{"633807":{"#nid":"633807","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tips for Organizing Online Conferences, from Biogeochemistry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOver two days of keynotes, expert talks, a poster session and awards ceremony, students and researchers from around the globe convened at Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sbs.gatech.edu\/meeting-information\/\u0022\u003E7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E to network and share the latest field developments and insights \u0026mdash; all from the comfort of their own couches.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOriginally set for campus the first weekend of spring break, the conference successfully evolved into an online-only event thanks to a team of creative graduate students and postdoctoral researchers led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/glass-dr-jennifer\u0022\u003EJennifer Glass\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEquipped with three days\u0026rsquo; notice and a hashtag, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/methanoJen\/status\/1238984050049724416\u0022\u003E#SBS2020\u003C\/a\u003E organizers welcomed dozens of scientists and their families to digitally connect around the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes and reactions in the natural world.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We tweeted out the meeting link to the conference, and we were so pleasantly surprised that people from all over the world tuned in,\u0026rdquo; says Glass.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;There were participants from the UK, from China. My postdoc advisor from Caltech attended the poster session. It was really fun to have folks there who otherwise wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been able to attend if the conference were held in person and not available online. An assistant professor in England, James Bradley, who is a lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, live-tweeted the entire conference.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We should do this more often,\u0026rdquo; tweeted one of the symposium speakers, Sarah Andrew, who is a marine sciences researcher from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. \u0026ldquo;Less time wasted due to travel, not to mention less carbon emissions.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EHow To Organize Online\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking to host your own virtual event or e-conference? Here are a few tips from Glass and the student organizing committee, composed of College of Sciences graduate students \u003Cstrong\u003EAbigail Johnson\u003C\/strong\u003E (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean Science and Engineering), \u003Cstrong\u003EErin Castorina\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003EPan Liu\u003C\/strong\u003E (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), \u003Cstrong\u003EDrake Lee-Patterson\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003ETianze Song\u003C\/strong\u003E (School of Biological Sciences), and School of Biological Sciences postdoctoral researcher \u003Cstrong\u003ECaitlin Petro\u003C\/strong\u003E, who organized judging:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003ECheck Your Tech Toolbox\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESee if your university already has a subscription to a video conferencing service like BlueJeans or Webex.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026ldquo;We used Webex because it could accommodate up to 1,000 people with Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s subscription, whereas BlueJeans\u0026rsquo; limit was 100,\u0026rdquo; says Glass.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUse a free URL shortener.\u003C\/strong\u003E Help guests arrive at the proper links quickly by shortening URLs for your meeting links to something memorable, instead of long, randomly generated URLs. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faq.oit.gatech.edu\/content\/how-can-i-shorten-my-url\u0022\u003EHere\u0026rsquo;s how\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E#RememberToHashtag.\u003C\/strong\u003E Assign a memorable hashtag for your meeting so people on social media can easily create, find, and interact with posts about the conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003EPrepare Your Audience, Practice with Presenters\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProvide very clear instructions.\u003C\/strong\u003E Create a simple prep guide for attendees, presenters and judges that includes your conference schedule, key links, setup instructions, session guidelines, and general online collaboration etiquette. If you need a starting point, check out the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sbs.gatech.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Virtual-SBS-2020-guidelines.pdf\u0022\u003E#SBS2020 Virtual Meeting Instructions here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPractice audio\/visual\/screen sharing ahead of time with presenters.\u003C\/strong\u003E They might not know that they need help, so insist that everyone practices ahead of time. Make sure they have a quiet place to speak with a properly functioning microphone, and enough internet bandwidth to share their screen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESet up central command \u0026mdash; and a cheering committee. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026ldquo;We had a central command where four of the organizers hosted,\u0026rdquo; Glass says. \u0026ldquo;Two other student organizers stayed home and hosted from afar. It was helpful to have a small group together to coordinate in person, but it\u0026rsquo;s not essential if \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\u0022\u003Estrict social distancing policies are in place\u003C\/a\u003E. We all cheered loudly at the end of each presentation, to make up for the fact that everyone else was muted.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003EStreamline Virtual Poster Sessions\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003ECreate an online spreadsheet where poster presenters can share links to individual virtual meeting rooms, which can be set up for free through a service like \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bluejeans.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGT BlueJeans\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EPoster session visitors simply navigate to the spreadsheet, and click on a presenter\u0026rsquo;s room link to directly connect and live chat with the poster presenter, who can screen share each poster and zoom in to highlight specific areas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EWith this setup, multiple visitors can view posters at once, and also come and go as they please. Glass says several people even commented that they preferred this to a physical poster session.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003ESuccessfully Manage Your Sessions\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUsing the chat box for questions from the audience. \u003C\/strong\u003EWe asked the audience to keep their mics muted during the oral presentations to avoid background noise.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChime for time. \u003C\/strong\u003EUse a chime sound to indicate specific time points when the speaker is nearing the time limit, because the speaker won\u0026rsquo;t be able to see time cards or other visual cues.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor each session, assign one \u0026ldquo;technical\u0026rdquo; chair and one \u0026ldquo;intellectual\u0026rdquo; chair. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026ldquo;The technical chair times the talk, does the chiming, and mutes any stray microphones,\u0026rdquo; explains Glass. \u0026ldquo;The intellectual chair introduces each speaker and thinks up questions to ask them during the talk, in case there aren\u0026rsquo;t enough audience questions to fill the Q\u0026amp;A, and also reads questions in the chat box. You can rotate through the organizing committee so everyone gets a chance to serve in each role.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEquip judges to self-score online. \u003C\/strong\u003EIf you have judging at your conference, use an online score entry system because you won\u0026rsquo;t be able to gather forms in person. Plus, Glass notes, it\u0026rsquo;s much faster when the judges enter their scores themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAsk the audience. \u003C\/strong\u003EFinally, don\u0026rsquo;t be afraid to engage your audience. She adds, \u0026ldquo;We had a few judges cancel due to emergencies at the last minute. A professor from Dartmouth who was watching online kindly stepped in to judge.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It was \u003Cem\u003Etotally\u003C\/em\u003E free and carbon neutral. We would have preferred the fun opportunity to meet in person and share meals, but going virtual enabled a lot of people to be there who otherwise wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been able to attend.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003ERelated links:\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sbs.gatech.edu\/meeting-information\/\u0022\u003E7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/633646\/five-tips-moving-courses-online-quickly-omscs-instructor\u0022\u003EFive Tips for Moving Courses Online Quickly, from an OMSCS Instructor\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2020\/03\/20\/top-tips-successful-transition-remote-work\u0022\u003ETop Tips for a Successful Transition to Remote Work\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/633643\/cyber-hygiene-keeps-your-email-safe-virtual-viruses\u0022\u003ECyber Hygiene Keeps Your Email Safe from Virtual Viruses\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOver two days of keynotes, expert talks, a poster session and awards ceremony, students and researchers from around the globe convened at Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s 7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium to network and share the latest field developments and insights \u0026mdash; all from the comfort of their own couches. Here\u0026#39;s how.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Students and researchers from around the globe recently convened at the 7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium \u2014 from the comfort of their own couches. Here\u0027s how."}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2020-03-24 21:51:16","changed_gmt":"2020-03-24 21:57:08","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"633805":{"id":"633805","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech faculty and students successfully hosted the 7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium online, the weekend of March 14-15, 2020 (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston).","body":null,"created":"1585086018","gmt_created":"2020-03-24 21:40:18","changed":"1585086073","gmt_changed":"2020-03-24 21:41:13","alt":"Georgia Tech faculty and students successfully hosted the 7th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium online, the weekend of March 14-15, 2020 (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston).","file":{"fid":"241162","name":"SBS2020 - web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SBS2020%20-%20web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SBS2020%20-%20web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":717094,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SBS2020%20-%20web.jpg?itok=7sT4HnZm"}},"633802":{"id":"633802","type":"image","title":"Keynote speaker Professor Karen Lloyd from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (left), with an eager #SBS2020 colleague (Photo: Drew Steen).","body":null,"created":"1585084583","gmt_created":"2020-03-24 21:16:23","changed":"1585087105","gmt_changed":"2020-03-24 21:58:25","alt":"Keynote speaker Professor Karen Lloyd from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (left), with an eager #SBS2020 colleague (Photo: Drew Steen).","file":{"fid":"241160","name":"Karen Lloyd.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Karen%20Lloyd.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Karen%20Lloyd.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1380842,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Karen%20Lloyd.jpg?itok=E2u_VIfS"}},"633806":{"id":"633806","type":"image","title":"Exploring the #SBS2020 Virtual Poster Session (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston).","body":null,"created":"1585086133","gmt_created":"2020-03-24 21:42:13","changed":"1585086297","gmt_changed":"2020-03-24 21:44:57","alt":"Exploring the #SBS2020 Virtual Poster Session (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston).","file":{"fid":"241166","name":"SBS2020 Poster Session - web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SBS2020%20Poster%20Session%20-%20web_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SBS2020%20Poster%20Session%20-%20web_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":797242,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SBS2020%20Poster%20Session%20-%20web_0.jpg?itok=Wj1vXuDr"}}},"media_ids":["633805","633802","633806"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"3050","name":"distance learning"},{"id":"184326","name":"e-conference"},{"id":"10975","name":"teleconference"},{"id":"4228","name":"event planning"},{"id":"176740","name":"Event Planners"},{"id":"184327","name":"virtual events"},{"id":"184325","name":"online symposium"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}