Symposium - A Virtual Success!
Scenario – it is the middle of March and the decision is made to cancel the face-to-face Symposium. Inquiry – can we do a virtual symposium? Take a look – In consultation with David, Sonja, Diane and Larry attend a virtual conference with 500 other attendees on “How to Go Virtual.” Information received is that it could take 6 to 9 months to fully prepare for a virtual conference/symposium. Brainstorming – Sonja using her experience with ADOBE Connect suggests an attempt mock -up to identify if it is possible. The mock-up appeared to show feasibility at “getting it done.”
The date had been set at May 12th which left only 8 weeks to pull it together. The Symposium Planning Team was consulted and agreed that it could be possible. And so, the word went out to the masses (RPTs) for potential workshops and networking Sessions; for Presenters and Facilitators; for Moderators and Tech Supporters and the response was overwhelming. ADOBE Connect was available and supportive. There were a few challenges –the delayed arrival of the ADOBE Connect platform; on-going communications with the many persons involved, setting up dates for the many people involved for ADOBE Connect familiarization, practice sessions, dress rehearsals, open house for attendees to check their connections, … There were many anxious moments with invitation and registration glitches, wi-fi connections, speaker connections, putting in the necessary time… With limitations on the number of ADOBE rooms that could be used and the number of attendees each room could accommodate, there was some anxiety about being able to accommodate all who would like to register. Unfortunately, there were communications from several potential attendees who could not register due to the sessions being full. With approximately 350 registrations, all Workshop and Networking session were full.
The follow-up survey will indicate the success of the virtual symposium. The anecdotal feedback following the Symposium has all been incredibly positive. Thanks to all who helped make this symposium a success – the Presenters, the Facilitators, the Moderators, the Tech Support, and the Symposium Planning Team. A special thanks goes to Sonja who put in an amazing amount of time and effort towards ensuring all went well and it did.
Larry Archibald
SCWI Liaison
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Symposium Comments:
We would like to acknowledge that some folks of the 382 participants in the 2020 virtual Symposium did have technical/audio/login issues, which was very unfortunate. Given the number of participants and the short timelines to mount the Symposium, technical issues were to be expected. The good news is that all PowerPoints are on the website and all but 2 of the sessions were recorded and also are available on the website.
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