What would make a big conference like the AACE E-Learn conference more friendly, fund, productive for community-oriented people like us? Are there ways that a conference like that could model what we think is good practice for communities of pracatice?
We intended to brainstorm ideas during the Rendezvous, but got too involved in discussing the cases that were presented, so we deferred it to here. Please post one idea per post, so others can reply and expand upon what you suggest.
In reply to John Smith
Make sure that electrical plugs, wi-fi connectivitiy, and chair groupings coincide
by John Smith -
It was someimes hard to find a decent place to sit to check-email or chat. I took a photo of one woman sitting uncomfortably on the floor and I'll attach it when I get a chance. With a little fore-thought, clusters of seats could become a social setting for conference delegates.
This is an example of the norm, where people grab any dark spot near a plug as long as it has minimal wi-fi signal.
Syhlvia pestered the conference organizers for a room where we could hold the Rendezvous unsuccessfully. It seemed like the best option was the bar (before it opened). But the accoustics were so bad that John Nesbit got frustrated and somehow made an arrangement to use a room (perhaps where the speaker had cancelled?) after a given time in the afternoon. Although that room location wasn't as visible to passers-by (a lable on the door would have been more inviting) it was much easier to hear each other once we moved there.
I was hoping that people in the "community" sector would stay in touch during the conference using the IRC channel that I'd announced. I think I didn't publicize and promote the idea enough, or verify that people knew what I was talking about and had a client (e.g., Firefox Chatzilla) that would let them participate. I think a conference could announce several specific themes, and they might even be supported (or moderated and even captured) by someone who's part of the community but isn't able to come to the conference.
Someone pointed out that there was not enought capacity in wifi system: whenever a coffee break started, the system would crash or response time would get really bad.
I am wondering how big conferences will change in the future. Because of technology we can have all kinds of gathering spaces/social spaces on-ine and most of the e-learn conference could be on-line.... and save us the travelling and hotels etc. This kind of conference structure where there are lots of sessions taking place at the same time and you can only follow one at a time.. maybe this is not the best use of resources.
But I have been watching the trend in conferences/gatherings of computer gigs lately and there is this trend to have a kind of network camping... and there is less structured setting and more participation by audience. I went to Wikimania conference in Frankfurt in Germany in August, it was partly like that but the most famous is foo-camp
I am planning to go to the Les Blogs blogging conference in Paris in December, I think may it is structured in the same way, now the activity is through a wiki, a wiki and a blog is used to plan the conference
Maybe these kind of conferences and camps is a trend we should watch..
For those interested I give these links to the camp style conferences:
When geeks go camping, ideas hatch (wired article obout foo-camp 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4382626.stm
(bbc article about whatthehack, Amsterdam in october 2005)
http://ross.typepad.com/blog/2005/08/wikimaniacs_or_.html
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/08/foo_camp_adhoc_.html
Pictures say more than 5000 words, here are flickr photos from these conferences:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/wikimania/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/foocamp
When we ran Northern Voices (canadian bloggers www.northerrnvoice.ca) in Vancouver last February, we were lucky enough to host it at UBC Robson Square. The wireless infrastructure was great and almost everybody brought additional devices including the obligatory digital cameras but also mixing boards and video.
We tended to shy away from simple presentations opting for discussion panels instead. Most participants were well know because of their internet presence (blogs mostly) and this likely helped contribute to a very lively discussion. Given that many sessions can now be recorded and podcast, the discussion seems to be one of the better ways to add value by being there.
Tagging helped make this conference one of the most well documented at the time:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/northernvoice/
Podcasting setup:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyprien/5058458/
Another practice that has been used effectively is to have a COP or SIG scan the program (which needs to be available online beforehand) prior to the event and earmark all of the sessions that are of interest.
At UBC and Northern Voice, the network infrastructure was robust enough to support informal chat and collaborative documents realtime. The network was not open but simple enough to get onto. In addition to IRC channels, many of the Mac users use SubEthaEdit to take notes (and negotiate roles) in real time. This practice _feels_ like play and gets people networking and engaged.
CL
We tended to shy away from simple presentations opting for discussion panels instead. Most participants were well know because of their internet presence (blogs mostly) and this likely helped contribute to a very lively discussion. Given that many sessions can now be recorded and podcast, the discussion seems to be one of the better ways to add value by being there.
Tagging helped make this conference one of the most well documented at the time:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/northernvoice/
Podcasting setup:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyprien/5058458/
Another practice that has been used effectively is to have a COP or SIG scan the program (which needs to be available online beforehand) prior to the event and earmark all of the sessions that are of interest.
At UBC and Northern Voice, the network infrastructure was robust enough to support informal chat and collaborative documents realtime. The network was not open but simple enough to get onto. In addition to IRC channels, many of the Mac users use SubEthaEdit to take notes (and negotiate roles) in real time. This practice _feels_ like play and gets people networking and engaged.
CL
Thanks for this example of canadian blogger campstyle conference. It seems like people in the blogosphere and wikipedians are paving the way to new style of social gatherings/learnings sessions.
I just got an e-mail about Wikimania 2006 and it is very interesting to observe how this conference is being planned.
The next Wikimania will be held in Boston in mid-2006.
There is a the Meta-wiki:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2006
Now there is discussion about what conference management system to use and who should be keynote speakers. Everyone can participate.
I think we all can learn from observing this, especially those who will be arranging conferences that have a strong on-line community.
In reply to John Smith
Provide ways to learn more about the people before you meet them in person
by Sylvia Currie -
1. Provide delegates with access to conference papers, etc ahead of the conference. It may lead to better questions and more interaction in and outside of the sessions.
2. Wear special interest cues on your name tag -- something like coloured dots that tell others you're interested in CoPs, K-12, math education, etc.
3. Set up a pre-conference asynchronous area for introductions and conversation. Build in a form so delegates can retrieve names of people based on geography, interests, domain, education sector, etc.
2. Wear special interest cues on your name tag -- something like coloured dots that tell others you're interested in CoPs, K-12, math education, etc.
3. Set up a pre-conference asynchronous area for introductions and conversation. Build in a form so delegates can retrieve names of people based on geography, interests, domain, education sector, etc.
Labels such as geographical origin, favorite software, or favorite pet can get conversations going. The practice of labeling people doesn't have to be completely "official." Once people are encouraged to take self-labeling on, they will extend the practice into new areas.
In reply to John Smith
Re: Making the E-Learn conference more community friendly - a place to BE
by Marsha West -
One thing that would have made the eLearn conference more comfortable and more condusive for networking would have been some kind of area where people could go before, after, between sessions. Because the sessions were spread out from the basement Grand Ballroom to the 3rd floor, and there were only long, bare hallways and escalators to separate them, there wasn't any place to just sit down, check out your Wi-Fi, and connect to others who wanted a brief place for relaxation. The linear arrangement of benches seemed designed to help folks avoid contact with others.
So what was missing most for me was someplace to go where there are other PEOPLE when I was between events. The hallways were very cold and unfriendly. There weren't really good places for schmoozing . . .
So what was missing most for me was someplace to go where there are other PEOPLE when I was between events. The hallways were very cold and unfriendly. There weren't really good places for schmoozing . . .
In reply to Marsha West
Re: Making the E-Learn conference more community friendly - a place to BE
by Joanne Nielsen -
I agree with many of your comments about the eLearn conference. I had a great time, met some super people, and learned many new things. I also learned that I was not too far off target in some of the things I do so that was encouraging.
I felt the Welcome Reception on Tuesday night would be a great place to meet some new people. For those of us living in Vancouver and without a hotel room to hide in for an hour, the time between 5 pm and 6 pm when the reception began may be a time when the conference looses valuable contact with some of its players. I stayed because it was convenient this time but generally I am tempted to go home after a long first day.
Perhaps some of this organized 'social time' could be better spent earlier in the day. I know this is really for those staying in the hotel but other options might entice others to stay and socialize. Also, I would have loved to attend one of the 'networking lunches' but as a new consultant, $25 for lunch is not in my budget.
Joanne
Yesterday on a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco (I'm at the WCET conference) the flight attendant came on the speaker with a very important announcement. Everyone groaned and braced themselves for bad news. Instead, this is what we heard:
Everyone clapped and laughed, and a buzz of conversation followed. It made me think that this is something I would have liked to see at eLearn. I'm not sure in what format, but this airplane incident sure stuck with me!
Mathew in row 23 has just lost his first tooth. A round of applause for Mathew!
Everyone clapped and laughed, and a buzz of conversation followed. It made me think that this is something I would have liked to see at eLearn. I'm not sure in what format, but this airplane incident sure stuck with me!
Here at WCET they are making a big effort to welcome newcomers. On our name tags we have a "first time participant" badge. In two days I've had over a dozen people welcome me and start up a conversation about my first impressions. Also, yesterday there was a special breakfast for newcomers, and at each round table an oldtimer welcomed us, kept the discussion going, answered questions about the conference, and generally made an effort to make everyone feel comfortable.
Food attracts people! Set up the demo/poster area with displays around the outside of the room and food & drinks in the middle.
The converse of our question might be: to what extent do we see evidence that conference organizers build on and incorporate technology and connectivity into the design of the event? To my eye, this photo suggests that participants are entangled in a web of connectivity that includes all kinds of media, including day-dreaming.
This past weekend we had a Seattle MindCamp 1.0 where over 135 self professed geeks spent 10am sat - noon Sunday hanging out together. We used an open space model where people proposed and led discussions, demos, games etc. We had enough sponsorship to make it free for the participants. It was a gas -- I went home at 1:15 am and came back at 9:30am as my son made an unexpected visit home from college, but I'm told from 1am - 5am they played werewolf!
http://www.mindcamp.com
If you search on the technorati tag "unconference" you will see there is a persistent conversation thread across blogs on this topic. Lots of great ideas. I notice I tend to blog about it every 6-8 weeks!
http://www.mindcamp.com
If you search on the technorati tag "unconference" you will see there is a persistent conversation thread across blogs on this topic. Lots of great ideas. I notice I tend to blog about it every 6-8 weeks!
I am very interested in the camp meme. I checked technorati for camp and unconference and found out many parts of the world are having campstyle gatherings. Here is one in Ireland
Tech Camp Ireland
http://www.bdmwiki.com/index.php/Tech_Camp_Ireland
I noticed John Breslin who I met at Wikimania this summer was involved in the organization and one of the presenters. In his presentation he reveiled his plan for world domination
http://sw.deri.org/~jbreslin/presentations/20051015a.pdf
he runs and founded boards.ie which is popular Irish discussion board.
There is even a camp conference joke, a site that makes fun of this new trend, I think this site is quit funny:
http://longtailcamp.org/
And it is most interesting that Dave Winer is cooking something up right now , he calls this idea Hypercamp.
See this website
http://www.hypercamp.org/
Wikipedia page about Dave Winer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Winer
I was unable to attend the BCEDonline conference so was poking around trying to find some info posted by participants. I came across this reflection piece posted on D'Aarcy Norman's blog about his experience co-keynoting with Stephen Downes and Brian Lamb.
It's a really great read, with many things to learn about making conferences more community friendly. For one thing, I bet their willingness to take risks with the keynote format will go down in history. I found the comment on the importance of anonymous back channels interesting. I've had no experience with this and I'm curious to know how others feel about it. What does the ability to be anonymous contribute to the event?
http://www.darcynorman.net/2006/04/20/bcedonline-unkeynote-debriefing
It's a really great read, with many things to learn about making conferences more community friendly. For one thing, I bet their willingness to take risks with the keynote format will go down in history. I found the comment on the importance of anonymous back channels interesting. I've had no experience with this and I'm curious to know how others feel about it. What does the ability to be anonymous contribute to the event?
http://www.darcynorman.net/2006/04/20/bcedonline-unkeynote-debriefing