Hybrid Learning Spaces with Spatial Audio

The two largest universities in Norway started a new joint international master’s program called “Music, communication and technology” (MCT) in 2018. MCT constitutes the framework for developing a new shared learning space (The Portal) for physical-virtual interaction, musical communication, and collaboration.The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated several challenges within hybrid teaching concerning the design of learning spaces and related pedagogical and technical issues. In our case, we identify challenges in delivering a hybrid learning space with spatial audio and discuss a method to implement such a solution in the context of spatial audio and ambisonics workshops developed for the MCT master’s program. We propose a stable but flexible technical solution for decoding higher-order ambisonics audio in two remote physical locations and into virtual environments in real-time, creating a continuum between the physical, hybrid, and online learning spaces mediated by technology.