Virtual conferences becoming a reality

The value of virtual conferencing for ecology and conservation

“…Indeed, it may be harder to bond with people without shaking their hand or sharing food at a conference dinner. Opponents of virtual conferences suggest that in-person contact is integral to developing codes of conduct and on-going collaboration, both of which virtual conferences struggle to achieve (Chinowsky & Rojas 2003;Welch et al 2010). This may be because it is more difficult to fully engage with a virtual conference because the distractions of work and family commitments are still present in ways absent from inperson conferences (Bell & Shank 2006).…”

“…Virtual conferencing is widely used as a cost-effective way of providing educational resources remotely (Anderson 1996) and facilitating information transfer within organizations (Erickson et al 2011). In academia, virtual conferencing technology is used either alone for an entirely virtual experience (Welch et al 2010) or to supplement in-person conferences (Shirmohammadi et al 2012). There are a variety of virtual-conferencing services, both free (e.g., secondlife, livestream.com, Twitter, Wordpress, and YouTube) and proprietary (e.g., LabRoots, iCohere, and vConference online), which support a range of conference activities, such as poster sessions and group discussions (often navigated using avatars), audio-visual streaming, and discussion boards.…”

Evaluating features of scientific conferences: A call for improvements

“…Face-to-face interactions at conferences are important in generating new ideas, networks and collaborations. These interactions can be facilitated via digital conferencing that has made online face-to-face contact possible ( Figure 5) (52)(53)(54)(55)(56)148,153). Reducing academic air travel does not impact professional success (57) and holding connected meetings across major continental centers around the world is feasible using online streaming and chat technologies which create more space for researchers to interact and connect.…”

Virtual Worlds and Their Uses in Chemical Education

“…Initially, schools established SL campuses as a way to advertise and recruit students (31). Researchers attend conferences in Second Life, saving time and money otherwise spent traveling (32,33). Most importantly, educators are now conducting SL-based classes in a variety of disciplines.…”