Skype, Hangouts and Zoom - and a revolution in home learning

The idea of video calls - as opposed to mere voice calls - has been around for ages, and for well over ten years we have had Skype. I've hardly ever seen it in use. When I have, it seemed jerky and unreal, like a series of still pictures trying to convey the feel of a movie. The sound was odd, too. Not for me, I thought, and indeed it wouldn't have been something I'd have considered when wanting to get in touch with anybody. I wasn't ready to expose myself on a screen - it would too embarrassing by far, and no substitute whatever for a proper face-to-face meetup.

I conceded that perhaps Skype was the only way one might regularly have a 'visual conversation' with somebody living far away. But emailing (with attached photos) worked smoothly and well, and was no strain on one's interpersonal capabilities. So I left it alone.

But all that has now changed. The country is in coronavirus lockdown for weeks ahead. It won't be possible to see friends and family as before, not for some while. So ways of making video calls, and to do video conferencing, have suddenly become very popular. I'm joining in. I've set up Skype, Google Hangouts and Zoom on my laptop and phone.

How are they working out for me?

Well, I haven't yet used Skype. I expect to find it improved from the last time I saw it in action. My cousins Margaret, Rosemary and Sylvia all use it to speak to each other on a one-to-one basis. Now I'll be joining in. I may also start talking to my step-daughter Adrienne (in New Zealand) this way. But it hasn't happened so far.

South-coast friend Emma (not the other Emma, who was Adrienne's school friend) suggested that I try Hangouts, and the trial was a success. Hangouts is as much a private text-messaging service as a video call app. Either method of communication is easy to set up and use. It can be one-to-one, or you can create a group, so that any member can join the discussion. I like it and recommend it. (And I say that as someone who was averse to this kind of thing for years. But I've changed my tune)

Zoom has hitherto been a business tool for video conferencing and training. But now, all of a sudden, it is being embraced by groups - such as a pilates class - who can't do stuff together anymore in one place, only from their homes. The lady who takes my pilates class, Nancy, has set Zoom up for three weekly forty-minute classes at £5 a go, so that we can choose our best time and take part by clicking on her invitation. Then, with mat ready, and in the right clothes for doing things on the floor, and laptops positioned so that she can see, each of us does our individual movements.

Well, that's the theory! I was all ready to go at 7.00pm last Thursday evening, and was waiting for the invitation to appear on the 'Meetings' page in Zoom. This was my set-up:

And this was me, on the floor, testing the view that Nancy would get:

Obviously, I couldn't take a screenprint, so had to hold the little Leica. But (just in case you didn't know) you don't hold cameras when actually doing pilates. (A pity really: I've often thought that I'm missing some amazing pictures of people waving arms and stretching legs on their mats)

My first go at using Zoom. I was keen to see how it would be. But Nancy's invitation never came. Nothing to click on. And I couldn't join the class. Boo hoo!

Emailing Nancy straight afterwards, she was most apologetic. She was new to Zoom too, and had not yet got it all quite right. So my £5 will now be spent instead on tomorrow's 11.00am class. This time, I am set up properly as a Zoom contact of hers. She has emailed me a meeting-link to click on. And as an alternative, there ought to be a 'scheduled meeting' invitation in the Zoom app itself. It should be OK this time.

I hope it does work, because I'm missing my weekly pilates. I don't know yet whether I'll have any sensation of doing the class with the other regulars, such as local friends Jo, Jackie, Sue and Valerie. Do they show up in small windows on the screen? Can I hear their remarks? Or do I just see Nancy? How many of them will have a glass of prosecco handy? (Not me! But it's clearly one of the advantages of doing this at home)

All over the country, people will be seeing what remote classes can be like. I wonder if the idea will carry on into the post-virus era? After all, teachers won't have to rent hall space, and can offer classes at reduced cost to their clients. Perhaps you will have a mushrooming choice of home-learning options. Maybe all schooling and tutoring will undergo a revolution?