UltraFest IX
Ultrasound Imaging for Speech and Language
Virtual Conference
October 21-24, 2020
Information
for all UltraFest IX attendees, including presenters,
are given below. Because UltraFest IX is a virtual
conference, and because of the possibility of technical problems, the
information below includes information about contingency plans. Based on
feedback from other virtual conferences this year, we don’t anticipate any
major difficulties, but we want to be well prepared just in case!
The live
interaction among scholars (faculty and students) is a critical component of
traditional conferences. UltraFest IX will attempt to
retain the atmosphere of a traditional conference by making use of live
presentations, keeping sessions relatively short, and integrating opportunities
for social interaction between sessions. At this time, we are feeling pretty
optimistic about it, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating of it! In
the end, this is almost as much a social experiment as it is a conference. You
will receive a survey after the end of the conference, which you can use to
give your feedback about what went well and what could have gone better.
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The Most Important Stuff
The two most important things for ensuring a successful
and pleasant experience at the virtual UltraFest IX
conference are:
1. Use an up-to-date version of the Chrome internet browser for
everything. In all the testing we have done, including
practice run-throughs with presenters, almost all of the problems that have
been experienced were directly related to using a browser other than Chrome.
2. Use a wired Ethernet connection to the internet if at all
possible. Wired connectivity is
inherently more stable than wireless, and will reduce the kind of cutting in
and out that we have probably all experienced in Zoom meetings this year. If you
can’t use a wired connection, set up your computer in an area near your router
where the wireless signal is as strong as possible.
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Getting Connected to the
Conference
At a virtual
conference, connectivity is critical.
Your internet connection (and hence your ability to participate fully in
UltraFest IX) is influenced by a number of factors
(see this article on TechGuide.com for explanations and
examples). Some factors are outside of your control, such as the internet
speeds provided by your local area network (LAN) or internet service provider
(ISP). Other factors are within your control and are relatively easy to
optimize on short notice:
·
Network connection: The speed of your network connection is influenced
by your router, your mode of connecting (e.g. Ethernet cable vs. WiFi), and the quality of your connection. For best performance, use a high quality Ethernet cable to connect to a high quality router or LAN. If WiFi is your
only option, set up your computer close to your WiFi
router. A useful discussion of these factors is available at this blog from digitaltrends.com.
·
Bandwidth usage: The speed of your network connection is
influenced by the number of devices using the network, as well as the speed of
those devices. It is also affected by
the number of programs running on your computer; especially the number of
programs that are using the network. For
best performance, minimize the number of devices connected to your network, and
close software programs that you don’t need during the conference.
·
Internet Browser: Based on a combination of non-rigorous
testing and recommendations from the platform vendors, an up-to-date version of
the Chrome
browser is strongly recommended.
In the practice run-throughs that we have had so far, most of the
problems that have been experienced were directly related to the use of a
browser other than Chrome.
·
Software settings: During a presentation, you can choose software
settings (e.g. in Zoom) that minimize the amount of data being transferred
across the network and to/from your computer.
For best performance, consider turning your camera feed off, selecting
to view only participants with cameras turned on, selecting to view only the
speaker, and not using a virtual background.
Audio quality
is another critical factor in a virtual performance. In order to avoid
distracting electronic reverberations, please
consider using a headset with headphones and a microphone rather than computer
speakers and microphone. A headset places the microphone close to your
mouth so that your voice is transmitted rather than background noise; and
headphones make it easier for you to hear a presentation, especially if there
is background noise around you. Finally, using headphones ensures that the
sound from the conference does not get picked up by your microphone and create
a positive feedback loop.
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Navigating the Conference
The main UltraFest
IX website is your entry point into the conference. (It is possible to
bypass the main website, but for simplicity we will assume that you aren’t
going to do that.) The main website contains direct links to the UltraFest
IX Whova website and the UltraFest IX Gather website.
Within the UltraFest IX Whova website…
There is a
navigation bar with links to “Home”, “Agenda”, “Attendees”, etc. The
most important link is to “Agenda”.
When viewing the Agenda, you can navigate from day to day and view when
individual presentations and other events are happening. Clicking on an event
title (or pressing the “View Session” button) will open up that event for
further viewing. For example, if you
click on the “Welcome and Introductions” event on Wednesday, October 21, at
10:00am (-4 UTC), you will see a Zoom meeting embedded in the UltraFest IX Whova website. If you check it out early, the meeting window
will say “Warning – This session will start on October 21, 10:00am EDT …” If the Zoom meeting
has already been started by the host, then you will be able to join it. For more information about interacting with
the host/moderator and the speaker or audience, see the section on “Using Whova” below.
If after
viewing the session, you want to go back to the Agenda, you can simply click on
the “Agenda” link once more. The Zoom window will then appear as a pop-out
window that you can close by clicking on the “x” in the top-right corner of the
Zoom window.
If you “View
Session” for a poster, you will find a link that will take you directly to the UltraFest IX Gather website where the poster presentations
will take place.
If you click on
the “Home” link, you will find a link directly back to the main UltraFest IX website.
Within the UltraFest IX Gather website…
When you enter
the UltraFest IX Gather website for the first time,
you will be prompted to sign in with your email address. You should use the
same email address you used to register for UltraFest
IX. Gather will send you an email with a
confirmation link that you will need to click on. The
link needs to load in a Chrome browser.
The browser window will then tell you that you have successfully
registered, and that you can close the tab.
Do close the tab, and then re-enter Gather from the main UltraFest IX website.
Once you are in the Gather space, you can move around and interact with
people and objects (e.g. posters).
In several
areas of the Gather space, there are podiums with interactive links back to the
main UltraFest IX website. Interacting with these podiums (by pressing
the “x” key on your keyboard) will open up a copy of the main UltraFest IX website within the Gather website. In this way you can easily check the schedule
on the main UltraFest IX website without leaving the
Gather space.
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Using Whova
Once you
are in the UltraFest IX Whova
website, you can take advantage of Whova’s built-in
“Community” and “Message” tools. You can
also view who the attendees and presenters are.
You can update your own profile by clicking on the drop down menu at the
top right corner of the website, and choose “My Profile”. Updating your profile will help with
networking and getting to know new people.
When you
view sessions in the “Agenda” you can see what other people have said in the
Session Q&A and Chat (on the right side of the embedded Zoom video). The
messages in the Q&A and Chat are viewable throughout the conference, so
this is potentially a good place to continue discussions associated with
particular presentations.
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Using Zoom embedded within Whova
It may be that
all of us are acquainted with Zoom already.
For UltraFest IX there is no need to start a
Zoom meeting yourself, even if you are presenting. The conference organizers will take care of
starting the Zoom meetings, letting people in from the Waiting Room, and
managing mute, video, and share screen controls. All you will need to do is join the
appropriate session and wait for the host to let you in; you can turn off your
video if you need to (e.g. for internet bandwidth), but we recommend that you
keep your video turned on as much as possible.
If you have a question or comment at the end of a presentation, you can
“raise your hand” and then speak when the host unmutes you. The Chat feature in Zoom will be disabled,
but the Session Q&A and Chat features in Whova
will be available beside the embedded Zoom window.
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Using Gather
Once you are
in the UltraFest IX Gather website, you will
automatically and randomly be assigned an avatar. There is a small menu of icons at the bottom
of the screen, including:
·
A picture of your avatar. Click this
to change your avatar’s appearance.
·
A three-panel map icon. Click this
to open a map of the entire space and see where you are in it.
·
A picture of concentric circles. Click this
to change your “interaction distance”.
Lots of concentric circles mean that you don’t have to be particularly
close to another person’s avatar to communicate with them – great for a small
group discussion! A single dot means
that you have to be right next to another person’s avatar to communicate with
them – great for a semi-private conversation!
·
A picture of a computer monitor. Click this
to share your screen with anyone within your “interaction range”.
·
A hand. Click this to “raise your hand”. If you do this during a poser presentation,
the presenter will see that you have a question or a comment and can let you
have the floor.
·
A green circle with a check mark. Click this
to let others know your current level of engagement/absence.
·
A gear. Click this to change your display name. You should always set your display name to
your real name, so that other attendees can easily identify you.
To “walk
around” the Gather space with your avatar, use the arrow keys on your
keyboard. You cannot normally walk
through other people’s avatars. If you
want or need to get through someone else’s avatar, press the “g” key (for
“ghost”) and hold it down while you use the arrow keys to move. Note that
pressing “g” only allows you to walk through other avatars – it does not allow
you to walk through walls or other obstacles placed in the space.
Your video is
displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. You can click on the icon of the microphone
or video camera to mute yourself and turn your camera off.
When you walk
up to another person’s avatar, their video and audio will automatically fade in
(if they are turned on) so that you can see and hear them! Move away from another person’s avatar to
fade out their video and audio feed.
When you walk
up to a poster, it will appear at the bottom of your screen (above the icon
menu). You can scroll through the poster
there, or you can press the “x” key to open up a larger version of the
poster. In general, pressing the “x” key
when you are near an interactive object will open the object up in a window
within your screen. To exit an
interaction, press the “x” in the top right corner of the window.
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Oral Presentations
Oral
presentations will be made live using
Zoom embedded in the UltraFest IX Whova
website. They will not be recorded. Each oral
presentation will last 30 minutes. The 30 minutes includes the presentation as
well as any Q&A and discussion with the attendees. During the presentation, attendees will be
muted, but will be encouraged to leave their cameras turned on (unless
technical difficulties suggest turning off the cameras). During the Q&A and
discussion time, the host will act as a moderator, and will unmute and re-mute
attendees as needed.
Attendees will use the Whova
event app
to join the session in which they are presenting. The Zoom meeting is already
set up and integrated into the Whova event app.
Attendees will simply need to join the session. When the presentation is over
(including the Q&A and discussion), the attendees will not need to do
anything – they may leave the Zoom meeting or stick around for the next
presentation.
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Poster Presentations
Poster
presentations will be made live using
Gather. They will not
be recorded. A copy of the poster will be “tacked up” and available to
conference attendees even outside of the designated presentation time.
Each poster
session will last 2 hours. Attendees
will be able to see “where” the other attendees are (including poster
presenters) and thus be able to make a decision about when to view a particular
poster. If the presenter is temporarily away when the attendee visits, the
attendee can still interact with the poster, and/or can send the presenter a
message asking for the presenter’s attention.
During the
poster presentation, attendees will not automatically be muted, and will be
encouraged to leave their cameras turned on (unless technical difficulties
suggest turning off the cameras). The attendees will be able to mute and unmute
themselves. It is suggested that attendees mute themselves at all times unless they
are speaking (e.g. asking a question).
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Master Classes
While oral
presentations and poster presentations constitute the heart and soul of a
research conference, UltraFest IX’s Master Classes
offer a forum for more interactive and hands-on training in specific research
practices. Because of this different focus, presenters will have up to one hour for their Master Classes.
Master
Classes will be made live using Zoom
embedded in the UltraFest IX Whova
website. They will not be recorded. During the
Master Classes, attendees will not be
automatically muted, and will be encouraged to leave their cameras turned on
(unless technical difficulties suggest turning off the cameras). The attendees
will be able to mute and unmute themselves.
It is suggested that attendees
mute themselves at all times unless they are speaking (e.g. asking a
question). The Master Class presenter
will act as the moderator for their own Master Class.
Attendees will use the Whova
event app to join the Master Class. The Zoom meeting is already set up and integrated
into the Whova event app. Attendees will simply need
to join the session. When the Master Class is over, the attendees will not need
to do anything – they may leave the Zoom meeting or stick around for the next
presentation.
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Social Gatherings
Three official
social gatherings are planned: a Meet
and Greet on the first day immediately after the keynote presentation; a
Morning Social on the third day immediately after the morning session (which
now has only one presentation in it); and an Evening Social on the third day
immediately after the afternoon session.
See the
main UltraFest IX website for the complete
schedule. All social gatherings will
take place in the Gather space.
During both
the Morning Social and the Evening Social, participants may take advantage of
several videos demonstrating how to make a variety of mixed drinks. The list of drinks and the
ingredients/supplies needed are available here. From
11:00 am – 12:00 pm we will be joined for a live performance by the Aviara
Trio! The concert program is
available here. Feel free to enjoy the music as a concert, or
as background music while you continue to socialize. Participants may also find
some additional entertainment spread around the Gather space. Additional activities are being planned for
the Evening Social – stay tuned!