Virtual events Archives - Page 5 of 6

Steering committee

A committee convened to help steer the direction of the program and agenda, and recommend speakers, sponsors, and audiences to engage.

See also: Organizing committee

Citation: Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement. (2022) CSCCE Glossary: Virtual Events. Pratt, Woodley, Ainsworth, Carter, Crall, Elkins, Gauthier, Ihle, Kornahrens, Martinic, Santistevan, Shaikh, Sidik, and Wyatt doi: 10.5281/zenodo.6608609

Subtitles

Subtitles appear on screen in real-time in order to translate a verbal presentation in one language into a written presentation in another language, and do not communicate non-speech sounds. This can increase the accessibility of your event to international audiences.

See also: Captions

Supplementary tools

Tools in addition to the basic webinar webinar software / wrapper that may be used to support interaction during the event, e.g., a virtual whiteboard, polls, or a spatial networking tool.

Further reading: CSCCE guidebook for selecting and testing online tools

See also: Wrapper, Polling

Synchronous content

At virtual or hybrid events, synchronous programming takes place live and everyone has to participate at the same time. Synchronous content types include plenary lectures, panel discussions, and social events. Synchronous content is generally less accessible, but does offer advantages for building connection through a shared experience.

See also: Asynchronous content

Technical facilitator

The person (or team) who assists with all of the technical aspects of an event. They are usually responsible for monitoring the waiting room and the chat, and for assisting presenters with screensharing and other setup. They are also key in planning, risk assessment, and troubleshooting processes.

See also: Moderator, Facilitator, Event producer

Themes and tracks

Some events have an overarching event theme around which participants are invited to submit session suggestions and other content such as posters or papers. An event may additionally be split into tracks with sessions that are unique to each track. Each track might focus on a sub-theme or on different levels of experience.

Transcript

A written record of everything that was said at your event, and usually an option when activating a captioning tool. As with captioning, AI-based tools can do this increasingly well. However, consider how the presence of a verbatim transcript can affect participants’ comfort with speaking freely and whether you will restrict downloading or copying the transcript.

Twitter moment

A virtual book/list of all the Tweets sent using the event hashtag. This can be embedded onto your website alongside other materials to show the engagement from attendees and those following along online.

Further reading: How to create a Moment

See also: Hashtag

Virtual events platform

A software tool that is designed specifically to enable users to participate in a virtual event. May be browser-based and/or have an app. Virtual events platforms usually incorporate core functionality such as:

Video conferencing – for plenary and concurrent sessions
Text-based chat – public and direct message
Agenda/session listings
Directory of participants

Additional functionality, such as icebreakers and social networking may be included and varies between platforms.

Examples: Gather, Bevy, and vFairs

See also: Wrapper

Virtual help desk

The virtual equivalent of an event help desk; a place where event participants can find help with technical issues or questions they may have about the event’s agenda. Depending on your event and the technology available to you, this might be a shared inbox, a dedicated Slack channel, or a function of your event platform. The person or people staffing the help desk may require training to be effective at dealing with a variety of inquiries from participants.