Joining Instructions for BLTC 2020

June 11, 2020 9:30am – 3.30pm

Dear BLTC 2020 participants

This email contains important information to help you with your conference planning.

We look forward to welcoming you to OCSLD’s Annual Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference 2020, on Thursday 11th June 2020, from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm, which this year is online. With a packed programme and 180 participants registered so far, from across the disciplines, faculties and directorates, we look forward to coming together as a community to share and discuss up to date what and how we know about learning and teaching in higher education, in the here and now.

The hashtag for the event is #bltc20.

Our conference has been in the planning for a year, with Covid19 throwing most of the original planning out of the window, we have now arrived, in a relatively short space of time, and dedication of the conference committee, at what we think is an exciting alternative in an online presence, led by Conference Co-Chairs George Roberts and Samia Kamal.

Getting the most from your conference experience

Everything you need to access the conference is accessed from the conference website, so please take a look around the site and familiarise yourself with the programme. The keynote is streamed live, however the presentations are pre-recorded and we ask that you watch them in advance, so discussions can take place online in the allocated strand sessions. Questions for the presenters should be sent in advance, using the forms on the website. Link to questions and discussion

The conference will be happening in Google Meet, and each section of the programme has its own link via the website, so forward planning is recommended as is bookmarking the website page. Sessions can be accessed directly from links within the conference schedule here.

The website for the conference can be accessed from this link: BLTC website

The programme includes a series of speakers from across the university, as well as discussion and time to reflect on the experiences of emergency remote teaching in the Parallel Word Café. The strand sessions run in parallel with the parallel World Café. See the schedule for details. Sessions can be accessed directly from links within the conference schedule here. See the hints and tips at the bottom of this message.

Presentations

The presentations are now on the website for you to view here, they are five minutes long and we ask that you watch them in advance, so that you can send in questions in advance via the forms on the website and participate in the discussions following the presenters.

Social Media

If you are on Twitter the conference hashtag is #bltc20 and is another way to connect with those attending and participating remotely. Please share your planning tips and anything that you are particularly looking forward to with our community.

Conference Helpdesk

The BLTC team will be available to support you. Should you need assistance during the event, please contact ocsld@brookes.ac.uk

Presenter?

See our full guidance for presenters/contributors – here

Recording the sessions:

We will be recording parts of the conference, which will be uploaded onto the website. If you do not wish to be visible, you may turn your camera off.

Conference Netiquette:

We ask that you mute your microphone throughout, until you are speaking during the discussion periods and then turn yourself to mute again after you have finished speaking.

Questions can be sent in before the conference using the forms on the schedule here. Each part has its own form. Questions received in advance will be answered by the presenters during the question and answer sessions, and if there is time, questions can be additionally added in the chat at the session.

Tips for getting the most out of the conference:

  • 1. Plan ahead. Now that the timetable and presentations are published, check which sessions you want to prioritise attending. Go onto the conference site to make your personal schedule and follow/comment/ask questions on sessions.

  • 2. Ring fence your time: If you can, block out time to focus on the elements you want to attend.

  • 3. Check your connectivity ahead of your sessions.

  • 4. Follow on social media: participants can use the hashtag #bltc20 via Twitter where you can share content and ideas, network with our community, and keep up to date with what is going on.

  • 5. Keep other participants in mind: The conference is open to all the Brookes community, and will include those whose first language might not be English.

Have a lovely conference and we will see you online on 11 June from 9.30am.

The BLTC20 conference Team