Lynn:
I think this sense of feeling connected is crucial to online conferences.
Yesterday I was chairing the closing keynote panel at the Digital Learning Conference in Vancouver. Some of the panel members were known for their innovative use of social media. I found it fascinating to watch how between giving their remarks panel members turned on their iPhones or iPads and monitored Twitter comments. It's like the panelists were seeking to connect with not only the audience's public out loud verbal questions and comments but their internal observations, analysis and critiques too. Twitter's stream of consciousness back channel deepens the sense of connection by tapping in to the unspoken.
Paul
Paul Stacey
Posts made by Paul Stacey
Susan:
Thanks for the thorough description of format and approach you've been using. I've never heard of someone sending an invitation not to go to the f2f event and instead to participate online. I like it!
I'm particularly taken with your observation that the most powerful things happen when seasoned teachers drop in to the workshop through the online environment. This is very congruent with my experience too. At Moodle Moot when Martin Dougiamas (the creator of Moodle) logs in to the virtual room you can practically feel the online participants sit up, take notice and more actively engage.
I also like your suggestion that a camera be used to convey the f2f setting and audience to the virtual participants. I've tried this in some of my work and it really does help to convey a sense of place and create a mental picture in virtual participants minds of what's happening. This is an area of great potential significance, I think. I'm very interested in not only using cameras to show the f2f venue to the virtual participants but vice versa too. I've noticed that the f2f participants acknowledge, and become more interested in the virtual participants if the virtual venue (Elluminate or whatever) is projected on large screens in the venue. These visual cues are further enhanced if questions from virtual participants to presenters can are channeled in to the room via mic's and speakers. Hearing the voices of virtual participants increases the awareness and sense of their presence.
The old adage "out of sight out of mind" seems particularly apropos here and I've found it really helps everyone if the presenter verbally acknowledges virtual participants, asks comments and questions directly to them and seeks their input. However, if the presenter has no visual cues showing the virtual participants its easy to forget they are there.
I'm very interested in the potential to form breakout groups or small group discussions where virtual participants have a seat at the table with f2f participants. Lots of things to explore and try.
Look forward to connecting with you online at the Moodle Moot.
Paul
Thanks for the thorough description of format and approach you've been using. I've never heard of someone sending an invitation not to go to the f2f event and instead to participate online. I like it!
I'm particularly taken with your observation that the most powerful things happen when seasoned teachers drop in to the workshop through the online environment. This is very congruent with my experience too. At Moodle Moot when Martin Dougiamas (the creator of Moodle) logs in to the virtual room you can practically feel the online participants sit up, take notice and more actively engage.
I also like your suggestion that a camera be used to convey the f2f setting and audience to the virtual participants. I've tried this in some of my work and it really does help to convey a sense of place and create a mental picture in virtual participants minds of what's happening. This is an area of great potential significance, I think. I'm very interested in not only using cameras to show the f2f venue to the virtual participants but vice versa too. I've noticed that the f2f participants acknowledge, and become more interested in the virtual participants if the virtual venue (Elluminate or whatever) is projected on large screens in the venue. These visual cues are further enhanced if questions from virtual participants to presenters can are channeled in to the room via mic's and speakers. Hearing the voices of virtual participants increases the awareness and sense of their presence.
The old adage "out of sight out of mind" seems particularly apropos here and I've found it really helps everyone if the presenter verbally acknowledges virtual participants, asks comments and questions directly to them and seeks their input. However, if the presenter has no visual cues showing the virtual participants its easy to forget they are there.
I'm very interested in the potential to form breakout groups or small group discussions where virtual participants have a seat at the table with f2f participants. Lots of things to explore and try.
Look forward to connecting with you online at the Moodle Moot.
Paul
I've been involved in organizing and hosting a range of online conferences, especially what Terry and Lynn call in their book, dual mode conferences. The upcoming Canada Moodle Moot conference in Edmonton is a great example. Primarily designed for face-to-face delegates the conference also offers a virtual attendee option.
I thought I'd share a few observations about organizing dual mode conferences and introduce some of what I find fascinating about them.
Most conferences have a call for proposals or presentations and assemble a program based on what comes in. A large conference usually lasts around 3 days often with an intensive pre-conference workshop on the first day followed by shorter presentation style sessions the following days.
Pre-conference workshops are often intensive hands-on sessions that allow participants to explore and try for themselves a technology or method. These sessions are difficult to deliver to virtual participants as the presenters role is often to simply frame the activity and then provide one-on-one support and assistance as people explore hands-on.
Presentation style sessions are relatively easily handled by webcasting the presentation being given to the f2f delegates out to the virtual attendees too. In the dual mode conferences I've been part of this has usually been done via Elluminate which provides an easy way to feed the presenters audio out over the web along with the slides and visuals the presenter is using.
The presenter tends to design their session and focus their delivery solely on those attending f2f. This can make the virtual participants feel like second-class citizens. To counteract this the virtual session is facilitated by a moderator in Elluminate who is at the f2f venue and speaks with the virtual attendees via VOIP and text chat letting them know what is happening and acting as their bridge to the presenter often relaying their questions and comments so that they feel included.
One phenomenon I'm fascinated by that I feel is relatively unexplored in the literature and the whole process of creating conferences like this is the ability for presenters and f2f delegates to participate directly with the virtual participants. I think of this as "dual mode presence". Here's a few of the things I've been thinking about:
I thought I'd share a few observations about organizing dual mode conferences and introduce some of what I find fascinating about them.
Most conferences have a call for proposals or presentations and assemble a program based on what comes in. A large conference usually lasts around 3 days often with an intensive pre-conference workshop on the first day followed by shorter presentation style sessions the following days.
Pre-conference workshops are often intensive hands-on sessions that allow participants to explore and try for themselves a technology or method. These sessions are difficult to deliver to virtual participants as the presenters role is often to simply frame the activity and then provide one-on-one support and assistance as people explore hands-on.
Presentation style sessions are relatively easily handled by webcasting the presentation being given to the f2f delegates out to the virtual attendees too. In the dual mode conferences I've been part of this has usually been done via Elluminate which provides an easy way to feed the presenters audio out over the web along with the slides and visuals the presenter is using.
The presenter tends to design their session and focus their delivery solely on those attending f2f. This can make the virtual participants feel like second-class citizens. To counteract this the virtual session is facilitated by a moderator in Elluminate who is at the f2f venue and speaks with the virtual attendees via VOIP and text chat letting them know what is happening and acting as their bridge to the presenter often relaying their questions and comments so that they feel included.
One phenomenon I'm fascinated by that I feel is relatively unexplored in the literature and the whole process of creating conferences like this is the ability for presenters and f2f delegates to participate directly with the virtual participants. I think of this as "dual mode presence". Here's a few of the things I've been thinking about:
- What might presenters do differently to design a dual mode presentation to better engage with virtual participants?
- How can we more fully bring the virtual participants into the event and generate interaction between them and the presenter and f2f attendees?
- One thing I've noticed that is intriguing is that f2f delegates often log in to the Elluminate room even while sitting in the venue. In this case they and the Elluminate facilitator are engaged in dual mode presence with virtual participants. How might we deliberately use this as part of the experience?
- A big aspect of f2f conferences as Terry and Lynn note in their book is the social networking of delegates. How can we use dual mode presence to create a social networking event that brings f2f and virtual delegates together?
Thank you all for taking the initiative to establish the OERU volunteers group!
Today is the last day of the OER University SCoPE seminar. I expect we'll have other follow-on OERU seminars in the future but for now activity here winds up and we'll move follow-on work to the volunteers area in wikieducator.
Its been wonderful helping develop the OERU idea with you all. Will be fascinating to see it evolve from here.
Paul
Today is the last day of the OER University SCoPE seminar. I expect we'll have other follow-on OERU seminars in the future but for now activity here winds up and we'll move follow-on work to the volunteers area in wikieducator.
Its been wonderful helping develop the OERU idea with you all. Will be fascinating to see it evolve from here.
Paul
Bernard:
Thanks for these responses to the saylor.org video. Its great to hear the Rawandan perspective.
Your comments highlight some of the many challenges involved in creating an OERU. At the most basic level one challenge is describing it in terms that have a common meaning globally so that a mutual understanding is achieved. Another challenge is implementing the OERU in a way that works with established practices and organizations in all countries around the world.
I expect the OERU will be need to be conceptualized in a universal way first. The OERU logic model is an example of something that needs to make sense globally. Once a universal model for the OERU has been created bridges can be established that implement the OERU in a way localized and in line with practices and organizations at a country level.
Thanks for adding your name to the list of volunteers at:
http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/volunteers
Paul
Thanks for these responses to the saylor.org video. Its great to hear the Rawandan perspective.
Your comments highlight some of the many challenges involved in creating an OERU. At the most basic level one challenge is describing it in terms that have a common meaning globally so that a mutual understanding is achieved. Another challenge is implementing the OERU in a way that works with established practices and organizations in all countries around the world.
I expect the OERU will be need to be conceptualized in a universal way first. The OERU logic model is an example of something that needs to make sense globally. Once a universal model for the OERU has been created bridges can be established that implement the OERU in a way localized and in line with practices and organizations at a country level.
Thanks for adding your name to the list of volunteers at:
http://wikieducator.org/OER_university/volunteers
Paul