A Logistical Template for Virtual Events

The event steward for Æthelmearc Æcademy shares her template for ensuring a smooth virtual event - what staff you need, what setup and prep work is required, some pitfalls and cautionary tales...and most importantly how to make sure everyone has fun!

Transcript

1. A LOGISTICAL TEMPLATE FOR VIRTUAL EVENTS BARONESS ELENA DE LA PALMA, AETHELMEARC
2. THIS CLASS WILL: • Present a template used to run a successful virtual schola with no technical issues or zoom bombing • Indicate how to vary/adapt this model for any type of virtual event • Give you the depth of understanding you need to use it yourself!
3. BASIC ELEMENTS FOR VIRTUAL SUCCESS Access to an online interpersonal connectivity and presentation tool Populace interest Pre-event staffing and support Teachers/presenters Day of staffing and support
4. ACCESS TO AN ONLINE INTERPERSONAL CONNECTIVITY AND PRESENTATION TOOL • Zoom • The go-to for most kingdoms • Very familiar to most users • One computer runs one room • Strong user management/blocking features • Low barrier to entry (click and go) • Not Zoom • Discord, Teams, Google Hangouts… • May allow a better environment (better social, better freedom to move between rooms) • Often have less strong blocking • May have higher barriers to entry (account signup, etc) DO NOT MIX THESE. ONLY USE ONE PLATFORM.
5. POPULACE INTEREST ZOOM FATIGUE IS REAL ESPECIALLY IF YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE IS SMALL/LOCAL
6. PRE-EVENT STAFFING AND SUPPORT Promotion and Recruitment • Public facing • Find presenters/teachers • Find attendees • May also be day-of staff Intake and Setup • Internal only • Working with presenters/teachers to ensure technical readiness • Need basic technical competency • May also be day-of staff
7. TEACHERS/PRESENTERS • Comfortable teaching in person =/= comfortable teaching online • Be prepared to recruit 1-1 and ask people directly • Expect to give more support/feedback as they develop their class
8. NECESSARY STAFFING – DAY OF ZOOMERATORS • At least 2 per room • Moderate participants • Manage mute/video/recording • Mild troubleshooting • NO tech experience needed, if your tech support people can spend an hour or so training TEACHERS/PRESENTERS • Willing to consider the possibilities/drawbacks of virtual engagement TECH SUPPORT • MUST be free to troubleshoot as needed day of. NO other duties (not teaching, not zoomerating) • Troubleshoot with individuals (I can’t connect to zoom!) or issues in classes • MOSTLY individuals
9. OPTIONAL STAFFING – DAY OF Page/event moderation • Becomes NECESSARY if you have a Facebook event or are tied to a page • Make sure your moderator staff is set up to receive ALL notifications, posts, and messages, from ALL relevant pages • Should be event savvy – what’s happening when. Can direct technical questions to Tech Support. Day-of PR • Post schedules/reminders as the day goes on • Most people are not strong schedule- keepers and may forget, even day-of • This becomes NECESSARY for multi-day events.
10. OKAY…NOW LET’S SEE IT WORK.
11. VIRTUAL AETHELMEARC AECADEMY – JULY 11 Kingdom schola for the Kingdom of AEthelmearc. Classes only, no social or group activities. Live PowerPoint-based classes, live demonstration- based classes, group discussion classes. 32 different classes across five different Zoom rooms. Everything recorded.
12. BEFORE THE EVENT Teacher recruitment was slow – many teachers needed individual encouragement Students AND teachers needed to register Used Google Forms for both Students just gave their email for distribution of the Zoom link Teachers provided standard class info Every teacher sat down with Elena (me) to tech check BEFORE the event Time consuming but VERY worthwhile – ZERO tech difficulties day of
13. KEY ELEMENTS OF TECH RUN THROUGHS • Don’t need to see the whole class • Class doesn’t have to be done before tech-through • Test speaking and listening for every teacher • Test any visual they intend to use • PowerPoint, videos they want to play, live video if they’re using it • Check camera angles/positioning for live classes • If it requires a click, or any kind of change, see it • Clicking out to an external site, to YouTube, changing from PPT to live…
14. MAKING ACCESS EASY FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS • You can’t post Zoom login info publicly • We used a linked Google doc • Simply click to go to your preferred class • Class descriptions on another tab within the doc • Each person who signed up via Google Forms got the link to this • Did NOT require advance registration for classes
15. VIRTUAL AETHELMEARC AECADEMY – JULY 11 5 Zoom rooms needed to run all registered classes within a reasonable day 7 Zoomerators, working in half day shifts (usually) Zoomerators had written guidelines and troubleshooting tips. The Google form provided the class list link to signups – this allowed instant access day-of In future, I’d change this earlier as soon as the schedule was set. Advance promotion and tech support (advance and day of) provided by Elena (me)
16. CLASS LOGISTICS • Each class had a single host that did not change throughout the day • This means we had 5 computers for this initiative. CANNOT be done with less. • Each classroom was a Zoom event lasting from the beginning of the first class to the end of the last. • Classrooms never closed, so participants never had to disconnect/reconnect • Teachers made co-host by the Zoomerator. Zoomerators switch by making the next Zoomerator a co-host. • Easy to switch out Zoomerators – could have done less than half-day blocks • Make note of attendance! • How many, and from where! • Use a “screensaver” between classes • Class schedule!
17. Running three Zoom rooms takes three computers.
18. RECORDING • Recording is great. • You can record proactively WITHOUT having signed permission. • Add a notification to the class disclaimer if the class is being recorded. • Attendees can see this in Zoom too, so it’s not CRUCIAL • You need signed permission forms to PUBLISH. Check with your webminister on this. • Stop and re-start the recording at the beginning/end of each class • Or else you get a monolith of a video that sucks to work with.
19. WEIRD THINGS YOU JUST…NEED TO KNOW • Scheduling zoom rooms one day of classes at a time vs class by class • I suggest one day of classes at a time • If doing class-by-class, DO NOT schedule anything back-to back. • Switching takes a few minutes and will close the classroom. • People are less engaged and talkative online. • If your activity relies on audience participation, seed it with people prepared to participate. • Activities like this need an outgoing teacher, or at least one outgoing Zoomerator. • These are harder to zoomerate. ALWAYS two Zoomerators, and give them a break. • Connect your teachers, zoomerators, and other moderators with each other. Let them talk! • Try not to schedule yourself (the virtualcrat) for anything day-of. • If everything goes right, you’re extra capacity.
20. RESOURCES • Clickable event schedule document • Zoomerating Guidelines • Troubleshooting Tips • Switching Zoomerators (when neither is The Host of the room) Please share with others and copy/modify/adapt for your own use. If you make big changes, please let me know so I can make these better for others in future! elenadelapalma@gmail.com Elena de la Palma on Facebook
21. QUESTIONS?