Pre-Registration & Invitations
Most events will require distribution of
invitations and attendee access information.
IEEE Web Conferencing will provide this information
to a requesting group once arrangements are
final. The group should however, think about
whether they'd like participants to register for the
event in order to receive access information.
The requestor should consider whether they
plan on relying upon their own registration process
or whether they’d prefer to enlist IWC
for this purpose. The registration process is
useful for two primary reasons: it gives the
requestor a way to compare registrations
against actual attendance; and it allows for
proper post-mortem follow up and reporting.
Be sure
to take any software limitations with regard to
capacity into account when planning
attendance. If in doubt, ask your IWC Event
Specialist.
Scheduling
It’s recommended that web events
be conducted on the following dates and times
to accommodate US and Canadian participants.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. Eastern (11
a.m. Pacific). This is not too early for West Coast
attendees and not too late for East Coast attendees,
and takes lunch schedules into consideration.
Think about scheduling multiple sessions
to accommodate international time zones. Mondays and
Fridays are typically poor options. On Monday
people are beginning the work week and on
Friday they’re trying to get out of the
office. Using these suggested time slots, you
will have a better chance of having a successful
event from the start.
Event Activities and Logistics
If you have not given much thought to
your event itinerary and logistics,
now’s the time to do so. Try and formulate a
plan for your event. For example, determine
whether your event will involve single or multiple
speakers; have you identified an event host,
moderator, or MC to handle introductions and
closings? How interactive is the event - will
participants be permitted to ask questions or make
comments; will you accept questions asked over
the phone, submitted online or both? Will the
MC field incoming questions, or have you designated
some other co-facilitator for Q&A? What
type of content will you display; static
content? Multimedia? Are there any software or
system limitations that should be considered;
It’s also suggested that an alternate
moderator be designated as a backup who can
intervene if necessary from an IEEE facility.
IWC will provide you with a web event questionnaire
to help you plan these details.
Venue and Equipment
It’s important to provide IEEE
Web Conferencing with information as soon as
it’s available - whether you event is
being held within or outside of the IEEE
Operations Center. IWC will provide you with system
requirements necessary to deliver your event, and
will work directly with you and your venue to
ensure proper equipment requisitioning, setup, and
testing in advance of your meeting.
Systems Checks and Dry Runs
Before the actual session, it is
essential to conduct systems checks and hold
at least one trial run. It’s required that
speakers, moderators, and parties providing AV
or other technical support be present for system
checks. This allows IWC to 1) brief meeting leads on
technical operations 2) verify that the
technology being used to host the event is
functioning properly, and 3) release access
information for distribution to your
participants.
Dry runs
occur following the systems check, and do not
necessarily require IWC involvement. Dry runs
give speakers and moderators the opportunity
to develop their presentation and check the timing
and flow of their delivery as well other
logistics pertinent to their presentation
before the scheduled event.
On the
day of the event it is important for the speakers
and co-facilitators to log-in for a Pre-Con at
least one hour prior to the actual session
start time. This serves several purposes. It gives
IWC and other event leads the opportunity to
address any last minute details and run
through their content immediately before the live
event. All major systems and equipment checks
should have been conducted prior to the
Pre-Con.
Audience Orientation
Your IEEE Web Conferencing Specialist
will address certain housekeeping items to be
included in the Moderator's introduction. Before
your session begins, IWC will display
housekeeping information for remote participants
to help orient them to the meeting environment and
let them know about things like hand raising,
submitting online questions, chatting, and any
interactive activities you have planned. It’s
never a bad idea for participants to have a
hard copy of the presentation on hand as a last
resort contingency plan should the technology fail.
The Post-Mortem
The conclusion of an event is more than
an opportunity to display a Thank You slide.
You might consider preparing an online survey to
gauge your user experience or capture other
post-event information. This survey can be
display directly from your meeting room in most
cases. IWC will provide attendance reports,
recording review and distribution, copies of
Question and Answer transcripts, poll results, etc.
by request
You might
consider preparing “Thank-you” and
“sorry we missed you” messages,
and incentives to encourage future participation in
advance of the event.
By
planning each stage of the event process you can
start to define not only the general best
practices but the protocols that are specific to
your group.
IEEE Web
Conferencing looks forward to delivering expert
professional support for your online event.
Please
visit us at http://www.ieee.org/go/webconf
Or
contact Lenore Downes, Project Manager with any
questions: l.downes@ieee.org;
+1 732 981 3441
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