A Hybrid Meeting Room is NOT a Classroom
One of the most frustrating problems we face here at LearnerFirst is being compared to hybrid meetings spaces located in the downtown Toronto financial core.
Let’s be clear. A hybrid meeting room is not the same thing as a hybrid training classroom.
Let’s take a look at the two.
A hybrid meeting room is typically a meeting room located somewhere in an office space. It’ll have a boardroom table. At one end of the table there will be a tv or monitor, maybe even two of them. Either on top or below those monitors will typically be some kind of webcam / audio interface. All learners will sit around the same table looking towards the facilitator. The facilitator is likely facing the camera and screen to enable them to interact with the remote participants. The remote participants will usually (unless the room is using some of the newest tech) see all the live participants together in one small gallery view. And the bigger the boardroom, the more that will squeeze into the one small gallery view. Since the live participants typically face the instructor, they will be showing their backs to the remote participants. It’s not very ‘remote participant’ friendly.
Even for the live learners, it's not very comfortable. These meeting rooms are typically not built with the intention of having a group of adults enclosed in this small space for hours on end. The shared HVAC has a hard time keeping up with it. The meeting rooms are often small and the space in between learners is usually tight and uncomfortable. The instructor may have a hard time moving around the table, and doing any kinds of small group work or group presentations is tough. To be fair, choosing a larger meeting room will alleviate some of these concerns.
But at the end of the day, for remote learners, it feels like they’ve been ‘accomodated’ instead of catered to. And that’s the last thing you want to associate your training brand to.
A hybrid classroom on the other hand is different. Usually the spaces are larger, build with the ability to change classroom setups, to allow materials to be spread out. Space to work in groups, and get up and make group presentations. The rooms will be bright, airy and comfortable with proper HVAC, soundproofing and privacy. The audio/visual will allow remote participants to interact properly with live students and the instructor. Specifically, remote attendees will be able to hear the instructor AND live students, and respond in such a way that both the instructor and live attendees can hear and reply to them. Video will place the live students into the remote platform as if they were other remote learners. This will allow remote learners to see who is asking a question and to communicate with them visually.
A hybrid learning space will treat the live and remote students as equal.
And that’s what we do at LearnerFIrst. Focus on treating all learners equally. Our audio system is state of the art and works for all learners. We put cameras on every desk and connect live learners directly into the remote platform. By doing this we can even facilitate breakout groups consisting of a mixture of live and remote students.
Our physical room was built for the adult learner. Our chairs are adjustable, have wheels and lumbar support. Our rooms are 100% self contained and private. No shared internet, reception or coffee areas. Our rental classrooms are 800+ sq ft and provide room to move around. We have a digital collaborate white board. Natural light and complete control over HVAC makes the room more enjoyable. And best off all, you can stick things up anywhere.
So that’s why it's frustrating when we get compared to the Regus, IQ Office, WeWork and other spaces selling meeting rooms. It's like comparing apples to oranges. If you want to have a meeting, rent a meeting room.
But leave the training sessions in the classroom.