Faced with airport closures and mass-cancellations, the organisers of a conference at the Centre for Textile Research used new technology to hold the international meeting online.<\/p>\n
The virtual conference was a much greater success than the planned physical meeting, attracting 2,000 participants rather than the expected 130. <\/p>\n
The organisers Marie-Louise Nosch and Robert Laffineur, thought on their feet. Together with the technical department of the University of Copenhagen\u2019s Faculty of Humanities (It-Media) they managed to ‘live-stream’ the conference on the Internet and a chat room. <\/p>\n
Delegates were then able to interact and leave comments and questions on the papers.<\/p>\n
It-Media helped the organisers to put together a podcast in the new studio at the Faculty of Humanities, explains Web developer Thomas Schlichting.<\/p>\n
In the video-clip, which was posted on the conference website, they informed delegates that the conference had not been cancelled.<\/p>\n
They also asked delegates to send their presentations in so that they could still be part of the conference. <\/p>\n
60 researchers did so, sending video presentations or power-points. <\/p>\n
It-Media then set up live-streaming \u2013 a live video stream that was available for viewing on the internet. <\/p>\n
This allowed stranded participants to follow the Copenhagen conference minute for minute from wherever they were in the world.<\/p>\n
Finally, It-Media\u2019s Annette Pedersen, who herself was stranded in Corsica, put together a chat function so that delegates could communicate with each other during the live video feeds. <\/p>\n
The news of the online conference spread like wildfire, and this resulted in around far more virtual participants than the original 130. <\/p>\n
The greatest challenge for the organisers of the impromptu virtual conference was to get the researchers used to chat communication, and to log in to the live-streaming. <\/p>\n
\u00bbWe were a bit worried about how we could give IT support to 130 researchers spread out all over the world, but luckily the programmes are very user-friendly these days,\u00ab he says. <\/p>\n
\u00bbThe participants were also very good at helping each other with technical problems during the conference.\u00ab <\/p>\n
And the response to the virtual conference has been positive. A number of researchers who would not have been able to attend the conference due to financial reasons were pleased to be able to participate online. <\/p>\n
However, this kind of meeting is unlikely to replace traditional conferences entirely, says E-Learning consultant Annette Pedersen.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThere is no replacement for the valuable networking that takes place at conferences, when researchers happen to get talking to each other during a coffee break. But it is not a question of either\/or,\u00ab she says. <\/p>\n
\u00bbI believe that in the future, there will be some participants who are physically present combined with others who participate via live-streaming or chat.\u00ab<\/p>\n
This combined approach could also mean that more sought-after and well known researchers would participate, says Annette Pedersen.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt is much easier to convince a hot-shot researcher to spend an hour on a live-stream from his own office than to spend three days travelling over the Atlantic,\u00ab she explains.<\/p>\n
luci@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n