The Future of Online Meetings & Education

The Status Quo

The concept of traditional education and meetings in the last few years has been increasingly transforming into remote work aided by online and virtual conferencing. There is no need to be present in a classroom to avail quality education anymore- there is access to quality education at the tip of your fingers. This revolution in online education is heavily aided by technology and The Internet.

The corporate e-learning market could increase by $38.09 billion between the years 2020 and 2024 according to Techjury. Online education is a useful tool for young professionals and students to attain various skills. This has empowered professionals to look for, receive and impart knowledge in extremely effectively ways with very little costs involved.

Let’s learn more about the advantages of e-learning and about how AR & VR technology helps in revolutionizing the e-learning industry:

Update to Online Education

According to a survey conducted by Research, it was found that 67% of American college students used their mobile devices to complete all or some of their course-related activities. There are a number of advantages that come with adopting online education- listed down below are a few:

• Flexibility of Time: It is a lot more convenient for students and teachers alike to turn to online learning as a stable internet connection and a computer are all that one needs to change one’s home into a classroom. High-speed internet in this day and age at affordable prices help enabling the same. There is less rigidity in the strictness as proctoring tools and surveillance tools are still being actively worked upon for a number of institutional and security purposes.
• Accessibility to Variety: One of the best things about e-learning is that it can present courses and programs from schools across the world. This can be done whilst one not having to uproot their lives. Most well-established universities now offer online courses that provide a greater number of options. In contrast, students studying on campus are limited to options that exist locally or have to move to a new city or country for a full-time offline program.
• Affordable and Cost-Effective: Online program costs vary, but it is possible to pick courses that have a range of specialized offerings that come with an even wider range of price points. E-learning is also a lot more economic than traditional learning methods as online degrees cost only a tenth of their offline equivalent. This is important to make sure that students can rest assured they will not incur job losses or pay cuts in the future.
• Time Management & Pacing: An advantage that can simply not be overlooked is that students are enabled to attend classes from any location of their choice. It also allows institutions to have a wider network of students as opposed to being restricted by geographical borders. The educator’s job gets easier as there is now an option to record online classes and meetings which can be archived for future references.
• Customized Learning Experiences: Most of the times, online classes are smaller than conventional class sizes- this allows for more efficient interaction between the student and the tutor. A variety of materials are online and easily accessible at any given point of time which can help tutors lead a more dynamic and stream-lined process of syllabus.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is set to change the society like never before, but it still builds on the foundation laid down by the first three. This revolution can be explained to be the interconnectedness between the physical, biological and digital worlds. It blurs the boundaries of technological advancements that range from AR/VR, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, quantum computing & genetic engineering etc.

Many types of jobs may get replaced by AI and increased automation. There is a need for businesses to ensure that there exists the right mix of skills in the workplace- in order to keep up with the changing technology.

With all of this in mind, let’s move into the different kinds of VR meetings that are worth noting down:

How and What VR works like?

Businesses require a unique approach when it comes to communication as one kind of virtual meetings will not be able to cater to all kinds of business needs. Below are different kinds of virtual reality meetings that one can organize:

• Virtual Business Call: The most common and widely used kind of VR is for business meetings. In this scenario, the participants are equipped with audio and/or video streaming to have a real-time interaction. The software involved to achieve the same is simple to understand and is far easier to grasp than most modern call streaming applications.
• Virtual Reality Conference: When it comes to VR conference settings, employees get to choose a VR avatar that can be customized to however they see fit. Unique backgrounds can be added for a personalized touch. Everything else progresses like it would in an ordinary VR team meeting.
• Remote VR Collaboration: In this form of a virtual reality office meeting, employees are enabled to not only discuss but also actively work together. Digital interfaces serve as collaborative environments for employees to connect better.
• Virtual Workspaces: Virtual workspaces are used for efficient remote work to enable high performance and productivity in employees. They can be moved to a powerful server and can also be run on a centralized heavy-duty server which allows for balancing load, maintaining the hardware, on-the-go power addition etc. It is also environment friendly and no physical office space translates to lesser costs for logistics.
• Virtual Meeting Room: This is like any other office space where employees can meet up and catch up on daily activities- it serves as sort of a break room. Employees can share ideas for work, topics and ideas and even make plans for outing, all while wearing their VR sets.

The Future of Meetings & E-Learning

AR & VR technology in business can bridge gaps and make the remote feel real. In education, it can aid with closing boundaries between time and resources that are available. Even though the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to increase the overall global income levels and improve the quality of life, it can also potentially disrupt the labour market which will inadvertently lead to escalated social tensions.

It is important to understand that human beings must be at the forefront of proactively shaping the future of technology. Technology can be used to reshape our social, cultural, economic and individual lives in a number of ways. Along with technologies like the Internet of Things and AR/VR classrooms becoming a common sight, the future of meetings and e-learning is bright with scopes for innovation using already existing futuristic technology.