Plans are in full motion for the OE Global 24 Conference in Brisbane, Australia, currently with the open call for proposals.
Before you stop and click away, we know that the severe limits on who can arrange the costs and time for conference travel. With the conference theme of Open is Everybody’s Business I am dedicated to exploring the ways we can make sure that is not limited to those who can be in Brisbane.
There are ways through this barrier.
2015/365/6 Barriers Here, Barriers There flickr photo by cogdogblog shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
In most conversations on this point, questions go to “will this be a hybrid conference?” usually implying an expectation to present online. That is not in the works here (there is a whole other conversation I could have about the challenges of timezones and pitfalls of expectations for audience).
A bigger question is, especially having just returned from the OER24 conference (in person) - is doing presentation really the only means of participation, of getting value from tapping into a conference experience?
Looking Back
Our 2020 and 2021 conferences were fully online, making use of the OEG Connect as a “venue”, we did that well considering world circumstances.
With appreciating that the participation barrier was lower (and participating was more than presenting live), for the 2022 conference in Nantes and the 2023 conference in Edmonton, we offered what we coined as an “AND Conference” concept- offering some live elements (live streamed sessions and conversations from the venue) with asynchrnous activities.
The idea is not to promise some online attempt to replicate the in person experience, but create points of collaboration, discussions, co-creation, networking- much of the value that happens outside of the session rooms.
Possibilities
We are looking these means of participation that would be available for educators who cannot make it to Brisbane, and available at no cost here in OEG Connect.
- Live streamed / recorded keynotes. This is definitely in the plans. This addresses what are major time zone challenges, but we also want to look for ways to engage in live/later discussions.
- OE Global Voices Live: (Before During After) For last year’s conference in Edmonton, we ran our series of live web casts with conference organizers and participants before the conference, from the conference itself, and a post conference recap.
- Live streams informal breaks We aim to bring the excitement and possibilities to tune into a live video or audio stream so you can hear from participants “on the conference floor” but maybe, ideally, speak back to them.
- All Presentations Posted in OEG Connect All abstracts will be available and presenters are encouraged to share not only slide decks, but other ancillary material, and it affords to chance to ask questions, engage in dialog
- Social/Interactive Activities We organize (or you do!) ways to create connections as an “interaction” space (see examples from the 2022 conference)
Another idea I am suggesting, especially for those looking to present/share their work, is some kind of pre-conference un-conference activity say a month before the conference opens. We would invite anyone to share their work that connects to the conference theme in a format suited for accessing asynchronously,
You Tell Us
These are really my ideas of what we ought to be able to add to the conference to make it broader than the 3 days for those in Brisbane. But I am very curious to here- if you are not able to travel to an international conference, what would be efficient, effective ways for you to gain from the experience (beyond seeking a dedicated presentation time to an audience)?
What would be beneficial as you fit this in with your regular activities?