Helping

Volunteer to moderate by emailing Valdis Zalite at vzalite@semo.edu. 

Moderators will introduce Scholars in their assigned panel, will keep time for the panel, facilitate the Q&A, and distribute completion certificates and the vouchers for the scholarship raffle. 

To prepare, moderators meet at the start of the conference to receive a packet of resources and review moderating responsibilities. The packet includes guidance on moderating, contact information for tech support if something goes wrong, and the acknowledgements for Scholars. 

Don't worry about missing your students' presentations. We prioritize scheduling moderators in sessions with at least one Scholar from their program.

Thanks for considering being a moderator!

Each year, we rely on attending programs to gather and bring technology to help make the Heartland Conference possible. This year, we need to equip twelve rooms with laptop-projector sets and have a few backups for troubleshooting. 

Conference organizers Jeremy Freese and Ethan Clapsaddle manage the technology component. We assure loaned technology is clearly labeled and securely locked in the conference organizer room when not in use. This care assures your technology is safe and returned to you. 

If you would like to contribute technology, please email Jeremy Freese (jfreese@truman.edu) or Ethan Clapsaddle (ethanclapsaddle@ku.edu) and let them know what technology you plan to bring. Additionally, the following steps help prevent technology challenges during the conference:

1. Test your laptop and projector to verify they are compatible and fully operational (or provide organizers with connection information so we can plan a pairing with other technology).

2. Set up each laptop with a local user account with no privileges. This way no one has to worry about their laptop configurations being tampered with. Contact organizers if you have questions on how to set this up.

3. Write the username and password on a piece of paper and include it in the bag with the laptop. If a computer goes to sleep between sessions, this allows moderators to quickly log back in. 

4. Each laptop should have a power cord so there is no risk it will die during a presentation.

5. Each set should have the necessary cords to connect the projector to the laptop.

Thank you so much for the generosity of your loans. They play an essential role in conference success.