit weird, sending you emoticons to communicate with you.

• The backup of technical teams:

During the conference, technical assistants assist the speakers in case of problems or to notify for example that the speakers were in front of their presentations and that the entire audience could not see the presentation correctly.

• The ease of asking questions and hearing questions:

When the event starts you enter the virtual room and your microphone is muted. When you ask a question a small icon appears and if the speaker select you, your microphone is “on”(unmuted) and you can ask your question. Everyone in the room will hear you (and the sound around you:).

• The possibility to speak to the speakers after the conference:

I couldn’t believe it! it is not necessary to have the VIP VIP premium plus badge and tipping the Security guard. -No, you follow the operator and you speak to him just as you speak to your friend. I did not come across trolls, maybe some people were embarrassed by this phenomenon.

• The ability to take picture and selfies :

As you can see on my Avatar selfie,(a selfie I took during the conference), we can take either pictures or selfies in Altspace VR. When you think about it it’s great because writing when you have the head mounted device on your nose, believe me it is technical.

• the potential of sending emoticones to interact:

Using a dedicated interfact in “altspace VR”, you can easily send small icons that everyone perceives. It is very simple and very practical. It allows you to indicate if you see the presentation correctly to the speaker, without everyone having his microphone activated in the room. 

• The access of conferences on Youtube:

I was wondering how could I request the lectures I have missed. Personally, I didn’t know how to record what I saw in my headphones head mounted without avoiding my mobile phone to become an incandescent fireball. Fortunately, the Educator in VR community is there to put the recordings on youtube! Et voilà!

• The possibility to appear and disappear when we wish:

In the real world, I don’t know for you, but I have happened to have to leave while a speaker were spoking with a feeling of guilt mixed with shame because I have felt I embarrassed everyone.
Today, in “Altspace Vr” and during the “Educator In VR” summit, any attendee is able to leave the conference site, with one click and without embarrassing anyone.

• The social network aspect :

It’s very nice to meet people who are from another part of the world just like that, while walking in a virtual park. The professional contacts I have met, were for me, very enriching and fruitful. In Altspace VR, you can request an avatar as a friend and chat with it, simply speak with it in the social space, or even, invite it to your virtual home.

• The environment for the conference, the atmosphere:

En général un amphithéâtre (sur Altspace VR vous en avez d’autres comme le toit d’immeuble très sympa. Vous avez aussi un espace pour les échanges post conférence qui ressemble à un parc.

 In general the environment was an amphitheater. There are other places to do conferences on Altspace VR such as roof top of a very nice building. There is also a place for post conference meetup which looks like a park. It feels you are going out of an inside place to chat in a more natural atmosphere. 

•  The Speakers!

The speakers were super interesting, knowledgeable and really committed to fuel you with insights and precise data. A wonderful sharing built on a human scale, in a totally virtual atmosphere.