Hi, Anna! Some good thoughts here about a complex issue. There are lots of ups and downs on both sides, and also with the hyflex approach, but I find myself concluding that they can all be worked through--if there's will on the part of the person running the meeting. For instance, many of the meetings I've attended over the past year have had far less discussion than usual, and the virtual format may be one reason. I don't think it's the only one, though, and it may not be the most important one. Whether because of exhaustion or something else, I'm seeing too many meetings that, as the meme puts it, could have been an e-mail--and the lack of reaction leads administrators to conclude a meeting wasn't needed, and so on.....That trend was happening before the pandemic, though, and the solution is to have better meetings, whatever the format. Here and elsewhere, Zoom exacerbates a problem; it doesn't create the problem.
I do want to point out that hybrid meetings really need a dedicated assistant to make sure the virtual attendees get as much attention as those in the room. Actually, that can go both ways: this morning I attended a conference session where the chair was on Zoom, and it seemed to me that the participants in Lisbon risked being ignored unless they made a real effort. That was a nice change in a way! Seriously, the Zoom assistant is a best practice that is absolutely necessary to my mind in classrooms, and should also happen at meetings, at least larger ones.
If you want more people to engage in civic activities you must make it as easy as possible. Two women at a recent town committee meeting were late because in-person has now been mandated to be counted for quorum. One was late due to childcare and the other with a work call immediately preceding the meeting. It is a real issue. If we want full engagement from residents in different civic activities we need to create space for virtual and in-person engagement on equal footing. It would make such a positive difference for so many.
Hi, Anna! Some good thoughts here about a complex issue. There are lots of ups and downs on both sides, and also with the hyflex approach, but I find myself concluding that they can all be worked through--if there's will on the part of the person running the meeting. For instance, many of the meetings I've attended over the past year have had far less discussion than usual, and the virtual format may be one reason. I don't think it's the only one, though, and it may not be the most important one. Whether because of exhaustion or something else, I'm seeing too many meetings that, as the meme puts it, could have been an e-mail--and the lack of reaction leads administrators to conclude a meeting wasn't needed, and so on.....That trend was happening before the pandemic, though, and the solution is to have better meetings, whatever the format. Here and elsewhere, Zoom exacerbates a problem; it doesn't create the problem.
I do want to point out that hybrid meetings really need a dedicated assistant to make sure the virtual attendees get as much attention as those in the room. Actually, that can go both ways: this morning I attended a conference session where the chair was on Zoom, and it seemed to me that the participants in Lisbon risked being ignored unless they made a real effort. That was a nice change in a way! Seriously, the Zoom assistant is a best practice that is absolutely necessary to my mind in classrooms, and should also happen at meetings, at least larger ones.
Thanks for your work here!--Alice
If you want more people to engage in civic activities you must make it as easy as possible. Two women at a recent town committee meeting were late because in-person has now been mandated to be counted for quorum. One was late due to childcare and the other with a work call immediately preceding the meeting. It is a real issue. If we want full engagement from residents in different civic activities we need to create space for virtual and in-person engagement on equal footing. It would make such a positive difference for so many.