27 April 2009: Views from the Chair - Participation in a virtual conference: What does it look like?

Prior to the start of this conference, there were many questions about what a virtual conference looks like.   “Where do I show up?”  “How will I participate?”  These and other questions lead me to the realization that while I possessed a conceptual understanding of a virtual conference, I could not assume that everyone else did.  In fact, the hours I spent researching various manifestations of a virtual conference lead me to another realization:  there is no archetype upon which we can base the definition.  Like the concept of an online course, which incidentally, is a name given far too often to glorified tutorials, the term “virtual conference” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. 

The format for this virtual conference is borrowed from other virtual conferences I discovered and have known from first-hand experience.  The NCDLA 2009 Virtual Conference leverages the power of technologies we’ve chosen in a “mash-up” we call the Virtual Conference Center.  Playing off the analogy of a true conference center, the intent was to draw upon the attendee’s prior experience attending a traditional conference to make sense of the technologies that constitute a virtual one.  The attendee would then visit various spaces where conference events and resources are typically located.  For example, the Breakout Rooms are the place where Breakout Sessions are held.  Similarly, the Information Desk is a place to get information and discover resources related to the conference.  From the beginning, we wanted to engage participants beyond the click of mouse button.  We attempted to create a sense of place by organizing content and functionality around a well-known construct. 

We created a short video to explain the format of the conference.  The video appeared on the homepage of the NCDLA website prior to the first day of the conference.  Three days prior to opening day, participants could view another video, this time an orientation video inside the main lobby of the Conference Center that served to clarify the organizational structure of the website.  The text of the video appeared in pre-conference emails and the daily conference newsletter.  Following the basics of good instructional design, we thus provided options for learning about the Virtual Conference Center website.  Participants were engaged, or had the opportunity to engage, prior to the official start of the conference. 

To further clarify the experience of a virtual conference, we offered pre-conference orientation sessions to introduce participants to the platform tools we chose to “build” the conference.  Participants attended orientations to Elluminate, the web conferencing software where most breakout sessions take place; Second Life, the virtual environment where five sessions would be offered; and Wimba Pronto, the synchronous client used for the Conference Help Desk and to allow participants to interact with one another outside of conference sessions.  We knew these orientations would be necessary.  We also knew that not everyone would take advantage of them and we would have to provide support for those who “got lost” inside the Conference Center.  Again, the opportunity for engagement was cultivated prior to the start of the conference.

Now, let’s take a look at engagement during the virtual conference.  What does participation look like?  Once inside the conference center, how would participants communicate with session presenters?  How would they engage one another in post-session conversations? 

We again anticipated the need to reinforce protocol and behaviors for successful participation.  Our first strategy was to include a section in the conference program book that provided guidance for successful participation in a virtual conference.  The section, How to participate in this conference, included strategies for making the most of the conference. See the attached file of these guidelines.  Next, we posted the session protocol just inside the Breakout Rooms section of the Conference Center, just prior to the point where participants accessed the Breakout sessions. 

Finally, engagement during breakout sessions was considered a must among the conference planning committee.  We believed that we could engage participants the most by providing engaging sessions. We wanted to avoid the hour-long sit and listen with no opportunity to ask questions or participate in the session.  Our solution was to first begin with the presenters.  We held two Presenter Orientation sessions the week prior to the start of the conference.  These sessions were held in Elluminate and introduced presenters not only to the tools and the environment in which they would be speaking, but also to best practices in web conferencing.  Additional support materials for using Elluminate and for making the best of a web conference were made available in the Information Desk section of the conference.  Presenters could also access and archived recording of the Presenter Orientation.  We encouraged presenters to set up their own vRoom from Elluminate to practice their session.  

Engagement took on several forms throughout the conference. Presenters invited participants to share their opinions using the polling feature of Elluminate.  They creatively involved participants in their sessions by soliciting their thoughts in the chat box where participants could type a response or question. Participants with microphones could pose questions or make comments using the audio feature.  All participants communicated their understanding and appreciation for what was happening by clicking on a smiley face icon, clapping hands, or a “yes/no” polling icons at any point during a session. 

Following each session, participants could engage in follow-up discussion in the individual discussion forums associated with each session.  On a more global scale, some participants addressed larger issues in discussion forums located in the Attendee Lounge.  In both examples, the opportunity for engagement was considered as a reaction to the unfortunate demise of important conversations typically seen in face-to-face conferences.

In a previous blog entry, I made mention that the concept of a virtual conference is relatively new to all of us.  As is the case with any new environment or world, we all face that point of initial entry during which we develop our intercultural competence for interaction.  Until we become “seasoned participants” in virtual conferences, both conference organizers and participants must devote time and attention to make explicit the techniques for participation.  We must deliberately define and model protocols and behaviors for successful interaction.  I must applaud Elluminate in their choice of the label “Participants” to designate all those who are involved in an online web conference.  No other appellation could better characterize the expectations of the NCDLA Conference Planning Committee for a successful virtual conference.

Bobby Hobgood, Ed.D.
NCDLA 2009 Virtual Conference Chair
ncdlaonline@gmail.com