Zooming into a Hybrid Conference!

FLAIRS is a hybrid conference in which everyone feels fully immersed, both those physically at the conference, and also those who are remote out in Zoomland. Everything will be on Zoom ... the technical sessions, the lobby area, the reception with awards, and the business meeting at the end. To make this all work everyone must have their own device (laptop/desktop/tablet/etc.) with the Zoom app installed. 

At the venue there is a computer in each physical session room and at the reception in the physical lobby. The lobby computer is in the main Zoom room, showing what's going on in the physical lobby. There is a Zoom breakout room for each of the parallel technical sessions, in which presenters give their talks in Zoom. The computers in the physical session rooms project the presenter's shared Zoom screen onto a big screen for physical attendees to watch, with the audio coming over a speaker system (if the presenter is physically in the room those speakers are turned off to avoid a feedback loop). Physical presenters stand/sit at the front of the session room with their own laptop so that physical attendees can see and hear the presentation in the normal live way. The session room computer's camera shows the whole room ... the physical presenters, the big screen, the audience, etc., so that remote attendees see the live action and feel just like they are in the room too. Note that physical presenters do not have to connect their laptop to the projector - all that happens through Zoom, so there are none the "my computer can't connect to the projector" issues!

In order to attend the conference you have to register for the conference as usual, and register to attend the Zoom meeting. The Zoom registration is approved after the conference registration has been paid and verified. You are then provided with a unique link for joining the Zoom meeting (no passcode required). Please use your full name in the Zoom registration (no funky screen names), so it can be checked against your conference registration and approved seamlessly.

Below are checklists for the various categories of attendees; several might apply to you. Read carefully, and get ready to enjoy a hybrid FLAIRS!

If at any stage you are having difficulties connecting to the conference through Zoom, please contact one of the organizers: 

• Geoff Sutcliffe: +1 7863613163, geoff@cs.miami.edu

• Eric Bell: eric.bell.flairs36@gmail.com

Checklist for Paper Presenters

• Have the latest Zoom app installed.

• Make sure your laptop battery is charged.

• If you are physically at the conference, go to the physical session room.

• Connect to your session's Zoom room - in the Breakout Rooms window click on the number at the right to join that room, and confirm.

• Talk to the session chair before session starts, to confirm your screenshare works.

• Physical presenters must stand/sit by their laptop as if presenting from a classroom/office, your laptop camera shows your face and the microphone captures your voice.

• Physical presenters, ensure someone has turned off the physical room computer's speakers.

• The session chair will monitor for questions during and after the presentation, and will unmute questioners.

• Watch the chat for time warnings.

• Unshare your screen when finished.

Checklist for Poster Presenters

• For the "poster teaser" session, send a one-page, landscape format, PDF of your poster teaser to Doug Talbert (DTalbert@tntech.edu) by Monday 8th May. 

• Have Zoom app version 5.9 or better installed.

• Make sure your laptop battery is charged.

• Poster teaser session

  • Connect to the poster teaser session's Zoom room - in the Breakout Rooms window click on the number at the right to join that room, and confirm.

  • The session chair will share your slide for you to talk to. You just talk in Zoom.

  • You will have strictly no more than 1 minute to introduce your poster - the session chair will cut you off without mercy at 1 minute.

  • This is your chance to advertise your poster, so that attendees will come to your assigned breakout room in the poster breakout session - be fast, be dynamic, be exciting!

• Poster breakout sessions

  • For poster presenters physically in attendance ...

    • Each poster presenter will be provided with a poster board, 4 feet wide by 3 feet high - just like this. Clips and pins will be available to attach your poster to the board prior to the poster session.

    • Prepare and print the poster in advance - there are no printing services provided on-site.

    • Be physically by your poster for the duration of the poster session - people will want to talk to you about your research.

    • Take your poster down at the end of the session - any left over will be trashed. Don't take the poster board.

  • For all poster presenters (physical and virtual) ...

    • Connect to your assigned poster Zoom room - in the Breakout Rooms window click on the number at the right to join that room, and confirm.

    • You will be there with 2-3 other poster presenters whose posters are in the same topic area. 

    • Conference attendees who are interested in any of the posters in your room will join, and you can jointly coordinate conversations, screen shares, etc.

Checklist for Audience

• Have the latest Zoom app installed.

• Make sure your laptop battery is charged.

• If you are physically at the conference, go to the physical session room.

• Connect to your session Zoom room - in the Breakout Rooms window click on the number at the right to join that room, and confirm.

• Enjoy your session

• Raise Zoom hand to ask a question, and ask your question in Zoom. You can also ask questions in chat.

Checklist for Session Chairs

• Have the latest Zoom app installed.

• Make sure your laptop battery is charged.

• If you are physically at the conference, go to the physical session room.

• Make sure the room computer is plugged in, and has wifi connection

• Connect the room computer to your session Zoom room - in the Breakout Rooms window click on the number at the right to join that room, and confirm.

• Ensure presenters are online, and can share screen to present.

• Ensure the room computer is displaying OK - call organizer if not.

• Mute the room computer

• Mute all except each presenter (mute all in the Participants window).

• Monitor participants for raised hands, or in chat, with questions, tell Zoom questioners to unmute themselves, repeat chat and physical questions, mute questioner when done.

• Monitor time, send chat to presenter at 5min, 2min, 0min.

• If presenter does not stop their screenshare, do it for them.

• Poster introduction session

  • Share your screen with the slide deck, and spotlight your screen so that it is always shown in Zoom.

  • Mute all except each presenter (mute all in the Participants window).

  • Repeatedly ...

    • Use chat to ensure the next presenter is online and ready to speak. 

    • Unmute the next presenter before it's their turn.

    • Show presenter's slide.

    • Allow presenter 1 minute only, no questions.

    • Mute presenter at the end of their 1 minute.

Checklist for Organizers

• Have the latest Zoom app installed.

• Day before any (workshop, tutorial, paper) session: Set up computers, cameras, speakers, projectors, screens in session rooms and lobby. Test it all with a fake session.

• Ensure each room computer is on, connected to wifi, in the breakout room, in speaker gallery mode, full screen, muted, speakers on.

• Find a physical attendee in each room to turn off speakers for physical presenters.

• Ensure you are available on phone or email to provide help for remote speakers with difficulties.

  • Geoff: +1 7863613163/geoff@cs.miami.edu

  • Eric Bell: eric.bell.flairs36@gmail.com

Checklist for Hosts

• Have the latest Zoom app installed.

• Make sure your laptop battery is charged.

• Create breakout rooms, update name for each session

• In each room use the computer provided to login to Google, using the account FLAIRS.Conference.NN, NN = 00 to 04, 00 is the lobby. The password is, well, ask Geoff. The TFA phone number is Geoff's Google number - ask Geoff. The recovery email is president@flairs.com (that's Geoff). The birthday for each Google account is 01/01/1987.

• In each room join the Zoom meeting, and move to the breakout room. If you need to login to Zoom (shouldn't be necessary but life can be weird) use the Gmail account for that computer, and the password is, well, ask Geoff.

• Make session chair co-host for each session