The OEGlobal team is deep in the planning stages of the October 2026 OEGlobal Conference, which is looking to be very vibrant (I may overuse the adjective). From the beginning, a hybrid format is a goal, but what does that mean? I am trying to stir the pot, and we already have posting using the conference theme Come Invent With us The Hybrid Format.
What does hybrid mean to you? Image searches yield mostly cars, but I was drawn to colorful images of hybrid parrots (sending me down another hole of searching). But, look how colorful Ara parrots are, and maybe both bright and thoughtful looking!
Ara Hybrid Parrot pixabay photo by WikimediaImages (meaning it is likely in Wikimedia Commons) Free for use under the Pixabay Content License
Can you help?
- If you have participated online in a hybrid conference format, what was an example of a conference that provided a meaningful experience? What was it that worked for you as a remote participant? What made it seem less isolated an experience?
- If you have attended in person a conference that had a hybrid conference format, what conference was it and did its offer some experiences that connected you to or at least made you aware of the participants not on site? How did that happen?
All responses are greatly appreciated!
@cogdog would you consider posting this to the CCCOER Community Group/Listserv? I know we have a lot of conference-goers there, and I’m intrigued to hear what they might say!
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Of course! It sure feels swimming upstream to generate responses, but I shall keep on. I loom forward to reading your ideas 
I like what Virtually Connecting used to do to bring online people into hallway-type conversations. I think what made it work for me though was already being acquainted with some of the people. Anything that can be done to foster casual conversation among attendees should theoretically make a conference less isolating. If there was an easy way to wire together a Discord chat with a Zoom drop-in meeting and a ds106radio call-in show you could have a multichannel meetup that people could join in whatever way they are comfortable. But making that work also would depend on having a host who’s good at bringing people together.
Anything other than a lot of black boxes with some 12 bullet slide in ppt. Literally anything.
I think there are possibilities for smaller groups to have/do interesting interactions in spaces before and after events. Be that mastodon or google docs or video playlists. How that gets choreographed is the trick.
The best part of the conference was the lunches and drinks. How does that happen in hybrid space?
Take a look at the videos here on Tim Owens YouTUbe channel. Look at the ones from 14 years ago. All kinds of formats. People on couches. Interviews. Weird places. Man, that is the kind of stuff I want to be involed with. Mostly just people playing around. Laughing. Joy. No PowerPoint 
Maybe even no point beyond being present in the space. That is the kind of hybrid experiences, conference or otherwise, that I would like to be involved in.
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Online is always hard but the one time I did attend online to a hybrid session and it wasn’t horrible this is what helped: 1) cameras on, 2) camera on the speaker AND on the in-person audience, 3) strict muting for non-speakers, and 4) no awkward break out rooms. The speaker spoke to us and there was some organic discussion and Q&A time.
It wasn’t ideal but does work out okay with a dynamic speaker. Otherwise, I agree with what @toddconaway said….