How does a virtual conference work?

Today’s blog is about the “virtual conference”.  Several individuals and a couple presenters have said that they “don’t understand how a virtual conference/presentation will work?”  We, the organizing committee, believe that a critical mass of questioners has been reached and consequently, it was time we responded.

The traditional conference

Most of us have attended a traditional, in-person, conference on music therapy or related subjects/areas of study.  Such conferences have an organizing committee that works hard prior to, during, and post-conference and well as volunteers who assist with things such as set-up and preparation prior to plenary sessions and keynote addresses.  The organizing committee is also responsible for choosing a conference theme, issuing a “Call for Papers (CFP)”, evaluating responses to the CFP, and preparing an exciting and engaging conference program.  They search out and establish a hotel/conference centre/meeting place for the conference and deal with problems that arise during the conference as necessary.  Finally, many traditional conferences involve participants in one or more business meetings/annual general meetings/networking meetings.

Participants in a traditional conference are a combination of interested professionals, students and people who will be presenting at the conference.  They pay a registration fee, and travel to the conference location via a variety of transportation options.  During the conference, they are generally free to attend as many or as few of the presentations as they choose.  Often, the traditional conference provides an opportunity for participants to meet former colleagues and friends, make new professional connections, and purchase resources relevant to their area of interest/specialty.  At the end of the conference, they may spend some extra time vacation at areas near the location of the conference or they may return to their family and music therapy practic/clients immediately.

The virtual conference

In many ways, a virtual conference is very similar to a “traditional” conference.  The major difference – there is no common location that people “travel to” in order to attend the conference.  Instead, the conference is hosted on a computer server, located somewhere in the world.  The virtual conference can also take place at any time of the day or night, may include multiple languages, and often includes participants from a disparate range of countries and nationalities.

Participants still represent a broad cross-section of the music therapy professionals, students and presenters who may or may not be from the field of music therapy.  They attend the conference via their computer and the internet.  Depending on the sophistication and needs of the virtual conference, participants may attend via auditory, visual, and/or textual tools/software.  Some virtual conferences platforms require a high-speed internet connection, others allow those with dial-up connections to participate.  There is no specific dress-code for participants, the common joke being that “you can attend if your pajamas if you so choose”.

Organization of, and the conference program of a virtual conference is also very similar to a traditional conference.  There is often one or more “keynote” speakers, a number of shorter presentations and workshops, and one or more business meetings that participants are encouraged to attend.  Presentation proposals are selected after individuals respond to a Call for Papers (CFP) that announces, at least, the conference theme and the requirements that the organizing committee has established for the potential presenters.

This conference

We’ve already shared a great deal about the nature of this conference in our blog and we encourage you to review our previous postings.  These may answer some of your questions and they will introduce you to the organizing committee in greater detail.  The blog is located at:  https://onlineconference4mt.wordpress.com.

That said, here are a few details about how this virtual conference will work.

How do I attend the conference?

Registration packages for all participants will be made available after September 30th, 2010.  You will be able to attend either one or both days of the conference that will take place between 9 AM and 4 PM on March 5 and 6th, 2011.  There will be an earlybird registration deadline offering a discounted registration fee and registrations will be limited to 100 individual IP addresses.  This last item is critical.  If you are part of an educational facility (i.e.  a group of music therapy students), a music therapy organization with multiple employees, or an organization that serves in a related capacity please DO NOT attend the conference on individual computers.  Instead, establish a common meeting point, and one (1) computer that will be used for attending.  Then use a video projector and a set of speakers connected to the computer to present the material to your group/organization.  This way, the maximum number of people will be able to attend the conference.

Technologically, you will require a relatively up-to-date computer system and a connection to the internet (high-speed connection preferred).  If you wish to visually respond to presenters/ask questions, you will need a “web cam” connected to your computer.  If you wish to speak to/respond to presenters, you will need a microphone or headset connected to your computer.  There is NO specialized software that you will have to purchase, however you are encouraged to have your “JAVA” and “Quicktime” software up-to-date.  As well, as noted previously, you may require a video projector (similar to those used to give powerpoint presentations/video presentations) and a pair of speakers or headphones (individuals).

A few days prior to the conference, you will receive an e-mail that will give you a specialized internet link to connect with, and a password.  E-mails will be sent to individuals based on information provided on the registration form.  If you are registering as a group, we will ask for the name of an individual or “point” person.  If you are from an educational program, this will generally be the lead instructor.  If you are from a organization, please choose this individual at the time of registration.

I’m technologically challenged – is there any training or assistance available?

YES, YES, YES. Although we feel that the tools/software that we are using is fairly straightforward, we recognize that this is a new, untested, means of attending a conference.  Consequently, we will be offering a specialized training opportunity to presenters/point people/individuals prior to the start of the conference.  (Dates TBA).  If you are at an educational facility, we encourage you to have someone from the IT/Computing services department available to assist you with set-up and/or have them trial the software platforms described below prior to the date of the conference.

If you are fairly confident with technology, the internet and CMS/LMS platforms, you may also do your own exploration of the two tools that we are going to be using extensively throughout the conference.  The first tool is called Elluminate (http://www.elluminate.com).  This is essentially a very powerful video conferencing tool that we will be using for the video feed/audio feed/recording of presentations.  A series of pre-recorded video links are available at:  http://www.elluminate.com/Resources/Recorded_Demos/?id=97.  Secondly, we will be using a CMS/LMS tool called Moodle (http://moodle.org).  This open-source software is available in a wide array of languages and we will be using it to present information about the conference, presentations, and as a “backchannel” during presentations.  There are a number of “MoodleDocs” (located in the”Support” section of the Moodle website) that may answer questions that you may have or you try Moodle for yourself  – a download of the latest stable version of Moodle is available (v1.9.9) or there is a “trial” site that you can explore, without downloading any software (also located on the main Moodle website).

I have special needs related to the use of technology/internet?

We have previously written about Elluminate’s “No User Left Behind” policy in our conference blog (see the blog posting entitled, “Core Conference Values – Accessability” published on June 8, 2010).  Please contact us via e-mail (ocmt2011@gmail.com), Facebook (OCMT2011 – Online Conference for Music Therapy), or Twitter (#OCMT2011)  if you have specific needs/requirements so that we can assist you.

What if I can’t attend the entire conference?

We understand that individuals from various timezones and/or various participants may not be able to attend all of the conference.  For that reason, we will be recording all of the presentations and making them available, after the conference, via our Moodle site.  They will be licensed via a Creative Commons license that will also enable them to be used in education and training or professional development.

I’m a potential presenter.  What else do I need to know?

Whether you are a presenter or participant, the basic computer configuration is largely the same.  A “good” computer configuration includes a computer, high-speed internet connection and a set of speakers.  The “preferred” configuration for presenters is a computer, high-speed internet connection, web-cam mic and speakers.  Finally, the “best” configuration for presenters includes a video camera with independent sound input, connected to your computer and a high-speed connection.  Sometimes, the later can be arranged through an educational institution web-conferencing arrangement/smart classroom.

There are three additional considerations that you must consider if you are a presenter.  First, we are asking that you grant permission, via a “Creative Commons” licence, for the organizing committee to publish a recording of your presentation after the conference.  Secondly, because we are releasing these recordings to the public, you must also provide proof of confidentiality agreements along with your proposal.  Thirdly, we ask that you remain on our “conference backchannel” (Moodle site) for a half-an-hour following your presentation in order to answer any questions that participants may have.

Conclusion

We hope that this has answered the majority of your questions.  If there is something that we haven’t addressed, or there is something that you would like more information on, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information provided earlier/below in this posting.  We are looking forward to your participation and a very exciting conference!

DON’T FORGET! The official call for papers ends September 30, 2010. Visit the blog posting entitled Call for Papers for more details.

For more information about the conference, please visit us at:
E-mail:  ocmt2011@gmail.com
Facebook:  OCMT2011 – Online Conference for Music Therapy
Twitter:  #OCMT2011
Blog:  onlineconference4mt.wordpress.com