“If it is actually a portal, I could look at it”: Video chat 'Portale' in Kemeny Courtyard open

By May 15th, the students can perform activists, artists, experts, students and teachers all over the world from a “portal” in Kemeny Courtyard Video calls.

The dialogue project built these memory containers and, among other things, organized 16 programmed video call sessions to Mexico, Iraq and South Africa, according to the Executive Director of Dialogue Initiative Kristi Clemens.

The portal container from Dartmouth has a camera, microphones and a screen with a live stream that establishes a connection with a group of people on the paired website, explained Clemens. The container fits about 14 people, and every place on the video call offers a moderator – a “Dartmouth person”, such as Clemens, who moderated the first sessions, and one person in the other place. The two moderators will work together to “make the conversation easier,” said Clemens.

“Because the screen is so large and are in this dark room, it feels much more and more than just talking to someone on zoom,” said Clemens. “If you are in the room, it feels like you have been transported.”

Dartmouth is installed on campus with six other universities in the USA -including Stanford, Harvard and Yale, according to the Shared Studios director of customer relationships Teun Hilte.

Shared Studios create these portals to “give people the opportunity to meet someone they would never meet,” said Hilte. The company implemented a temporary portal as an art installation for the first time in 2014, which New York City was expanded with Tehran, Iran, Association and all over the world and on the college campus.

“Portals are most effective and effective in education, because through portals we can connect learners and students together [and] Faculty of people who can talk from lived experiences on topics that they learn about, ”said Hilte.

When Clemens found out which locations to work with, she asked her colleagues in the dialogue project what “resonance” for the students of Dartmouth. She also relied on the manufacturer to find locations all over the world where portals have already been installed.

“Dartmouth is an international place and I think it is something special to combine the community with the community around the world,” said Clemens.

Language professor Svetlana Grushina initiated Dartmouth's relationship with Shared Studios when she suggested the use of portals in language courses. In their courses, “the students of Grupphina keep short speeches to the other side and prioritize” personal storytelling, “she said. She noticed that the interaction with such a “diverse” audience was “powerful, unforgettable and lively”.

Will Hall '28, a student in language professor Darlene Drummonds public speaking course, spoke to university students in Rwanda during his portal meeting. Hall noticed that he had “really enjoyed” his time in the portal and “hopes to experience it again”.

“It was very worthwhile to hear how the learning experience in various continents and countries differs from the United States,” said Hall.

Kishan Sreenivasan '28 was not yet in the portal, but has noticed it [in Kemeny Courtyard] And find the shipping container “somehow funny”.

“This shipping box in the middle of the courtyard is definitely a bit strange, but if it is actually a portal, I can look at it,” said Sreenivasan.