1 Dyan Grant-FrancisDyan Grant-Francis, Carole Cotton, Frances LongCarole CottonFrances Long Organizing an Online Conference

2 Who Are We? We are a community of people who have taken courses with Knowplace, and keep coming back. We love what we are learning and want to share it.

3 We Are Unique In that we have never met f2f Only a few of us have attended a virtual conference Some of us have never organized a conference

4 Why an Online Conference? Organizing a virtual conference is an extension of our learning We want to invite others into our virtual community We want to introduce our partners to others in the virtual community

5 What We Are Learning About

6 Challenges

7 The open-ended, organic organization requires: – collaboration and consensus-building – trust in the people – faith that the process will work – sharing of thoughts and ideas – learning from each other

8 Knowplace Way Collaboration and consensus Strong ePeer relationships characterized by: mutual respect respecting differences fostering growth The Knowmates* have been guiding this conference since its inception *Knowmates: people who have embraced the Knowplace way and are part of its community.

9 Communicating……Virtually Discussions, chats, s about: – conference theme – mascots – proposals – Registrations – online payments – potential presenters Initially appeared to take on a life of their own independent of any timeline.

10 Letting each committee know what the others are doing A master “weaver” interlacing these disparate ideas and themes on themes to create the fabric of the conference.

11 Included in Knowplace is a separate private area devoted to all the activities of the volunteers organizing the conference Committees have core responsibilities Consistent weekly meeting times with reminders the day before the meetings increased attendance Committees posted their work (minutes and whiteboard) on the conference planning site

12 Created another Moodle-based site separate from all other Knowplace activities to enable presenters, registrants – anyone visiting the site - to easily find the information they needed. The site is populated as the conference evolves

13 Using voice rather than text for synchronous chats whenever possible Using Elluminate’s virtual conference rooms enabled and encouraged effective meetings. Instant messaging: Yahoo, MSN, Skype helped keep everyone connected and built strong ePeer relationships.

14 The idea of a conference surfaced in July Recruiting volunteers began in August Meetings underway in September Seemed as though there were all the time in the world

15 The idea of the conference was a product of “why don’t we?” brainstorming. It is the vision of Knowmates from countries around the world that guides the collaborative process of conference An essential person in the collaborative, consensus- building process is a gatekeeper who graciously reminds us of “time on task”

16 Challenges Group of volunteers whose membership and numbers fluctuate Bring their individual perspectives of what constitutes an online conference into a cohesive reality

17 Challenges were underestimating the time required: – for the online committees to define their tasks – to choose a theme collaboratively – to identify and invite speakers – to identify and approach potential partners – to decide how to market and promote

18 Finding time to keep current with postings from all the committees Realizing that the people working on organizing this conference are all volunteers with busy lives Conflicting priorities of personal life, work life and volunteering with this conference

19 Training: Who? When? What? Each registrant, presenter and volunteer needs to be proficient with the technology We mentor and assist each person as needed and offer our skills for the learning of others We are all knewbies* in this venture and need to acquire new skills * Knewbies a term describing persons new to the Knowplace community.

20 Realizing that you are a member of a supportive group based on strong ePeer relationships and clearly communicating availability and needs Having faith in the people and the process Starting ten-months in advance! What helps?

21 Challenges Time Zones: scheduling synchronous meetings at times when people can participate effectively Organizing the speakers’ schedule around GMT rather than the specific date Differing currencies and rates of exchange Speakers’ fee expectations

22 Conference fees that are equitable in differing economies Realizing that foreign exchange impacts the pricing of the conference World Clock Time Converters

23 The Big Picture Folks Keeping everyone and everything on track

24 Frances Long Rod Corbett Carole Cotton Sylvia Currie Sue Dumont Dyan Grant-Francis Randy LaBonte Susanna Nyrop Julia Trachsel Bruno Vernier

25 KnowTIPS Mascot Sue Dumont created our mascot. Tipsy is our KnowTIPS social butterfly acting as a concierge, alerting people to activities, providing directions, making introductions among participants.

26 Site Social Partners Marketing Presenters Registration Committees

27 Site Committee Get site ready for presenters and registrants Determine the look and feel of the conference site Provide “behind-the-scene” support to presenters and registrants and other committee members

28 Social Committee All social functions of the conference: mutual help meet & greet (Concierge Service) interactive ways of connecting people to people: games, ice-breakers, Tipsy’s Lounge

29 Partners’ Committee Approaching organizations whose service or product will enhance the conference with the aim of introducing registrants to the value these organizations offer the virtual world.

30 Marketing Committee How do we let both presenters and registrants know that this conference exists? Solicit help from members about marketing to list serves that they belong to Invite potential presenters to join in Does advertising recoup its costs?

31 Presenters’ Committee Prepare conference information for presenters Determine evaluation criteria for proposal submissions Select presenters and advise them of schedule, technology and expectations Support presenters through training, administration support during presentation

32 Registration Committee Determining the easiest payment options to ensure payment is available online and able to manage a variety of currencies Working with the social committee to make certain that the correct information is collected from registrants

33 Presentation by Knowmads Carole Cotton is an independent online adult educator, and eCareer Coach whose primary role with the conference is an organizational one. Dyan Grant-Francis offers online programs and counselling for people going through major life transitions and is contributing her marketing expertise to the conference.

34 Join KnowTIPS February 23 – 27, 2005 If you are new to the Internet or have been around online for a while. We are certain that you will find something of interest to you. Conference program available at

35 Join Knowplace Knowplace