Online Conferences: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

A collection of lessons learned and best practices from these online conferences:

• Handheld Librarian
  
• Libraries = Learning Organizations from the Idaho Commission for Libraries http://libraries.idaho.gov/llo
• OPALescence
• Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference 
• Talentpalooza
• Technology Essentials 2010, a WebJunction online conference 

Platform and Production Logistics

Consider your scope, resources, and capabilities when making logistics decisions.

• Should you use a single room or a different room for each session?
• Consider at least a 15 minute break between sessions to ensure ample time and tactics for smooth transition between sessions.
• If attendees needed to move from room to room, provide a list of hotlinks (like a map of a conference center).
• Prepare back up plans and clear means of communicating for troubleshooting.
  • Meebo chat widget on conference or schedule page, for participants to ask questions if they can't find their way, or have questions along the way.
  • Troubleshooting document accessible within the platform or on your site, to keep session focused on presentation, not support.
• Take advantage of the platform's features/capabilities--breakout rooms, multiple layouts in one classroom/session, etc.
• Set up as much as possible before the day of the conference.
• Each session/presenter should have a "lead" person, to make sure everyone has everything s/he needs, and all in place for presentation.
• Assign a host for each session to make the introduction and help the presenter track participant questions and comments.
• Assign producers for the presentations, to deal with technical questions, make sure the technology doesn't get in the way.
• Provide checklist of what producer needs to do for each session: greet attendees, sound checks, record session, pull up evaluations, etc.

Presentations

• Good to have external (to libraries) speaker, but not canned and make sure they apply to libraries.
• Provide ample presenter orientation and onboarding, including guidance about visual materials that will accompany the presentation.
• Ensure keynotes have no competing sessions, on each day.
• For the rest of the time slots, possibly consider two concurrent sessions---one pre-determined speaker and topic and one “Unconference Session: Discuss the topics and trends you want!” with a designated host/moderator. (Note: Sessions with specific topics and speakers had a much larger audience (10:1) than the “un” sessions)
• Be deliberate about styles of presentations and how chat and other tools (twitter) fit into it.
• If not using webcams, show photo of presenter(s) before presentation/during welcome so attendees can have put a face to the voice; more “personal”
• Timer on the screen.
• Concurrent sessions allow participants to make a choice; recording /archiving allow them to view sessions they weren't able to attend. (Try not to schedule sessions for same target audience at the same time, i.e., 2 sessions for youth librarians not scheduled in the same time slot)

Enriched User Experience

• Ensure best practices for learning during a live session: enable successful online education; address learning styles and how this impacts learning online; provide resources for online learning.
• Work with presenters on pacing to include “realtime” reflection for attendees in sessions to make their learning personally and professionally relevant.
• If presenters use polls, be sure users are provided enough time to respond to questions and presenters should fully reference results in presentation.
• Create pre-conference self-paced tutorial to introduce platform technology and logistics.
• Provide “homework” beforehand in accessible formats.
• Include breaks, perhaps one long one in the middle of day. (Good for presenters, producers, and conference organizers, too!)
• A Virtual Exhibits Hall might include links to vendors with various interactive interfaces, from chats to webinars. (And an Exhibits Chair with a MeeboMe chat box in the Virtual Exhibits, so attendees can ask questions about how the exhibits worked).
• Coffee break chat rooms, “lobby con,” or “hallway topic” for break time chat. Especially good to have activity in room so as people arrive they see user engagement in action.
• Create clear communications surrounding breaks. Between sessions, title cards should communicate what they should be experiencing (eg. you shouldn’t hear sound now, we’ll be starting at…)
• Provide website for the conference to collect handouts, slides and resources from the sessions held throughout the day, along with archives of each session for those unable to attend.

See other reviews of online conferences:

• What’s the future of the virtual conference?

Public Library Association Conference, 2010

Jennifer Peterson, WebJunction [email protected]

Karen Burns, SW Iowa Library Service Area

Cindi Hickey, State Library of Kansas