New Jersey Agricultural Education Association (NJAEA) Zoom Meeting

Before quarantine started, I was able to attend a video conference meeting of the NJAAE hosted by my cooperating teacher Dr. McLean, who is the NJAAE president. This meeting was relatively brief, with some technical issues making it a bit difficult for some teachers to attend the meeting. Due to this not all of the normally covered business could be discussed, however, the documents were available so we could all see what the discussions would have been about.


This in a way showcased how effective yet difficult using a video conference can be. On one had you can connect with individuals around the world and have a “face to face” meeting with them, on the other connection issues may make the meeting difficult to hold if all the speakers are unable to get reliable connection.


This is also why, as I have been told, it is important to have at least a “Plan B”. By having a backup plan, you are able to plan for different circumstances that you may not anticipate. One way to do this could be to have a second person ready to discuss each topic. By doing so you can have at least two people who can answer questions on a specific topic and if one person is unable to make it to the meeting for various reasons there should be one person ready to take over for them.


A video conference would also be easier and less expensive to schedule, as you generally won’t need to travel, at least not far, and you won’t need to schedule a specific place to have your meeting. While the costs of these meetings may be minimal for each individual meeting, having multiple meetings a year would quickly cause the costs of these meetings to increase. Even for fairly well-off individuals or organizations you would want to find ways to cut back on costs and having video conferences is one way to do this.


In addition to the money you save by having video conferences you also save on travel time. This allows those who are attending the meetings to have more time to themselves. Which they can use to relax, enjoy family time or be productive. These benefits however, do not mean that video conferences should completely replace in person meetings but they should be considered. Especially now that we are under a national quarantine. Being prepared to attend or host video conferences is essential to having an effective professional presence in our current situation.


While the quarantine will eventually end, we need to keep in mind that it is unlikely this one will be the last. We should remain prepared on the chance that there could be another quarantine in the not so distant future. By doing so we will be more prepared, and able to more effectively conduct whatever activities we need to.