Guidance for convenors
Thank you for agreeing (or being volunteered!) to convene sessions at the Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference 2020 (BLTC20). You are the keys to a successful conference.
Please first familiarise yourself with the BLTC20 conference website. and in particular the Schedule, Guidance for Contributors and Parallel World Cafe.
Samia Kamal and George Roberts are the Conference Co-chairs and Fiona Smith is Head of the Conference Administration. If you have any questions we should be able to help.
As well as the five plenary events, which will be convened by Samia and George, there are three presenter Sessions and three Parallel World Cafes, to which you have been assigned. Each of these slots have two or three named convenors. You will not be alone.
The Conference will be run in Google Sites, Google Docs and Google Meet. The Google Calendar sits behind and drives the session meetings. We have decided to use the “G-suite” of applications for education (rather than Zoom, Ektron, WordPress or other candidates) because this is the environment in which most of us at Brookes will be collaborating and teaching, and that (fingers crossed) should give us the most stable and familiar platform.
Convenors’ Roles
Convenors have two main roles; this is a summary; more detail below:
Manage participation and timing so that:
there is equity for participants and contributors; and
the conference runs to time: do not delay later sessions.
Shape and guide discussion and synthesise outcomes from the sessions.
For conference presentation sessions:
Read the contributions to your session before the session;
Identify and write down at least one question for each of the contributors. Use the session discussion document;
Compose a “leading question” to be offered to all to kick things off.
After the session, compose a brief synthesising statement (one minute) for the final plenary; and, one question for the audience.
For Parallel World Cafe sessions:
There is really only one question: how has it been for you?
Prepare a very short statement to frame the session;
After the session, compose a brief synthesising statement (one minute) for the final plenary; and, one question for the audience.
Conference presentation sessions
Conference presentations are organised into “Dialogic Sessions” addressing the themes of the conference
Inclusive teaching
Assessment and Employability
Each session will have approximately four presentations and two or three convenors. We anticipate a maximum of 50 participants in the “audience”. (The maximum number of participants allowed in Google Meet session is 250.)
Flipped sessions
The sessions will follow a “flipped” pattern. Contributors have been asked to upload their presentations in advance. Samia Kamal is compiling a YouTube playlist on the OCSLD Channel. There will be links to each of the presentations on the schedule.
Questions and asynchronous discussion (“Discussion Document”)
To gather questions in advance and conduct asynchronous discussions (like a forum) we will be using editable Google Documents. This innovative approach has been used successfully by the Oxford Brookes University School of Education at their Research Conference in May (three weeks ago).
And for those interested in ancient Internet history, here is a YouTube video by Mike Wesch illustrating the use of a shared document from 2007 (A Vision of Students Today).
Each session has an editable Google Document linked from the Schedule. This Discussion Document is editable by anyone with the link (we recommend Chrome but have tested it with most contemporary browsers. Thank you Samia!). Please be collegial and respectful in this public forum.
The process is very simple. Open the Discussion Document. You will see there are two columns. The left column for questions and comments. The right column for replies. Generally participants (the audience) will pose questions in the left column and contributors and convenors will respond in the right column.
Convenors must read the contributions to their session before the session. Using the discussion document, identify and write down at least one question for each of the contributors. Before the session starts, please compose a “leading question” to be offered to all to kick things off.
Live discussion
Live discussion will take place in Google Meet. Each session has its own virtual “meeting room”. The link to the room is on the Schedule.
There are 216 people registered. We are closing registration, now. But, just ask (it is, essentially a public space).
We are adding everyone who has registered to the guest list for every session so any participant can (in theory) just click into any room. People who do not register but click on a link will generate a "request" for admission.
Convening your sessions.
Each session has its own unique Google Meet "Room".
We are assigning "Ownership" of each room to a "Lead convenor", who will need to "Accept" ownership of the room by clicking on the link in the email. There are a total of 12 slots. Each has its own meeting URL (link). The URL will not change.
Five of the slots have a Parallel World Cafe or Virtual Lunch session running at the same time.
Discussion Document
Each session has its own Discussion Document.
These are linked from the Conference Schedule.
Prep
Please check the links to the room and discussion for your session. They are working now (except no one is in the rooms yet).
Begin to use the discussion document to comment on the presentations in your session.
Holding the space
As "Owner of the room"
You have the power to mute participants
You have the power to eject participants
The recording will be saved to your calendar (and other invitees),
You can invite people to the session. Note below the guest list there are 3 boxes. Be sure you have ticked off the box that shows guests the guestlist; tick off the ability for guests to add more guests. Only you can add guests. Only you can see all guest names.
When you add people be sure NOT to send everyone on the guestlist an email
Invite your team
When you have accepted ownership of the room, as soon as you can you should invite the following to the session:
Your co-convenor(s),
Each Lead presenter,
George and Samia as conference chairs and Fiona as Head Admin (so we get the recordings),
As many guest presenters as you wish.
Monitor behaviour around opening time. Be prepared to receive requests for permission to join. Some people may not have direct access but will "request access". You may grant this with a click. The rooms are all open. Invitees are admitted automatically. Non invitees trigger a request for admission. We could be busy.
Opening the space
With many participants we can anticipate crowding around the virtual door. Be sure you are in the room in time.
The sessions will be recorded.
Assent and dissent
The convenor must notify the room that a recording will be made. If there is dissent, first invite dissenters to simply turn off their own mic and video. If they still dissent you turn off the recording.
The Lead Convenor should be sure the recording is on at the start of the session. When the recording is completed it will be saved to the Lead Convenor’s calendar. The conference Co-chairs will gather these after the conference has ended.
Start the recording. Remind people that you are doing so. Modelling accessibility.
Running to time
Introducing the session (1 min)
Welcome participants.
Thank the contributors for their papers.
Remind them of the format.
There is/was pre-reading.
Re-reading (15 min)
The first 10 or 15 minutes are silent reflection for the audience and a chance to visit or revisit the papers and discussion document.
Ask people to be back at time.
Introductions (5 min)
Offer each lead presenter a minute (keep it tight) to introduce their presentation.
Stimulating question to the panel (dialogue 5 min)
After the introductions, you ask a question to the gathered panel. Try to draw from the theme of the session and at least one of the presentations. The aim is to stimulate dialogue among the panel about their presentations. How do they relate to the theme(s) of the conference and maybe to one another? How do they relate to the Covid19 Pivot dance?
Prepare one question for each presenter, just in case.
Move to plenary dialogue (10 min)
After 5 minutes of panel discussion invite room dialogue, drawing from the discussion document.
One convenor should try to monitor the discussion document and text chat, while the other focuses on the audio live stream.
Feel free to take notes in the document.
Conclude (4min)
Forty minutes will fly past.
Turn off the recording.
Thank everyone.
Remind what's next.
Invite people to continue the conversation in the discussion document. If people want they can linger in the room. Each event will start on time but does have its own room. You do not need to close the room. People can stay as long as they like. Or move directly to the next session.
Communicate
Please reflect in the Discussion Document after the session in preparation for the final plenary.
Please compose at least one old school Tweet (140 characters) and one new school tweet (280 characters) about the session.
Monitoring roles
During the session, one convenor should predominantly monitor and engage with the live audio discussion and one convenor should monitor and engage with the Discussion Document and chat stream.
What about chat?
As you know, Google Meet has a chat stream built in. Although we are focussing on the discussion documents for the conference, participants, of course, may use chat as a “back channel” or might enter without reading the guidance first. Typing the word “hand” serves to mean “I am raising my hand. I would like to speak.” Therefore a convenor should keep an eye on the chat to make sure things are running smoothly.
Recording and monitoring the session
The “ownership” of the calendar sessions will be assigned to the lead convenor. The lead convenor will have the “power” to “mute or boot” any participant. We sincerely hope and doubt this will be necessary but should someone disrupt the session it must be possible to silence or eject them.