Day of

All of your planning and preparation has finally paid off, it is the day of your HTW. There are some basic things to consider. For example, did you instruct your attendees where to go when they arrived? Was parking information provided? Do they know what door to enter? Create signage for attendees to follow. A simple sign in your school's parking lot instructing people where to go will be much appreciated. Make sure you let attendees know where the restroom is located, and don't forget your school's "Guest WIFI Password"!

Create an Itinerary

Creating an hourly schedule will not only help you with the planning of the event, but it will also let attendees know what to expect throughout the day. Always add in some buffer time in case something goes longer, or moves along quicker. Always state that timing is subject to change throughout the event. Below is an example of schedule for day one of an "Underwater Robot High Tech Weekend"

Underwater Robot High Tech Weekend Day One:

8:00-8:30 - arrival- Check in - Coffee and Donuts- courtesy of Sponsor X

8:30-8:45- Introductions, Agenda review-

8:45-9:00- Material handout, work station set up

9:00-11:00- Designing and 3D modeling the side wall, and front and back wall of the ROV in Fusion 360

11:00-12:00- Laser cut the side walls out of cardboard- prototyping

12:00-1:00- Lunch provided- curtesy of Sponsor Y

1:00-3:00- Designing and 3D printing the motor mounts

3:00-5:00- Waterproofing the motors

5:00- End of day one

6:00- Dinner at location Z-

Do you have enough volunteer help?

Don't take this on alone, reach out to other faculty, industry, CESA's, WTEA District Directors, and your local Tech College for help. Sometimes it is even appropriate to ask your students to help, as they might have experience in the topic of the HTW. On the day of the HTW, having more people volunteering to help will not be unappreciated. That said, with having help, make sure your help knows what their role is. For example if you have another instructor helping attendees set up the welding machines, make sure they know what process is need for set-up.

Have fun

All of the work leading up to the event can sometimes be stressful. The day is finally here, put on a smile and have fun. Enjoy the work you put in. Teachers appreciate when other teachers share their knowledge, remember they signed up to attend. Attendees, also want to leave with something, whether it is something physical that they actually made at the HTW, or maybe it is a set of plans, curriculum or recourses. Make sure the attendees are leaving with something.

It is also a great idea to create a "Post HTW Survey" to see what your attendees thought of the event. Use the feedback to improve your next HTW!

Cancelation Plan

Sometimes unforeseen things happen and you may need to cancel the event. What is your plan? This is why collecting names, emails, and phone numbers is so important. If the HTW needs to be canceled day of, have a plan to contact everyone quickly. If the event is canceled, how will you process returns? If material was purchased for the event with registration cost, it is a good idea to have a "Disclaimer" that states the following: "The event will be rescheduled at a future date" or "All materials and supplies purchased will be dispersed via" (in person pick up). Whatever your plan is, make sure you thought it through and disclaimed to all attendees in your informational flyer.

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