Rethinking Virtual

We had many great successes in converting to summer camp online, however, we also made some mistakes in the mindset required to redesign a fully fledged physical summer camp and make it into a fully virtual immersive experience. We took all of the components of physical camp and made digital equivalents. This move worked fairly well for many items but where we had the least success is where we started with a real world activity and tried to convert it to the virtual environment. Our program is pretty straight forward to communicate: We have a three hour block of interactive online instruction with some additional time to work on groupwork or projects throughout the day, with social virtual experiences scheduled morning and evening to help recreate the camp experience.

The mindset you need when redesigning an event for a virtual environment is entirely different than just moving it action for action from physical to digital

This worked well for instruction and gave us some real flexibility when it came down to teaching new skills using technology. Our instructors were able to use slide shows, videos, interactive quiz offerings displaying real-time feedback to our participants in a way we never could in summer camp. Our staff embraced these tools and really stepped up the instruction level to deliver interaction that rivaled the real world camp experience. What we didn’t think about when recreating the social activities like Flag Ceremonies, Star Parties and other camp events that the mindset you need when redesigning an event for a virtual environment is entirely different than just moving it action for action from physical to digital. We did just that though, playing videos and not really taking advantage of all the great work that we had done in teaching online. This is the advice that I tell everyone working in the digital world: Don’t think about how to take your analog process digital, think about your desired goals, and the tools available and create a new solution utilizing everything that has been learned from video design companies, and all of the other companies that have been engaging participants in a level bordering on addiction for years. We have a chance now to relearn and rethink how we do everything, it will take the same amount of time we waste chasing the physical sticker on a paper returned to think about how we can produce the same personal pride in the digital world. Join me in rethinking how we do by thinking about what we want to achieve.

• TRICAMP