How To Create Fun and Restorative Spaces Online by Marcia Lee
How to Create Fun and Restorative Spaces Online
Prior to the pandemic, I was supporting facilitators in moving their classes and workshops from in person to online with PeoplesHub, an online movement school. Since the pandemic, I have heard from many people that I coach or work with that it feels challenging to be online and people are experiencing online fatigue. They have shared that it feels difficult to connect with across the interwebs and to stay present when we spend so much time online. I agree!
Being online will never be the same as being in person and being in person will never be the same as being online. That said, over the years, I have learned from participants in workshops, people I have coached, and my own experience, some questions that I have found helpful to re-imagine online spaces to be more fun and restorative. I am offering questions here instead of ‘advice’ because I believe that each situation is different. Although one thing may work well in one location or one community, it may not fit your context.
I invite you to be in conversation with me! If you have other questions that you feel are useful for this exploration, please share! If you have tips or advice from your own experience, we would love to learn from you! If you share tips and advice, please include your context (demographics of facilitator(s), demographics of the group, context of your workshop, location, etc.) so that people can see if it aligns with their values and context.
Questions to consider to support you in creating a fun and restorative online space:
What brings you joy, groundedness and connection?
What experiences of online spaces brought you joy, groundedness, and connection?
What do you think might bring joy, grounding and connection for participants?
What is important about the context in which the gathering is happening? For example: What is the season? What are the important events that are happening in the world or in your community? What are people’s accessibility needs? What else?
Is your space accessible to a diverse community? For example: Can people access live closed captioning (we have not experienced an AI version of closed captioning that is accurate enough, but if you know have, please let us know!)? Is there language interpretation needed (ASL, Spanish, English, Arabic, etc.)? Can people participate fully on the computer and the phone? Do your activities invite people’s whole selves (mind, body, spirit, heart)), etc.? What can you do to make it more accessible?
What is essential for you to do together, in person (online)? What can be let go of or done ‘together’ offline?
If you would like to explore with a group how to create more fun and restorative spaces, please join us on March 29th from 5pm-6pm eastern for a workshop on this topic!